Wildlife Photography How To

One big challenge when photographing birds or other types of wildlife involves dealing with subjects that appear in front of busy backgrounds—a situation that tends to happen more often than not. There are ways to remedy this problem in post-processing, but wouldn't you rather get things right in the camera? This tutorial from Backcountry Gallery explains how it's done.

Instructor Steve Perry is a highly acclaimed nature shooter with this ambitious goal: "Providing the best wildlife photography tips and techniques on YouTube." In this four-minute episode he makes another bold claim: "I'll share an effective technique for improving your backgrounds in just three seconds."

As crazy as this sounds you'll likely change your mind after hearing him out and examining the impressive images in the video. The technique is one with which you may be unfamiliar; namely, by managing the angle of the focal plane you can accentuate the subject and deemphasize background clutter than may otherwise spoil a shot.

Perry discusses the science behind what's known as "the plane of focus," and he demonstrates how adjusting your angle will make subjects stand out by softening the background in a realistic way. He provides a number of detailed tips that work wonders in the blink of an eye—whether a subject is standing still or in motion.

The lesson flies by in a hurry so we suggest jotting down a few notes. Perry covers a lot of ground from depth-of-field, lens positioning, and subject isolation, to camera angles, eye-level and ground-level photography, and other key considerations.

You'll also see how sharpness combines with background blur to for spectacular wildlife imagery. After the video concludes be sure to check out Perry's instructional YouTube channel for more interesting outdoor photography tips and techniques.