10 Essential Wildlife Techniques

Pro wildlife photographer Richard Peters reveals how to make the most of your images with these essential tips

- Richard Peters

Getting your subject within range of the camera is only half the battle. Once you’ve achieved that, then what? A viewfinder-filling subject seen through a telephoto lens isn’t a guarantee of success; it doesn’t matter how exotic the subject is, or if you’ve travelled for 20 minutes or 20 hours to see it, because there are a multitude of factors to consider before you press the shutter button. What are the lighting conditions like? How does the background look? What is the subject doing? Once you’ve considered these factors and you’re about to take the shot, the lighting suddenly changes and the subject starts to move. How quickly can you react to adjust your exposure or framing to suit the new and unexpected conditions? And should you now switch lenses to consider the scenery change as the subject moves through the landscape? Of course, it won’t always be quite as dramatic as that, but when you’re on a shoot these things should be running through your head as second nature. Being able to read the scene before you, and plan how to photograph it before even taking the camera out of the bag, gives you a huge advantage, and being able to react quickly will enable you to improve your portfolio significantly.

01 UNDERSTAND THE LIGHT

Knowing how to read the conditions is critical