Wildlife photography tips for taking great pictures of animals
When you are about to photograph animals whether they are wild or tame, there is one thing you ought to have in addition to your camera, and that is patience. Let me rephrase that, you need plenty with patience! And of course enough time. For you have to prepare yourself on a fair amount of waiting on the correct situations to appear. If you are willing to wait, then you will also increase your chances of getting some distinguished gleam shots. It also helps to have a tripod nearby so that you are ready to fire on short warnings when the right moment occurs.
General tips and advice:
It’s a good idea to concentrate on a specific type of pictures at a time - e.g. overview pictures, when they eat, other activities, close-ups etc. Then you’ll work on a far calmer and structured way, and you get a feeling with when you have taken enough pictures of the different situations. This principle is valid in many other situations you will encounter as a hobby photographer, wanting to take great pictures of animals.
Always have new film or empty memory cards in your camera when you expect something special is about to happen. Whether you have some pictures again on the film - exchange to a new one when you have a peaceful moment, so you don’t miss out on any gleam shots if you have to change film or erase pictures in the middle of an important happening.
Unexpected situations:
Be ready for unexpected things, and watch carefully for special occurrences. Try to imagine which situations that can arise. Then you can get many funny pictures that you never would have thought to see. Hold your camera steady and pointing the right way at all times.
Wild animals:
To photograph animals in the countryside is a great test of your patience. Some times you will be lucky, and finding yourself in the middle of moments when everything is happening at once. It is important to always stay calm, so the animals don’t become disturbed by your presence and quickly runs away. If you have to move, then walk quietly and don’t make any piercing sounds. While you are setting up all your equipment, you should not “hunt” for the animals simultaneous at the same time. Try to find out where they move and try to study their moving patterns, this way you might be able to find some natural openings behind some bushes. Again be patient if your stressed out by the fact that you haven’t taken any good photographs yet, then you certainly wont do it now either.
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January 24th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
What a great blog full of fantastic tips!!!
JJ
February 8th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
i have a Fujifilm FinePix S5700 7MP Digital Camera and would like to know if that good to take pictures of wildlife
hope you can help
thank you
charlie
February 11th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
First just let me say; thanks JJ Loch for the kind words. I really plan on sharing lots of good information and stuff here.
Charlie: The short answer to your question would be that yes you do have a good camera for taking pictures outdoors. What you should consider is getting a tripod, so you can prevent hand-movements and blurry pictures. All the best of luck to you!
March 13th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
your admin article on feb 8 of 2008 says i mega pixel is 1000 im sure its only a clerical error but 1 mega pixel is 1 million.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
hey ; charlie even a early century box camera is ok for wildlife as long as they dont move,your camera is fime but most digital cams suffer from shutter lag which means when you press your dial for the shot theres not an instant response,hence’you’ve eitherlost the shot or its blurred.Compensate for this by selecting sports mode if you have it or select a high iso speed like 800 these differences will help you for movement error.
September 12th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
hi everyone,
i have filmed a peregrin falcon on the cliffs.
it wasnt easy. i did it with my dad and we saw it catch a blackbird.
it was really fun. everyone should try filming or photographing an exciting animal.
From Brad