Wildlife Tips

[Beauty Through a Lens]

What are some tips and need to knows for photographing wildlife? I will be photographing mostly deer. I will be using a 150-600mm (FX) lens on a D5100 (DX) body. I don't want to spend any money on motion sensors and remote triggers.

[Stagecoach]

Firstly, get the eyes sharp. Secondly, do not plonk the animal central to the frame, leave room for it to 'move into'.

[Nicks Pics]

Deer are very skittish, of course, so you may need to be careful not to scare them. Shooting from a car might work, or you could use the techniques deer hunters do to get a shot at them. (photo shot). I don't know what motion sensors would do for you if you want quality photos you may need to be attending the camera.

[matthewden]

Thanks for sharing .

[Beauty Through a Lens]

Should I invest into camo clothes?

[AB26]

1. Do not go out with great expectations, you will be disappointed.
2. Have lots of patience.
3. More patience
4. Even more patience
5. Check your camera settings!
6. Spot meter.
7. Patience.

[JR1]

practice, practice, practice

[Stagecoach]

practice, practice, practice

To get better at anything we all know that practice is needed but surely the object of the OPs perfectly sensible question is to gain some underpinning knowledge (as he's a novice) before he actually starts in this field !

[JR1]

To get better at anything we all know that practice is needed but surely the object of the OPs perfectly sensible question is to gain some underpinning knowledge (as he's a novice) before he actually starts in this field !

Ok

Go to a wildlife park, buy a camo suit and spend all day there with flask, by park I don't mean zoo etc, but a reserve, nature reserve etc, plenty about

[Donald]

2. Have lots of patience.
3. More patience
4. Even more patience
7. Patience.

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed and, Agreed.

If you go out for an hour to grab some shots of deer, you'll be disappointed.

You need to go out there and, firstly, study the animals. Leave your camera at home. Watch them. How do they behave? Where do they go to eat; to rest? Which way does the prevailing wind blow so that you can get yourself downwind? What are the locations they like where you could envision yourself to be? Where will you need to position yourself to get the shots you'll want? Are there good backgrounds (remember the whole image will include the deer and whatever else is in that final frame, so you have to think about that as well)?

Look at wildlife images. Find the ones that make you go 'Wow'. Think about them. How was that image captured? In other words, seek to learn from other successful wildlife 'togs.

And ...............

Make sure you know your camera so well, that you can operate everything, quickly and correctly, without taking your eye away from the viewfinder. Can you change the metering mode, the focus mode, the ISO setting, the shutter and aperture settings, without taking your eye away from the viewfinder? If not, keep practicing until you can.

[Nicks Pics]

I think that camo clothes ore of relatively little affect, motion, sound, and smell will all still be detectable by deer's keen senses. I've heard that two of three of those things detected, (sight, smell, sound) may send them running, one of them makes them stare at you. Much better just to use a blind, some photographers use blinds with a hole for the lens. A car is a good photography vehicle actually, animals are often seen from roads, and deer don't instantly recognize a car as a threat like they do a person on foot. Do you have a place in mind where you see animals you plan to shoot at? Or are you looking for place suggestions? Just some ideas- hope this helps

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Adrian,

In addition to the advice above (I'm glad Donald mentioned wind direction and backgrounds), I will add sun direction, since it is important too (and will affect metering and hence exposure).

Here are a couple of my deer shots, taken in a large park a few miles away (Bushey or Richmond Park, west of London) - I know you can't get there (here), but others may, and you might (?) have something similar near you - for practice, at least.

One more thought, do wear dull (and non 'noisy') clothing, if not camo.
I don't wear camo, but some that do swear it allows them to get twice as close before birds*, become scared and fly off (compared to drab colours) - so who knows, may I will try it one day. That said, where I shoot, I am very unlikely to (literally) be shot (by a hunter with rifle) - but if you're in a hunting area, abide by the rules (I gather you guys have over there) and stay safe.

* May not apply to deer for reasons Nick gives.

Good luck, Dave

[Beauty Through a Lens]

I think that camo clothes ore of relatively little affect, motion, sound, and smell will all still be detectable by deer's keen senses. I've heard that two of three of those things detected, (sight, smell, sound) may send them running, one of them makes them stare at you. Much better just to use a blind, some photographers use blinds with a hole for the lens. A car is a good photography vehicle actually, animals are often seen from roads, and deer don't instantly recognize a car as a threat like they do a person on foot. Do you have a place in mind where you see animals you plan to shoot at? Or are you looking for place suggestions? Just some ideas- hope this helps

Where I am shooting from I will have to be on foot.

[rpcrowe]

Ask my wife to come along on your photo jaunts. My wife can spot wildlife better than anyone I have ever known. A typical interchange between my wife and me...

"Richard, look at that goat on the side of that mountain!"

"Where, I don't see anything?"

Right there about halfway up the mountain!"

"What mountain, I don't see any mountain"

[NorthernFocus]

Perhaps the first thing to understand about wildlife photography is that it's not about photography. It's about the wildlife. So whatever subject you're after, a good place to start is to study everything you can get your hands on about that particular species. What do they eat at different times of year, what type of terrain to they prefer for sleeping, what time of day are they most active, etc. You have to find them before you can shoot them.

Then once you understand the animals you're after in general, you apply that knowledge to the population in the area where you will be shooting. Where are the most likely to feed and sleep. How will they travel between places. Look in those places and find tracks, droppings, etc. to further your understanding. Is there hunting in the area where you'll be photographing? If so, then the animals will likely be scared of people and you will probably need camo, blinds, etc. If not, it may be better to stay in the open so the animals can see that you aren't a threat. It's very rare that you will find success by approaching wildlife. Typically you need to anticipate their behavior and be there waiting for them.

With wildlife, you don't make it happen. You're just witnessing and recording life happening. You just have to learn how to increase your odds of being there when something interesting takes place.

[Manfred M]

One other thought is that go to a place where the wildlife is used to having humans around; they tend to let you get in a lot closer than ones out in the wilder areas with limited human contact.

I live on the edge of an urban greenbelt with a bike path I frequently cycle down. Often, early in the morning or late in the afternoon when I go cycling through the area, I will get as close as 4 or 5 m / 12 - 15ft from the deer before they run off (which can be a good thing, because hitting a deer while riding a bike is not going to be pleasant for either me or the deer).

I remember noticing the same thing a few years ago, during a trip to Etosha National Park in Namibia. Our routing took us through the western part of the park, an area that had been closed to tourists for around 60 years. It had opened up to a very limited number of visitors just a few months earlier and we noticed how few animals we spotted in that part of the park. They stayed well away from humans. In the eastern part of the park, where people had been traveling for well over 100 years, the animals hardly took notice of us.