Practical Tips for Wildlife Photography

Photographers have many different tactics when it comes to photographing wild animals. There are many different ways to approach wild animals, and your approach is different depending on the type of animal that you are attempting to photograph. There are a few things that hold true no matter what species you are photographing. Getting down to the animal's level, whether it's a bird, mammal, or reptile goes a long way towards creating a pleasing image. If you are looking down on an animal and photograph it from that perspective, it oftentimes does not create a shot that is as visually appealing as one that makes it seem as if one is looking into the eyes of the animal. When you photograph an animal at their eye level, more of their personality comes across to the individual viewing the photo.

Another thing viewers find interesting is when you capture a behavior of a particular species instead of a static shot of an animal simply sitting there. Action shots are often popular with viewers because their eyes are drawn into the image by the movement. An example of this might be a shot of a Great Blue Heron with a fish instead of a static shot of a Heron standing on a log. Even when you have a day where you are only encountering animals that seem very common, such as Great Blue Herons or Gulls, if you take the time to observe the animal long enough, chances are it will do something interesting or display a behavior not commonly seen in images of that particular species.

One thing that you must have when photographing wild animals is an abundance of patience. These are wild individuals that live on their own terms. I personally do not believe in baiting animals with food or audio recordings or any of the other methods that are sometimes used by wildlife photographers. If I am photographing a wild animal, I would like to capture them doing what they choose to do in their territory, rather than photographing them responding to something that has been introduced to draw them in closer. If you don't have the patience to wait and watch, wildlife may not be your best subject. Everyone has his or her own ethics, that just happens to be my bottom line. At the end of the day, we all do what feels right for our own situations.One thing is for certain, in order to get a wildlife shot that speaks to the viewer, you have to be willing to get dirty, hot, cold, bitten by bugs, sunburned or any other variety of things. Just remember, you can always get clean, warmed up, cooled off, etc. You'll have the photograph to enjoy forever.

You don't necessarily have to photograph exotic or unusual species to captivate your viewer. Ordinary animals caught in endearing situations go a long way. I captured a Canada Goose this Spring with her gosling sleeping on her back. The response to that photograph has been huge. Geese are everywhere, but if you look around in the Spring, you oftentimes will come across these moments shared between a mother and her baby.Aside from developing your patience, I highly recommend getting low, watching for the action and interaction between animals, and trying to capture a behavior that is characteristic of a particular species. If you do these simple things, I think you will find that your photographs will improve dramatically.