Field tips from a wildlife enthusiast

[manindra_m]

Disclaimer : For lack of better words I have called my field experiences as tips . I am just a wildlife enthusiast passionate about photography.

I am no expert in the field of wildlife /bird photography but have been into this for almost a decade now. And as the old idiom says "Practise makes a man perfect " , I realised that while I am NOT remotely close to prefection, over a period of time I do see improvements in my overall photographic endeavour. A lot a factors played a role in this improvement like watching lots of photos on flickr , insta , jjmpf and other forums. Talking to experts , watching Youtube videos did were also of immense help. However nothing beats your own experience of going into the field , taking photos and then examining them trying to nit pick and look out for areas of imporvement. I am sharing some of my experinces which in my opinion have made my photos look better over time

1. I would categorize wildlife photography into sub categories like animals , birds , insect . And within this category I find immensely gratifying to capture actions shots like BIF , animals in action. It need not be necessarily always a high volatge predator chase but in my parlance "If anything moves , I shoot". It is important to understand what subcategory of wildlife are you really into. There can definitely be a overlap between these subcategories but it is important to understand what interests you the most.

2. Composition just like any other genre of photography is extremely important in wildlife which I understood after some time . My initial photos were tighly cropped focusing specifically on the subject. Little did I pay attention to the overall composition and while the photos were good , they failed to portray any story to the viewer. That defeats the entire purpose of taking a photo. Learning good composition is a time taking affair. The more photos your take , the more photos you view , it will give you more innovative ideas of framing your picture.

3. Timing is one of the most important aspect of wildlife photography. Unlike other genre of photography , you are mostly at the mercy of natural light . I need not repeat the golden hour is the best time for outdoor photography. The light at this point in time soft and it will give you the most beautiful images .Also that animals and birds are mostly active at dawn and dusk , makes all the more sense to make use of the golden hour to maximum.

4. Irrespective of the longest telephoto lens that you might carry , nothing beats being up close and personal with your subject . Environmental haze is your biggest enemy when shooting from long distances while not trying to be closer to subject. Its not easy and requires loads of patience and practice to approach a bird or animal in the wild. Nine out of ten cases (atleast for me) I fail. Its that one chance where I have to make the most out of it.

5. Specific Camera gear does matter in wildlife photography unlike other genre where one can still manage with standard gear. If one is mostly into stationery subject , an entry level body with a decent telephoto lens (above 300mm focal length) should do the job. However if you are into fast action shots, then you would need an equally capable body with a good AF system and fast conitnuous shooting fps and deep buffer. Let me repeat again that one can acquire the best of camera body and lens but it boils down to individual expertise, experience , practise and capability on how well can you leverage those tools and make the most out of them.

6. Anticiptaion is the key while framing action shots in wildlife and hence it is important to study and understand the behaviour of your subject . Observe their movements very closely and you will see some predictability which will make it slightly easier to plan for the shot when the actual action begins.

I would request other experts in this forum to chip in with their valuable suggestions / advise which could be beneficial to all of us in the forum. Thank you



 

[Somnath Goswami]

Nice read. As an admirer of birds, I can say that it's always good to let your subject to familiarise with you first. Don't aim your big lens a soon as you reach the spot. Just pick a place, be still and feign disinterest. Once the bird establishes that you are no threat, it will move around freely and often come very close to you. My two cents.

[Nishit Dave]

One important tip is to learn to keep a straight face if people ask you if you're from National Geographic or a 'professional birdwatcher'.

[manindra_m]

One important tip is to learn to keep a straight face if people ask you if you're from National Geographic or a 'professional birdwatcher'.

Agree 😃😃😃

[manindra_m]

Nice read. As an admirer of birds, I can say that it's always good to let your subject to familiarise with you first. Don't aim your big lens a soon as you reach the spot. Just pick a place, be still and feign disinterest. Once the bird establishes that you are no threat, it will move around freely and often come very close to you. My two cents.

Agree ....often i see enthusiast including me in a hurry to capture that perfect shot irrespective of whether the situation is favorable or not. I feel patience is the key. Once you are at a birding hotspot , instead of roaming around trying to spot birds, its better to be stationed at one place , wait for the key moments and shoot.

[Bharat Varma]

One important tip is to learn to keep a straight face if people ask you if you're from National Geographic or a 'professional birdwatcher'.

Just tell them you're a "Notional Birdwatcher".
That should confuse the hell out of them and deter them from pestering others in the future.  :)