Page 93 - World of Animals - Issue #29

Wildlife photography

Tip 4
Use soft lighting

Light up your shots to get

the most flattering results
Shooting in bright midday sunlight will blow
out all the details in your shot, so wait for the
sun to be lower in the sky. The sun is a lot
softer around the golden hours of sunrise and
sunset, so try shooting during these times for
a warm, golden glow. Also think about the
direction of the sun; backlit shots may result
in your animal appearing as a silhouette so try
and get the animal lit from the side or front.
For smaller animals like butterflies and bees,

try shooting in a shaded area or use your
body to block out the sun.

Waiting for so er light will
produce images with a lot
more detail in them
Tip 5

Perfect

composition

Use these simple tricks to give The clean blue sky as the The image looks better This feels ‘active’, giving the

your shots more impact background keeps your with no body parts cut off impression the hoverfly will
attention fixed on the eagle
move into the empty space

at the edges
The composition of your shot can Against the cluttered ✗ ✗ With no space for the bee ✗
make or break your image, and a backdrop of these trees, to look into, the image
simple aspect such as the position the eagle gets a bit lost feels very static
of the animal in the frame can really
affect the impact that your image
has. Simplicity is often key, so think
carefully about what to include and
exclude from your shot. While it’s With the wing tips cropped

difficult to control your composition out, this image looks a little
cramped and awkward
entirely – the animal won’t slow down
to pose for you as it passes by after Keep backgrounds clean Don’t crop the wings Leave active space

all – our tricks here can help to make Make sure the image isn’t too cluttered, as When an animal is flying through the air fast For a shot with more impact, don’t have the

your shots feel more dynamic. Know a simple image can o en work better to it can be hard to get it right every time, but an animal really small in the frame with lots of
empty space around it. However, if a subject
draw the viewer’s eye towards the animal
image with the tips of wings or feet cropped
the result you’re after before you press rather than to other distracting elements. To out isn’t ideal. Be aware of this and try and doesn’t have any space around it at all it can
the shutter, and learn to anticipate make sure you are shooting against a clean include them, and to decrease the chance of feel cramped, so leave a small amount at the
their movements to get them in the background, you may have to change your this happening accidentally when things are top and bottom of the shot. An image will feel

right spot in your frame. location, or change your shooting angle so that moving at a fast pace, zoom out a little and stronger, too, if you leave some space off to © Thinkstock
crop in closer later.
you shoot from below looking up to the sky.
one side for the animal to look into.
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