Andrew Beck is a specialist wildlife photographer at Wild Eye Destinations & Photographic in Johannesburg, South Africa, which offers tuition and wildlife photographic safaris. Here, he gives his expert advice on taking better pictures of wildlife and birds.
PHOTOGRAPHING WILDLIFE
Find a local training ground
There is no substitute for time in the field and if you are planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to photograph wildlife I would strongly suggest spending time at your local park before heading out to make sure you are comfortable behind the camera. This is also a great way to meet other photographers who may be able to share their knowledge with you.
Anticipate rather than react
Getting to know your subjects and their behaviour will allow you to pick up on subtle, tell-tale signs that they may be about to do something like yawn or stretch. Being able to pick up on these signs will give you a bit more time to ensure that your composition and camera settings are correct for the scene.
Be clear on the story you want to tell
As photographers we are essentially trying to tell a story in a single frame — not an easy task. Before you trip the shutter of your camera, ask yourself, “what is the story I am trying to tell?” With this in mind you will be able to choose a suitable composition and use variables such as aperture and shutter speed in a manner that helps you tell that story.
Get to know your gear
Knowing your camera’s limitations and various settings is crucial and can often make the differenceinference between capturing and missing that once-in-a-lifetime sighting. You should be able to adjust your aperture, ISO, shutter speed and exposure without taking your eye away from the viewfinder.
Keep an eye on your shutter speed
Slow shutter speeds can be very effective at conveying a sense of motion in an image — this is great if it is intentional but not so much when you’re trying top get a crisp image. Make sure that your shutter speed is at least 1.5 times your focal length (eg 1/600 sec for a 400mm lens). This can be achieved through a combination of your aperture and ISO settings.
Work the scene from all angles
There is a tendency to want to get in as tight as possible when photographing wildlife. While this makes for great portrayals of a subject, it does nothing to show them in their environment. Once you have the classic portrait shot, why not pull back a bit and use a wider focal length (eg 50mm) to capture your subject in its environment?
