Thank you to those who attended our meeting on wildlife photography! Richmond and I hope that you were able to learn a few tips and guidelines to use when working in the wild. For those of you who were not able to make it, here is a short recap about what we discussed.

When thinking about wildlife photography, your mind might imagine the Amazon rainforest, Antarctica (*cough* Wenjun *cough*), or other exotic areas that are relatively free from human settlement. While they are amazing places to see, you can take wildlife photos just about anywhere; you just need to look for the right places. With enough patience, you may find cute critters, like chipmunks, rabbits, or deer, but if you are anything like Richmond, you may want to try your hand at birding. Before going out in search of wildlife, there are some key ideas to think over.

One question that is almost always asked (about any type of photography really) is “what kind of gear should we use?” Generally, the longer the lens, the better. A 400mm is a good focal length to resort to, as it can cover quite a distance without having to disrupt the subject you are observing. However, a 600mm may be necessary if you expect the wildlife to be far and/or tiny, and if by some chance, you will be capturing photos in the safari or other potentially dangerous scenarios. No matter what, your safety always comes first! We would be devastated to hear that our members got hurt by some bear or wolf... 

Moving on, make sure to keep lighting in mind. Flash can often bring life to your animal subject, especially when more light is present in the background, but please do not use flash on nocturnal animals! Their eyes are concentrated with cell rods that make them very sensitive to light. If their vision is disturbed, it could increase their chances of injury or death. You cannot truly ask for an animal’s permission to be photographed, so the least you can do is respect their health. Also, like many things, the use of tripods or monopods is optional. These will not be needed to prevent blur since high shutter speeds should be used, but it can help provide stability when working with a narrow field of view.

When taking images of fast moving animals, consider using focus tracking. Eye autofocus is available to many newer cameras, and this can help you make, rather than break, a great image. Setting the widest aperture possible will also make your subject stand out, creating a magical appearance.

Photo by Richmond Forsen

Once you have decided on what kind of wildlife you would like to work with, try to do some research! Figure out what times they are most active, where they like to hunt or chill out, and what sort of precautions you must take to stay safe. This information is vital if you do not want to wait incessantly boring hours trying to locate your subject. For those of you who may like birding, below you can see a chart that showcases how much birds are active after sunrise. Since activity decreases significantly before the first two hours are over, you should anticipate getting up very early to find some beauties!

Bird Activity

Chandler S. Robbins, 1981

Source

I hope you were able to take away some helpful tips to apply to your next wildlife photography shoot! If you have trouble taking quality photos, feel free to reach out to us! We will be more than happy to talk. For those who do get good results, send those pictures over to our club’s Instagram! We love to see our members’ work, and we may feature you too!