Are you aspiring to be an animal photographer? Do you love taking cool animal pictures? That’s great! We thought it’s a lovely idea to give you some tips about animal photography.
A blooming interest in wildlife photography is evident on social media platforms and photograph websites. You can’t blame these people, especially the photographers, who take great interest in taking nice shots of animal photos. Domestic and wild animals are such interesting subjects in photography. If you have the edge on taking pictures, or you’re fascinated about beautiful animal photography, this content is for you.
Image taken from Summer Lee Walter Website
You’ve probably bumped into some of the best wildlife photography tips. Here at Strikingly, we understand the blossoming interests of beginners while introducing fresh ideas to professional photographers. It’s important that you know the basic knowledge in photography and combine it with passion, creativity, and love for the chosen subject. Yes, you need to take a deeper interest in your subject to be able to tell their story using your camera lens. In the case of animal photography, you have to dig deeper on their behavior in order to take the best animal photos.
We’ll take you to the wonder of the wild, but remember that you can also take cool animal pictures anywhere from the comfort of your home, in the zoo, or just looking up at the sky.
Image taken from Summer Lee Walter Website
- Invest on Quality Gears and Understand its Settings
As an animal photographer, you have to keep in mind that your subject’s behavior, mood, and motion speed can affect the quality of the photos. Investing on quality gear from your camera to a sturdy tripod. A sturdy tripod made of aluminum or carbon fiber can assure quality and safety to hold your camera. If you want to take animal photography seriously, don’t just invest in state of the art cameras. Cheap flimsy plastic legs tripods can end up in disasters. Make sure you have a high-quality tripod as much as a good-quality camera. You don’t want your camera lens to miss the focus when it falls down, aren’t you? Worst case scenario is that your camera lens can break into pieces with an out-balanced tripod.
Make sure you also familiarize your camera settings before taking it into action. Reading the manual carefully can help you go a long way. If you want to achieve a perfect shot of your pet animal or you go to the park to take some nice shots, the first thing you have to adjust is your ISO.The camera settings should be adjusted with the right shooting condition. Most animal photographers use a low ISO, typically around 100 or 200. It is used to neutralize the noise in the photos. For locations with low lighting conditions, you can use a higher ISO but not to the extent that it will affect the quality of the animal photos. As you can see, there is no such thing as a fixed standard on how high or low you have to adjust the settings of your camera. Use your ‘eye for photos’ to get the shots you desire.
Another thing that you have to properly set is the shutter speed. This is advisable if you’re shooting animals that move unpredictably. Birds, for instance, can stay calm on the branch of a tree, but in less than a second you realize it has flown away. Quick and fast movements of the animals can give you a blurry resolution.
You set the shutter speed to at least 1/1000 sec for slow moving animals like carabaos while it is ideal to set your shutter speed to 1/2000 sec if you’re shooting animals that move fast. These are just some of the settings that you have to know the most if you are considering animal photography.
- Find a Perfect Location
For wildlife photography, obviously you have to get ready for a long-way trip to the wild forests. But you can also visit wildlife-themed parks if there’s one in your place. It is important to find a perfect location where you can capture amazing scenes and day-to-day habits of the animals as your subject. Another thing that you have to check on is the weather. Is it going to be a sunny day or will it most like to rain in the afternoon? Unexpected weather conditions usually occur in the mountains and wild forests. Be prepared to bring an umbrella or a raincoat that you can use as a tent to protect your gears. There’s nothing like preparedness to unpredictable outcomes in the wild so it’s better to take a first-aid kit with you as well. You never know when a leech will stick on your skin.
