10 tips for photographing wild animals - Geeko

Succeeding in taking pictures of an animal is not easy. Here are our tips.

Wait for the right time

There are two ways to take THE photo that will make you proud. The first is to have an incredible stroke of luck and to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right settings on your device. The second is not to rush things and take the time to observe your subject to get the best out of it. Get to know what you're shooting, so you can capture your best profile or the action that will make all the difference.

Have the right equipment

We are not all equal in photography. If nothing replaces the photographer's eye and his ability to compose a scene, the material still plays an important role in the final shot. The most suitable for wildlife photography is to have a telephoto lens that allows you to position yourself relatively far from the subject and thus not to interfere with it. The chances of capturing a beautiful image will be greater if the subject does not even know that you are there. A good 70-300mm or 100-400mm will do wonders, especially if mounted on a body with an APS-C sensor, which magnifies the scene about 1.5 times compared to a full-frame camera . A good compact camera with a powerful zoom also does the trick. Who says important focal length says blurred movement exacerbated. So be sure to choose a stabilized lens, have a high shutter speed, or use a tripod to get the correct result.

Shoot at a specific time of day

If you can afford to choose when to photograph during the day, choose sunrises and sunsets. The soft light will give you the best possible diffusion, as opposed to the middle of the day when it is almost impossible to have a flamboyant result. When the sun is high in the sky, it becomes complicated to play with the light and the risks of overexposure are greatly increased. If the animals are in the middle of a nap, you also lose the chance to capture action images. The right brightness is therefore essential for a successful shot.

Compose your image

Taking an animal photo is not enough to highlight it. If certain species such as lions or elephants are impressive enough to justify a minimal staging, nothing beats a thought photo. Play with decorative elements, use trees to frame your subject, vary the height and angles, play with the 2/3 - 1/3 rule, in short, compose your image.

Show the landscape

If close-ups often work well for wildlife photography, it is also interesting to show the subject in its natural environment. A polar bear that fills the image? It's good. But a polar bear that fishes on its ice floe and is in the middle of an ice desert is better. In a series of photos, consider varying the focal lengths and including a bit of landscape to better tell a story.

Aim at the eyes

Nothing is more frustrating than thinking that you have taken a good photo only to realize by looking at it on a large screen that the focus is not where you would have liked. Most of the time, when you use a large aperture to have a blurred background on a static subject, you need to focus on your subject's eyes. As with a human portrait, the eyes are often the first thing we look at on the subject. If they are slightly blurred, the impression of having brought back a missed photo is immediately present. So make sure you know your hardware to choose the right AF point when focusing before triggering.

Freeze the action

Birds can be extremely fast and change direction unexpectedly. To be sure you don't miss a piece of the action and have a clean subject, a fast shutter speed is essential. The proper shutter speed depends on how fast your subject is moving, but 1 / 1000th of a second is a good place to start. You can also use the sport mode of your device if it has one and you are not sure of your settings. A powerful burst mode is also very useful in action photos.

Give an impression of speed

Unlike point 7, it is sometimes better to give a feeling of speed in the photo. To do this, choose a rather slow shutter speed and then follow the movement of the subject with the camera. The effect obtained is a sharp subject on a background blurred by movement. This is called a panning shot. Basically, starting with a speed of 1 / 200th or 1 / 160th is a good start. The more experience you have, the more you can lower the speed and reach values ​​like 1 / 50th of a second. The lower your speed, the more your subject will stand out from the background which will be completely blurred. On the other hand, the lower your speed, the more difficult it will be to keep the subject in focus. Long hours of training are necessary to master the yarn, but when it is successful, it is the perfect process for running animals.

Shoot through elements of the decor

To vary your photos a little, use the decor to your advantage. Shooting through tall grass will give a wild side while using the trunk of a tree on a corner of your photo can make you think of an ambush photo. A sheet placed in front of a part of the lens will bring a touch of color and depth of field while a puddle will be perfect for a creative photo. A prism will help you play with the distortion of the shapes and will project pretty rainbows on the image. Filters to screw on the lenses also allow you to obtain different more or less marked effects. If you find your photos a bit flat, try to vary your shooting techniques.

Think macro

Insects are more difficult to catch than larger animals because you often have to get close to get all the details. This is where a macro lens becomes useful, since it allows you to get extremely close to the subject while isolating it from the rest to highlight it. Having such a lens in your bag allows you to vary the types of photos and to be interested in details that we would not have noticed on a classic photo. So you have to think about it when choosing your weapons to go hunting for clichés.

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