Photo Copyright Scott Bourne 2008 – All Rights Reserved

Every once in a while, someone writes in asking what my wildlife photography workflow looks like. This is something that I just intuitively do now, but I thought about it and sketched out (as best I could) what that looks like. If you’re interested in shooting wildlife, think of this list as a series of tips. It’s not intended to be a white paper with every possible thing you need to think about. Just a starting point. I hope you find it helpful.

•    Shoot wide open
•    Aperture priority (shutter priority for moving animals 1/1000th second minimum to freeze action)
•    ISO – light will change digital can shoot up to 3200 w/D3s – 1600 w/Canon 1DMKIV
•    Lens length – 800 for birds – 600 for regular wildlife – 100-400mm for budget-minded shooters – wide angle for wildlifescapes
•    Use tripod/monopod/handhold sometimes for bird flight shots – gimbal head for 600mm & up lenses
•    Calm down and be purposeful about what you are doing
•    Focus on the animal’s eyes – nothing else matters
•    Keep the light over your shoulder–behind you – Position yourself so the light is on the animal’s face for catchlights in the eyes
•    BACKGROUNDS!  Need clean backgrounds – Set up for backgrounds and wait for animal to move to the area
•    Be ready when the animal first comes into sight – some of best stuff happens right away
•    Don’t “bullseye” the animal – shoot animal off center – rule of thirds still applies
•    Allow some room for the animal to move into the frame
•    Don’t chop off the legs/tail/ears of the animal unless it’s on purpose
•    Shoot both horizontal and vertical shots
•    Shoot both environmental and portrait shots
•    Capture animal behavior
•    Be ready for action – Anticipate the action so that your buffer is empty
•    Move around for the best and varied shots – change your angle
•    Bring lots of pre-formatted memory cards into the field
•    Bring rain gear – animals don’t go home when it’s raining
•    Camera issues with cold weather – put in Ziploc bag for condensation issue and/or warm up very slowly
•    Know your subject – know the rules and remember safety first – both your safety and the animal’s safety
•    Stop occasionally to appreciate what you are seeing

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Image and Post by Rick Sammon – Follow Rick Sammon on Twitter

Portraits of animals are fun to take. By portraits, I mean an image in which the subject is basically at rest. However, showing animal behavior is often more interesting. The picture on the right is a behavioral picture. It’s much more interesting than the portrait on the left. The strong legs of the giraffe help us imaging how its rear legs are forceful enough to kill a lion with one swift kick.

Copyright 2004 - Scott Bourne All Rights Reserved

I’m continuing my tip series with some new wildlife shooter tips.

a. Stay downwind of your target. Many animals have superior sense of smell. If they catch your scent you could either become prey or more likely, scare them off.

b. Approach animals slowly. Collapse your tripod when approaching. The fully extended tripod with legs sticking out and thrown over your shoulders often concerns the animals. It’s a shape they generally don’t like. Move slow and don’t stress the wildlife.

c. Shoot portraits if you have a long enough lens. Don’t be afraid to include habitat regardless of your gear.

d. Look at extreme detail. Shoot the patterns in the animal’s coat.

e. Keep it simple. When you’re photographing wildlife, remember that you’re telling a story about the animal. Anything else that you decide to include in the frame needs to support that context and story.

f. Shoot at eye level. Direct eye contact makes most wildlife pictures more compelling.

g. Don’t forget silhouettes. Shoot the animal at dawn or dusk against a colorful sky for dramatic effects.

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