- Be Observant
You have to be a keen-observer of animal behavior. Take some time to sit in the park and watch the birds come and go. You can also do it the next time you take a trail to the peak of the mountain. Observing the animal’s behavior can help you to have a wider understanding about your subject. This way, you know when to set your camera to capture the best moments. An elephant can be playful and tame while you better watch out for the tiger’s look when it’s hungry. In animal photography, it is not enough to just take a series of animal photos. Your shots should tell a beautiful story about your subject. The key to achieving interesting animal pictures is through storytelling. Your photos can tell your viewers a beautiful story of a glorious scene of grazing cows in green pasteur.
- Keep Silence
An animal photographer with a low profile is most likely to get the perfect angle and lighting. Don’t chase the animals away by talking so loud. Might as well, put your camera setting on silent mode so that it won’t disturb them when you take burst shots. You can also remove the flash so it won’t intimidate the protective and shy nature of the wild animals. In case you’re shooting a pet at home, make it seem natural without making them afraid of the camera. Some domestic animals like dogs and cats are familiar with taking photoshoots with their furry-parents. It wouldn’t be such a challenging task for a photographer to take pictures of domestic animals. Just in case you encounter a conservative type of pet, make sure you know how to keep a low profile and keep your gears silent. Just take a look at how cute these dogs posed on Puppet Milestone Cards website.
Image taken from Pet Milestone Cards website
- Take a Lot of Patience
Patience is virtue. It’s definitely true. You can spend long-hours waiting for a perfect shot. Animal photography is not a piece of cake. It takes a lot of patience to capture the right angle of the monkey and its baby while cuddling each other. Sometimes, the most unexpected shot can happen in a split second. While being patient, you have to be alert and always prepared. Once you fully-understand the way your subject moves and behaves, that’s the time you can ready your camera to shoot. Animals do have their daily routines like humans. You have to wait for the right timing to achieve desirable results. otherwise, you can be impatient and lose the opportunity that is reserved for those who wait.
- Be Passionate
More than anything else, be passionate about your chosen craft. Skills without passion can be lifeless. Make sure you have your heart in animal photography, if you are aspiring to take this journey. You don’t really need to be an expert right away. Most professional photographers have taken so much effort in learning and loving the craft. There is no such thing as a gift in photography, you have to take great interest and embrace it to hone your skills. Animals are great subjects in taking photographs. They express unpredictable emotions and behaviors that humans look in awe. Be passionate about your aspiration to be an animal photographer and understand your subject well.
- Mastery by Practice
Master photography by taking a lot of pictures. As the popular saying goes, practice makes perfect. You have to take pictures as often as you can. Your smartphone can also give you a quick dive of experience without getting too technical. Ideally, using a high-resolution camera will enhance your skills in photography. Take a walk at the park in the morning. You can also drive to the nearest nature themed park where you can see random animals like birds. Mastering the art of photography is a series of pass and fail practices. Only when you fail to get your desired shots when you learn how to fix it. When you receive constructive criticism from your audience, take it positively. Practice a lot in taking pictures and capture your audience's heart by showing them beautiful animal photography.
Image taken from Summer Lee Walter Website
Create an Animal Photography Website with Strikingly
The best way to showcase your photography is by creating your own website. With Strikingly you can create an animal photography website instantly.
- Sign up and create an account
You can either sign up now or wonder how to show your beautiful photos to the world. By having your own animal photography website, you’re sharing a glimpse of your skills to your audience.
Image taken from Strikingly website
- Choose a template
Strikingly has multiple pre-designed templates to guide you in creating your own website. Consider a dark background template to emphasize the animal photos and add eye-catching effects.
Image taken from Strikingly
- Upload Animal Photos
Start sharing your photographs in your gallery. This section will be the highlight of your animal photography website. Strikingly website editor allows you to upload images from your computer or add the link of the images.
Image taken from Strikingly website editor
- Add texts to images
Tell the story behind your captured photo by adding text to the caption section.
Image taken from Strikingly website editor
- Publish Your Website
It’s your time to shine. Share your skills and talent with the world by making your website go live. With Strikingly, we love to see you grow your audience and create a beautiful online portfolio that will highlight your talent and skills.
