10 Wildlife Photography Tips in 9 Minutes

If you’re just getting started with wildlife photography, photographer Steve Perry of Backcountry Gallery has some tips that can help you capture better shots. The 9-minute video above has 10 rapid-fire wildlife photography tips.

Here’s a quick rundown of the tips discussed:

#1. Get Out Early, Get Out Late: A couple hours on either side of sunrise or sunset offer prime lighting for wildlife shooting.

#2. Drop to Eye Level: As a general rule, if you look through the viewfinder and you’re not at the same height as the animal, drop to its level.

eyelevel

#3. Watch Your Backgrounds: Try to focus as much on the background as the animal itself.

#4. Never Follow an Animal: To avoid frustration, try to stay ahead of the animal instead of following from behind.

#5. To Get Closer, Look Distracted: An easy way to get close to wild animals is to “ignore” it. Don’t lock eyes.

#6. Outsmart the Wind: Turn on image stabilization and consider removing your lens hood to reduce wind vibrations.

#7. Use Continuous Frame Advance for Sharper Images of Static Subjects: If you fire off a longer sequence of shots, you increase your chances of getting a perfectly sharp image.

#8. Make Your Buffer Last Longer: Using faster memory cards, switching from 14-bit to 12-bit, and shooting JPEG to shoot longer burst sequences.

#9. Use AF Points for Composition: Try to create your composition in your viewfinder first and then select an AF point on or near the subject’s eye.

deercomposition

#10. Use Center Point AF for Tough-to-Focus Situations: If you’re having a hard time getting an AF lock, the center AF point usually has the best sensitivity on most cameras.

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