Wildlife photography for beginners

Improve your wildlife photos.

Whether it's a once in a lifetime shot, a simple back garden study or a holiday snap, wildlife photography can add a whole new perspective to your enjoyment of the natural world. If you've ever excitedly snapped a wonderful wildlife scene only to be disappointed by the end result we've put together some top tips for both beginners and improvers.

Follow our guide to the basics and you could see some big improvements in your artwork.

Find a subject

The first task is to find a subject for your photo. Whether it's in your own back garden, around the town or out and about in the British countryside there are plenty of places to get a great photo.

The real challenge is knowing where and when you will be able to see the wildlife. It's a good idea to get to know your subject first. For example, keep an eye on the birds outside your window or frogs by your pond to see when they're most active. If you're after a bigger catch, do your homework: read up on how animals behave so you have a good idea of how and when to find them.

Getting up close

Get up close in your garden to photograph frogs © Nicola King

Unless you've got lots of fancy and expensive lenses you'll need to get close to your subject for good results. Of course you can always use your zoom but chances are if you're taking an animal's photo you'll be in its territory. It's important to know how to act so you don't scare them off or cause them distress.

Pay close attention to your subject and read their body language. Have they noticed you? Do they feel threatened? Be careful not to act like a predator: approach slowly at an angle, stopping regularly and once you find a good position stay still.

Use field craft skills to disguise your sounds, smell and shape from wildlife and blend in to the natural environment so they don't see you as a threat.

Knowing what the British weather can deliver it's always a good idea to remember the sunblock and, more importantly, waterproofs for both you and your kit! If you're staying in one place for a long time, it might be worth using a hide. An uncomfortable position can seriously affect your concentration so don't forget your chair and get ready to sharpen your most important skill: patience!

Keep it steady

An easy way to quickly improve the quality of your photos is to reduce camera shake. Even the slightest tremble can be picked up by your camera's inner workings and spoil your shot so it's well worth placing your camera on a flat surface, a beanbag or, for more flexibility, a tripod.

Tripods might seem like a serious bit of kit but they do have some serious advantages: it's much easier for your camera to focus if it isn't compensating for your wobbles. Also, with a tripod you can set up the composition of your shot and then play around with the camera's settings without altering it's position and setting up your shot all over again.

See how this meadow pipit sits in a grid of thirds © jcj. bird

Composition and framing

Composition is the way elements in a photograph balance each other and work together. Think about why you're taking your photo. What's happening? Why is it worth recording?

If it's an animal you rarely see, make them the focus of the picture. With more sophisticated cameras you can alter the depth of field: the distance in front of and behind the subject that's in focus. By doing this you can capture a specific part of the photo whilst blurring the background and foreground to draw viewers in.

Alternatively, you might want to consider whether you need to feature the landscape in more detail to help set the scene. If this is the case, zoom out fully for a 'wide angle' and you can capture everything.

If you're photographing behaviour you haven't seen before be sure to get all the action. You can do this by taking a succession of photos or even a video. You can tell a story in an individual photograph too through clever use of framing: place your subject off to one side and anyone viewing the photograph will naturally question what the fox is looking at or where the hedgehog is going.

A good method to use when deciding how to arrange the elements in your photograph is the 'rule of thirds.' Imagine your photograph divided into equal thirds by lines (some cameras have the ability to do this on the screen) then place your subject on any of these lines or the intersections between them. By experimenting you'll see what different effects this framing can have on the feel of your photograph.

Lighting

Lighting can add drama like this backlit butterfly © Kevin Loader

The best light for photographs is early morning or evening. Sun directly overhead washes out colours, flattens subjects and makes the picture seem colder. Fortunately, most animals are more active at the beginning and end of the day too.

It's worth experimenting with different angles to see how lighting can affect your photo:

• Front lit: the sun is over your shoulder, you can see lots of detail but images can seem flat because there aren't shadows to give a 3D look.
• Back lit: the light is behind your subject, creating drama but losing detail.
• Side lit: putting one side in shadow can lend mystery but be careful not to overdo it.
• Reflected light: make the most of available light, soft light bouncing off water or snow illuminates otherwise shaded areas like the undersides of birds giving them a full appearance.

One situation where lighting is really important is when you're shooting photos through glass. Here are out top tips for 'kitchen window' photos:

• Clean the windows: you don't want the camera to focus on the dirty surface, it's what's outside that counts.
• Get the camera's lens up close to the window. If the glass is close enough your camera will ignore it, too far away and your camera will try to focus on it.
• Turn off the flash and reduce any light reflected in the window by turning off lights or positioning yourself in front of them.

Filming

Professional wildlife filmmaking obviously takes considerable skill but there's no time like the present to start learning. The next time you see some wonderful wildlife behaviour, why not see if your camera or phone has a video recording mode?

All of the photography lessons above apply to filmmaking but the main extra consideration is movement. The smoother you move your camera from side to side (pan), up and down (tilt), closer or further away (zoom) the less obtrusive your movements will be and the easier your video will be to watch. A tripod can really help you control the speed and direction of your movements.

Sharing

One of the best ways to improve your photography is to get some constructive feedback. There are plenty of places online dedicated to discussing wildlife photography and filmmaking and a great place to start is the friendly Springwatch flickr group. You can also upload your movies to the website for a chance to appear in our galleries.