​Guidelines for wildlife photography

Wildlife photography is exciting, but unlike natural landscapes, the opportunity to photograph wildlife is fleeting. Here are some tips to take special care of wildlife photography to make your photos more effective.

Do some research on animals

What kind of animals are you going to photograph? Why were these animals photographed? What environment do these animals like to inhabit? What are the characteristics of their habits? Is it aggressive? The more you know, the more likely you are to make great pictures. Usually wild animals are not so friendly to humans. They won't pose for your camera. To photograph something you want, unless it happens by chance, you have to know where to find it and when it's most active. And if you're photographing something that's particularly timid or dangerous, you'll need special equipment to keep animals from noticing your presence.

Second, fully understand the environment

As with all planned travel, the more information you have about local conditions, the less likely you are to have an accident. You should have as much knowledge as possible about the culture, geography, environment and climate of your destination. This knowledge can come from materials, books, travel magazines, the Internet, or you can directly call or write to the local authorities for help. Photography is the art of light, so it has special significance for understanding the local climate. At the very least, you should know when the light is best, when you need special equipment to complete the shoot, and when it's impossible to get a good picture.

3. Photographic equipment

For these photographers, the lens of their camera is quite long. But one thing is for sure, the length of the lens is of great benefit, because when shooting many wild animals, we can't get too close to them, after all, we don't know what they are thinking, which may be dangerous. Even if the wild animal allows you to get close, you won't do it. At this point, if we want to photograph wild animals, the only way is to stay away from them and use a long lens to capture their every move.

At the same time, we must also consider the authenticity of the picture, as well as the effect. In order to make the image look more original, we also had to capture the image more extensively to fill the whole image. If you don't buy an SLR, the point-and-shoot camera you buy should also have a zoom level and should be used on your camera. Even if you only have a point-and-shoot camera, you can make do with it, but remember to turn off the digital zoom mode, which doesn't work very well with point-and-shoot cameras. In fact, digital zoom can expand pixels, especially in the middle of the picture; In addition, digital zoom can simulate more zooms. In other words, digital zoom can do the same thing as an image editor.

Shutter speed is critical

In fact, the longer the focal length, the greater the impact on the image, because this can cause camera shake, which can lead to blurred images. In addition, wild animals can move quite quickly and unpredictably, so the shutter speed of a camera is very demanding, because only fast shutter speed can capture the instantaneous action. Therefore, the shutter speed greatly affects the sharpness of the picture. If the camera lens is long enough and the shutter speed is fast enough, you can capture an image of the lion as it runs.

When it comes to shooting wildlife, my advice is simple: set the shutter speed as fast as possible all the time, and be ready to shoot because wildlife won't be waiting for you. Generally, I set the camera to aperture priority mode and set the aperture to the best available setting to drive the camera to the fastest shutter speed.

ISO measures the sensitivity of cameras to light, and when shooting wild animals, can be supplemented with a small shutter speed to better capture their movements. For a lot of people, they only increase the ISO when shooting at night. But after a long period of shooting, I found that it was quite necessary to increase the ISO during the day, and I sometimes did the same during the middle of the day when I was shooting wild animals. For example, when I was photographing wolves on a cloudy day last winter, at about 3 p.m., I switched my camera to ISO 3200, and the exposure was about 1/60 of a second. The downside, of course, is that the higher ISO will create more digital noise in the image. But it's worth it, and the best proof of that is the perfect photograph.

4. Choose the right time:

The timing has two meanings. First, the shooting of wild animals must take into full consideration the habits of wild animals, such as when to be active, when to eat and when to rest. Second, it is necessary to consider the impact of light factors, sufficient and infectious light is an important factor in a good photograph. Comprehensive consideration these two respects factor, ability captures the work with full interest.

5. Choose a different Angle

While it's hard to have many angles to choose from when photographing wildlife, sometimes you can find many interesting angles. If possible, you can use the lens at a level with the horizon and at a level with the animal's eyes. Looking at an animal from a human height may seem rigid. Sometimes, taking pictures of animals' backs can produce strange and interesting effects.

Vi. Animal Director:

Wildlife won't give you any convenience in filming. However, if you can come up with a good idea, it's likely to make a big difference in getting wild animals to pose the way you want. For example, you can make a sudden noise to alert the animal to your camera. However, this position will not last long, and soon it will run away quickly. So shoot something else first, and then be ready to capture an interesting surprise in a split second.