Wildlife Photography: Capturing Nature without Disruption

A Great Egret captured by the author on the Blue Ridge Discovery Center campus.

You can find millions of images of wildlife all over the internet from remote places around the world to right in your neighborhood. It also feels like everywhere you go there’s a TikTok or Instagram post featuring some beautiful animal you’ve never seen before.

The art of photography an incredibly powerful and important tool for the conservation of biodiversity and education about the natural world—and the amazing thing is that anyone can do it. Sure, not everyone is going to have access to top-of-the-line cameras and lenses that allow them to capture insanely high quality photographs from hundreds of feet away, but the majority of people don’t need that. Most of us have access to a fantastic camera that can take amazing photos in their pocket every single day in the form of smartphones. In this article we’ll discuss how to take great photos of wildlife with just your smartphone as well as give you beginner tips on how to use DSLR cameras and what types of lenses are best for wildlife photography. 

How to shoot wildlife (with a camera)

Consider Safety (of you and your subjects)

A photo is worth a thousand words, but an ambulance is worth a thousand dollars. Think to yourself, is it really worth it to climb a tall tree to photograph a rare bird? Is it really worth it to get that close to a black bear cub with a smartphone just for a photo? A majority of the time that you have to ask yourself if the danger is worth your photo, the answer is no. No photo is worth harm to yourself. One to two hundred likes on Facebook or Instagram isn’t going to cover your expensive medical bills, and it absolutely isn’t worth risking your life for.  It's too bad that your target species was on a high cliff and you don’t have a super mega awesome three mile range telephoto lens, you still shouldn’t go climbing that cliff. At least you will be around to photograph your target species the next time you see it, and the odds are that you will if you are consistently looking for it. 

Much like no photo is worth harm to yourself, no photo is worth damaging an ecosystem or hurting an organism for. You should almost always take a hands-off approach when it comes to dealing with wildlife. Some organisms you may need to catch in order to properly see them or photograph them–which is okay as long as you know what you are doing and can ensure that no harm will come to the organism. If you cannot confidently catch an organism without harming it, don’t attempt to. When searching for wildlife or a target organism that you want to photograph, stick to paths and trails as much as possible to reduce harm to the ecosystem. You should always be thinking about the impact you may have on the environment while taking photographs and make the call about whether or not your photograph will cause harm. 

Hone your skills

The third most important part of wildlife photography is your skill with the camera. It isn’t the camera that makes a good photographer. Sure, a nice camera can help you out, but most good quality photos are a result of how much practice the photographer has.

Experimenting with angles, centering, and the direction of the light hitting the subject are all important to developing a more creative result. What’s more interesting; a straight-on image of a bird sitting still with even lighting or an image of a bird taking flight from a low angle with the sun shining on it from the side? Most people would choose the latter.

Finding ways to give images depth and action are going to lead to more unique and impressive shots that will stand out from the millions of images of the same species you can find online. Try keeping your camera focused on your subject and waiting for it to do something interesting. Like if you’re on the coast watching a tern flying above the water, wait for the moment that it dives into the water for an action shot!

Invest in quality equipment

The most common thing that people misinterpret about wildlife photography is that you need a super fancy camera to get any good photos. While this isn’t necessarily true and most smartphone cameras are good enough for casual photography, getting into the professional world of wildlife photography does require an upgrade in gear. Usually this means getting a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera with a decent lens.

I generally use a Canon EOS 90D with a 55-250mm lens or a 150-600mm telephoto lens. A good camera and set of lenses can be very expensive, so it's important to start barebones to determine if it's really something you want to invest into. You don’t want to drop five grand on the best camera and lens you can find and then end up not being a huge fan of photography.

Find a used camera in decent shape on Facebook or eBay or B&H Photo (I highly recommend them in particular, I use them for everything). Then find a used lens that preferably has auto-focus and image stabilization with decent range (100-250mm). This is what I started with and some of my best photos were taken with that used camera before I upgraded to something a little nicer.

Take the time to figure out all the features of your camera and learn how to adjust things like the shutter speed (how long the shutter stays open while capturing an image), the ISO (the camera’s sensitivity to light), and the aperture (how much light is let into the camera). Mastering those three elements will take you a long way into professional photography. 

Hopefully this will help you start your journey into the world of wildlife photography! Now go outside and start capturing the beauty of the great outdoors and don’t forget to share your art with the world!

Experienced photographers, what else would you add? Comment below!