Nature Photography How To

If you’ve never tried your hand at wildlife photography, we hope to change that today, with the simple primer below that covers all the basics. You’ll pick up a variety of technical tips, shooting advice, and suggestions for finding appropriate subjects wherever you happen to be.

The first thing to know is that you needn’t go on safari in the wilds of Africa to capture beautiful images. There are great opportunities at local parks and bird sanctuaries, while you’re out for a drive or a hike, and even in the comfort of your backyard. You can start with small mammals or birds near your home, and hold off on African big cats until you’ve refined your skills.

British photographer Steve Hedges has a portfolio full of beautiful outdoor images—everything from landscapes and cityscapes to eye-popping wildlife photos. Today’s episode concentrates on the latter, and there’s a link beneath the video to his other wildlife photography lessons.

This 11-minute video is designed for beginners, and deals with the basics of camera settings and composition. Hedges also offers helpful tips for the type of subjects to choose and where they are likely to be found.

Hedges begins with technical tips for capturing sharp photos that are properly exposed. He explains how to arrive at a shutter speed that’s fast enough to eliminate camera shake and freeze action when photographing moving moving subjects. You’ll see how the setting you choose depends upon both the subject in question and the focal length of your lens.

After discussing focusing modes and other key camera settings Hedges moves on to composition, with some really helpful framing tips for making images that attract attention. The lesson concludes with a discussion of what Hedges says may be the most difficult task of all; namely finding interesting animals to shoot.

There are many more tips on all forms of outdoor photography on Hedges’ YouTube channel, so pay a visit and subscribe.

We also suggest you take a look at the tutorial we posted from another accomplished British photographer, with simple tips for beautiful backyard bird photos.