Wildlife Heritage Foundation

1. Know your subject

photo taken by WHF

The key to successful wildlife photography is being able to anticipate the shot, rather than react to events. So, before you visit WHF learn about the habits and behaviour of the animals you´ll be photographing. The better you know your subject the more successful you´ll be. I recommend a book called The Secret Language and Remarkable Behaviour of Animals by Janine M Benyus.

2. Know your camera

There´s an old saying in pro´ photography, "Never turn up to an important shoot with a new camera you´ve hardly used." If you´re unsure of the basic camera controls then you´ll spend more time fiddling with buttons than taking pictures … and end up missing out on the great shots. Camera technique should be distinctive, like driving a car, and you shouldn´t have to think about it. Practice using your camera before you head to WHF and you´ll get more out of your visit.

3. Master the basics

photo taken by WHF

There are some simple things that will improve the photos you take at WHF. Watch out for distracting objects in the frame, such as coloured balls, rope and fencing, and compose the image so as to hide or remove them. When photographing through wire, remove the lens hood, set lens aperture to its maximum size (i.e. the smallest number) and place the lens right up against the mesh with the hole positioned over the centre of the lens. You might want to use a UV filter to protect the front element of the lens. Before you press the shutter, wait for the animal to do something interesting, such as lick its lips or yawn, to add interest to your scene.

4. Take control

Forget the full-auto program settings on your camera and take control of the picture making process. Set the exposure mode to aperture-priority and study the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and aesthetics. A wide aperture (e.g. f/2.8 – f/5.6) will blur cluttered and distracting backgrounds – ideal for environments such as WHF – while a fast shutter speed (e.g. 1/250 – 1/1000 sec) will freeze the appearance of motion – great for action shots. You may also find that manually focusing the lens provides a faster, more accurate means of focusing on wildlife.

5. Know the rules (and when to ignore them)

Photography is full of rules, such as the rule of thirds and the rules of design. Learn these by reading books on photography but don´t be a slave to them. Have some fun with your camera and experiment. Take several different shots of the same subject but change the composition or the camera settings. Changing camera position, orientation, focal length, shutter speed, lens aperture and even the height at which you shoot, will greatly alter the visual effect. Don´t get stuck in your ways – try something different.

6. Capture the moment

Photography is a means of communication and, like anything else, if the story you´re telling through your images has nothing new to say, lacks interest or has been told a hundred times before, then your images are going to fall short of the X–Factor.

photo taken by WHF

There´s a great technique you can use when taking pictures at WHF: while framing the image in the viewfinder, ask yourself the question, "How am I going to caption this image?" If the only answer you can think of is the species name, then take the image once (that´s your record shot) and don´t bother taking it again until the caption gets more interesting. For example, think about a picture of a lion sitting on a platform, and then the same picture but with the lion yawning. Which is the stronger picture? The caption for the first image would be "lion" but in the latter image the caption is "lion yawning". The addition of the word "yawning" means there is some interest in the scene that informs the picture viewer, making it much the stronger image.

7. Practice makes perfect

Photography is a skill and, like any skill, needs practice to perfect. If you pick up a trumpet or a guitar or a violin for the first time, you wouldn´t expect to play well, or at all. The same applies to photography. The best way to get good at photography is to take lots and lots of pictures. So, enjoy your time at WHF and make sure you take plenty of spare film or digital capacity to capture those amazing moments.

The eighth habit

Oh yes, one more thing. I have a rule on my workshops that no photographer is allowed home until they´re dirty. Animals are best photographed at eye level, so that means kneeling or even lying down, whatever the weather. So don´t be afraid to get your trousers wet. Get low and get dirty for great wildlife images!