Andrew Goodall is a nature photographer based in Australia.
His vast experience in landscape and wildlife photography make him an expert in this area. The tips you are getting are some of the basic things you need to know when trying to photograph wildlife, but don’t let that fool you. If every shot you take has all of these 3 things right, you’ll never get another average wildlife shot again.
It’s all in the eyes.
The personal connection mentioned in tip #1 is really about eye contact, so it is important to get the eyes right. If the eyes in your wildlife photo are sharp and clear, the photo will probably work. If they are out of focus, lost in shadow, or if the subject blinks or turns its eyes away, the connection will be lost, and the photo will almost certainly fail.
You don’t even need your whole subject to be in focus. Your animal could be mostly hidden by leaves, in shadow and out of focus. The picture could still work…as long as the eyes are open and captured sharply in the picture.
If the background doesn’t help, get rid of it.
Many wildlife photos are spoiled because the background is cluttered, distracting, ugly, or just plain inappropriate. For example, seagulls on a beach can be quite beautiful, but seagulls at the local rubbish tip is a different matter. Also, wildlife photos look far less natural if you can tell they were taken in a zoo. Apply this principle: “Anything that does not make my photo better makes it worse.”
Capture your subject in the best possible light.
Even the most perfectly composed wildlife photo can fail because of bad lighting. Losing your subject in the shadows, glare reflecting off shiny feathers, and shadows across the face of the subject are all simple mistakes that can ruin a photo.
There is no single rule for lighting in a wildlife photograph, but here are some suggestions. I often find the best results when the sky is lightly overcast with thin cloud. This produces light that is bright, but soft and even compared to full sunlight. Your subject will be well illuminated, but you avoid harsh contrast and heavy shadows that rob the image of important detail. If the weather is sunny, try to take your photos early and late in the day when the sun is low.
Read the full article with even more tips over at Picture Correct.
Source: Picture Correct
