The photo was taken using a 400 mm lens, so we see a beautiful blurred background. Photo: Igor Andriyanov, Photosklad.Expert [ad_1]
Everyone sometimes gets bored and bored with the routine of city life. If you have an itch for creativity, you can go to nature, taking your favorite camera, and try yourself in such a genre of photography as shooting wildlife. He is also a photographer of birds and animals.
We will try to give tips on how to start shooting wildlife. Going further, you can get the very pictures from the National Geographic magazine that everyone admires. We immediately warn you: sitting at home will not work.
The photo was taken using a 400 mm lens, so we see a beautiful blurred background. Photo: Igor Andriyanov, Photosklad.ExpertTheory and practice of wildlife photography
Shooting animals, especially at first, does not require the help of assistants and a lot of equipment. A wildlife photographer can be a loner, needing one camera, a lens, and a large backpack to carry his belongings. The main useful character traits here are — patience, diligence and learning.
You don’t always want to crop a picture, even if the main character occupies a small part of it. Photo: Igor Andriyanov, Photosklad.ExpertIt is easy to start shooting in this genre, but there is an important condition — you must be an enthusiastic person. If you like to look at the surrounding birds, go to parks — shooting wildlife will be an interesting hobby.
Sometimes a professional photographer has to go to another continent to take a picture of an animal, spend many hours in the cold, in the rain. Not only do you have to want good shots, but you also have to be willing to sacrifice time and convenience.
When shooting with a telephoto lens, small obstacles, such as a net in a zoo, do not affect the image. Photo: Igor Andriyanov, Photosklad.ExpertBefore you go to photograph, start study animals. Knowing their way of life and features, it is much more interesting to follow them, to look for them.
A wild animal is not a model to be told where to stand and how to look at the camera. You need to know what it does, when and where, and wait for the right moment. Everyone will love the shot in which the animal shows its unique behavior — for example, a predator is chasing a prey or a bird is feeding its chicks in the nest.
A bird feeding chicks in a nest is an example of the characteristic behavior of an animal. Source: pixabay.com, NghangvuThe time of day and the position of the sun are important. When photographing birds in flight, it is better to keep the sun behind you, then they will be well lit. Pictures of large animals can be more interesting if the sun is located on the side or behind the animal itself. You can take photos of birds against the background of dawn or sunset, then their silhouettes will be visible.
The next secret is start from the places closest to you. A park, a zoo, the nearest suburbs, eco-trails are the best points of interest for this. In them you can meet jays, starlings, jackdaws, squirrels and a bunch of other unusual things. Sometimes a picture of a mushroom can be on the cover of a magazine.
An interesting shot turned out not in spite of, but thanks to the trees that were closer than the thrush. Photo: Igor Andriyanov, Photosklad.ExpertIt is important to study photography theory. For example, the right composition will do more for your photos than buying the most expensive camera.
Advice that helps in any business — need more practice. The more pictures you take, the easier it is to catch the moment and see the angle in which the photo becomes more interesting.
You can use a polarizing filter to reduce glare. Photo: Igor Andriyanov, Photosklad.ExpertLearn from other photographers. Now there is the Internet, social networks, applications. There you can find materials on any topic — theory, practice and examples.
Edit images. In Photoshop and Lightroom, there are different ways to improve photos, make them more expressive. Many birds have bright plumage that can be further emphasized in post-processing, and a little trimming will improve the composition. Skills in working with applications allow you to improve pictures in other genres.
Life hacks for shooting wildlife
Take spare batteries with you when you go out into the countryside. After all, there will be no socket at hand.
Nature is nature, water and mud are all around, it can snow, so we advise you to attach a protective light filter to the lens, if it gets dirty, use cleaning products.
Many wildlife photographers shoot from a perch. This is a special camouflage awning or similar design. That is, the photographer, disguised, sits still (often for several hours) and waits for the appearance of the animal. The animal does not see the photographer and behaves naturally.
Wildlife photography equipment
Important for wildlife photography choose the right camera. Let’s dwell here in more detail.
The best wildlife subjects are birds and mammals. All these comrades have sharp hearing, sight and smell, they will not let you close to them. Therefore, we immediately dismiss the idea of shooting from a smartphone.
Modern cameras not only take good pictures, but they also shoot video, so those things that were previously in vogue and were called video cameras will not be useful to us either.
We need a special camera that can zoom in on a distant object.
We come to the conclusion that the camera will suit us with interchangeable opticsand telephoto lens for shooting from afar.
For example, pairing the Fujifilm X‑T30 II Body with the Fujifilm XC 50–230mm f/4.5–6.7 OIS II lens allows you to shoot animals that are not particularly shy. With it, you can go to the park, where squirrels and birds are found, or to the zoo.
Fujifilm X‑T30 II Body. Source: digitalcameraworld.com
Fujifilm XC 50–230mm f/4.5–6.7 OIS II. Source: fotikvderevne.ruThe level of images in this case will not yet be like in National Geographic, but quite decent.
The next stage is serious professional equipment with six-figure price tags. Here we’re already looking at things like the camera’s burst speed and autofocus speed.
Continuous shooting speed — this is the number of frames per second that this or that camera produces. The more of them, the more chances to catch the moment, to capture a quick event.
autofocus in modern cameras has developed so much that many of them themselves can determine the type of object being shot and focus where required.
In addition to a good camera, we also need its correct settings. Here, too, some advice can be given.
If you’re still familiar with the camera, better read instructions for her. At a minimum, you will know where the main settings are, and with a detailed study, you will know the little things that will be very useful in the future.
In most cases, we choose tracking autofocus mode. In order to accurately hit a certain subject with autofocus, it is better to select one focus point.
The second important parameter is excerpt, or the time at which the picture is taken. The rule is this: the faster the subject moves, the faster the shutter speed. The balance here must be found experimentally, in practice.
If you are going to process pictures on a computer to bring them closer to the ideal or for creative purposes, shoot in RAW format. jpeg formatin turn, allows you to save space on media, but it leaves much less room for creative editing.
The rest of the settings — for starters, you can leave on the machine.
To reduce blur and make shooting easier, modern telephoto lenses and cameras are equipped with an optical stabilizer. Photo: Igor Andriyanov, Photosklad.ExpertRecently, people are increasingly thinking about their problems and forget about the planet on which we live and its inhabitants. The author believes that it will be better if people who consider themselves higher beings unite and pay attention to the beauty of the surrounding nature. A good camera and a skilled photographer can bring this beauty to the masses.
The last advice is to respect nature, leave no traces of your activities and do not endanger yourself and other living beings.
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