Wildlife Photography needs a lot of patience and hard work to get a perfect shot. Spotting the animal is an additional task in this genre. So, how to enhance your wildlife photography skills? How to capture that perfect moment of animals in the middle of a forest? Let’s dive deep into it.
EYE CONTACT
If you want to make your wildlife photos impactful, try to create a connection between you and your subject, it might not possible at all times. The easiest way to show intimacy between you and the subject is to take pictures on the subject's eye level. It will create an illusion of a connection between you and the subject.
FOCUS ON THE EYES
After creating a contact between you and the subject, make sure the eyes of the subject are in focus rather than keeping their eyes out of focus or in a shadow. Most of the wild animals have sharp eyes which creates crisp and impactful images. If your subject’s eyes are closed or in a shadow, it will break the connection you have created with the subject which will result in the failure of that image.
Sometimes, you don’t get to capture the whole body of the animal, as they are hidden inside the leaves. Their eyes play a major role in making the picture a success.
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BACKGROUND
If the background is not up to the mark or diverting the focus from the subject, try to get rid of it. Try different angles, zoom in as much as you can and by doing that, you will also reduce the depth of field to a minimum, it will help your subject to come in the limelight and not the background.
TRY TO CAPTURE THE CANDIDS
Wildlife has been in the industry for a long time and simple portrait style just doesn't work in the present time. People want to see something new in the pictures. Try to capture the subject in a beautiful natural setting can be even more effective than a simple close-up. You can also capture the animals in an unexpected setting which will add up an element of surprise to the viewers. If you are trying the wide angle, try to capture the animals by following the basic rules of landscape composition, like the rule of thirds. Also, try to position your wildlife subject so that it looks toward the center of the picture, not towards the edge of the frame.
LIGHT
In wildlife photography, you cannot use an artificial light as it might freak out the animals. Try to play with the natural light as much as you can. Most wildlife pictures fail because of bad lighting. You cannot control the light in wildlife but you can surely experiment with your angles. Try to capture in a little cloudy weather, it will create soft yet illuminating images. Try to avoid harsh sunlight as it will create dark shadows which might hide the best features of your wildlife subject.
Wildlife might not be as tough as it may seem, you just need to develop your skills and patience level. Try to go in the wild as much as you can to explore the beauty of the animals and keep these tips in mind which are definitely going to help you in the long run.
- Blog by Harshita Sharma