SHOOT WONDERFUL WILDLIFE ALL YEAR

If you have a passion for animals and the great outdoors, why not combine the two and take amazing wildlife pictures all year round? Dan Mold shows you how…

- Dan Mold

f/2.8

1/2.500

SEC ISO 800

Follow our expert tips and techniques and you’ll soon be able to capture great shots like this one of a puffin on Skomer Island, Wales, taken using a 300mm f/2.8 lens

Wildlife photography is an incredibly rewarding genre that allows you to get out into the great outdoors with your camera and take fantastic images of the animals you love. While some species can be trickier to photograph than others, in this feature we’ve set out some expert tips and tricks that will make it easier to take amazing shots of wild animals in the UK all year round (the skills covered here can be applied wherever you are, even if the wildlife differs), from rabbits and hares in the spring, seabirds in the summer, deer fighting for dominance in autumn’s rutting season, or even snow-covered British red squirrels and foxes in the middle of the winter.

Finding a location where you can see the animals you wish to photograph is a key first step, and thanks to local wildlife Facebook groups, blogs and forums it’s easier than ever to find habitat hotspots. You’ll need to get permission to shoot on private property such as a farmer’s field, but it’s worth putting in the hard yards to discover good locations, as you’re likely to be returning to them for years to come. And you don’t even have to travel – to hone your wildlife photography skills you can always set up a makeshift hide in your garden near a bird feeder.

We’ll also look at the essential gear you’ll need to take great wildlife shots, and a whole lot more besides.