Wildlife Photography: Things to Know Before Getting Started
Do you love animals? Are you also a passionate photographer? Who says you cannot do both? In this article, we want to help you out with a few tips on how to take great shots of wildlife. It is not as simple as it may seem because it involves documenting these creatures in their habitats. Also, you need specific gear, but we will get to that.
Understanding the subject
Wildlife photography is one of the most challenging areas in this field because you have to deal with animals that do not take model directions easily. Not only does it require great technical skills, but you also need to know how to frame, expose, as well as compose.
When it comes to the models, you will notice that some of them are approachable to some extent, while for others, you will need a telephoto lens in order to obtain any kind of photographic evidence.
For example, birds are easier to shoot if you are using a photography camouflage tent. Other animals such as deer, for instance, require you to stalk for extended periods. You need to be a photographic hunter.
Any basic camera can work for capturing wildlife, but things are much easier if you are using a mirrorless system or a DSLR. These usually have abilities like shooting in Raw or having high ISO ranges. There are even scenarios that work better in the absence of a human.
Camera traps, drones, and even cameras placed on all-terrain remote-controlled cars can help you get great images. These can also provide perspectives that are different from how humans see the world.
When photographing wildlife, the safety of both the animals and the photographer is paramount. You should never put yourself or the animals in any harm’s way to get a picture.
Camera
Your camera is the most important tool that will help you capture great wildlife photography. Any DSLR can capture good images but there are specific settings you need to know in order to get those amazing photos.
One of the most important features your camera needs to have is the ability to shoot in raw because raw images provide significantly more details to work with than jpegs. Since they hold more data, these files have much larger sized compared to jpegs.
Accessories
If you are really serious about this type of photography, you should know that the images you capture can benefit from more than just the camera. There are various accessories that can help make photos even better. They can also help the photographer feel comfortable in order to stay out longer for more chances of getting great pictures.
The right bag is also important because you will need it to keep the camera and all the accessories safely in place and easily accessible.
There are animals for which a 50mm lens is enough, and there are some that you will never be able to get close enough to capture. For these cases, the best solution is a remote shutter release, which allows the user to release the shutter without actually touching the camera. It is also a good choice for long exposures.
You should also consider that touching the camera when the shutter is open for extended periods can create shake which would ruin the image. Surely, this is the last thing you need when you are about to obtain that once-in-a-lifetime image.
Some of them are wireless systems and there are also those that do not require batteries and also cost less than $10, so it is truly worth the investment. We are not going to tell you which camera and lenses you should go for, but there are plenty of articles on the topic online.
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