This is an article by the guest author Alvaro de Aymerich in which, to celebrate World Animal Day yesterday, he offers essential tips to prepare your next photograph of animals.
Animal photography is surely one of the most complicated and least recognized modalities of the public, I always talk about wildlife, of course, but this brings a satisfaction that is difficult to explain in words.
- I say that little is recognized because.
- In my experience.
- When someone sees a photograph of an animal.
- It generally ignores all the work that that photo does and therefore appreciates it less than it should.
In this article I will try to give some guidelines or recommendations that I have learned to address a type of photography that gives a lot of joy, but also a significant percentage of failed sessions.
By photographing wildlife in a country where hunting is so widespread, the approach to the species becomes the main problem.
Most of them are optional for humans and generally have good reasons to be, there is a large percentage of species called hunters, that is, they can be legally hunted, so if they see you with a telephoto lens, they usually do not pose. for you (there are always exceptions, of course).
Most mammals have twilight or directly nocturnal habits, and birds are generally just as elusive when they see us.
To overcome this obstacle and take your most awesome wildlife photos, I’ll share my tips.
The first step to getting a good shot, in my experience, should be to try to know everything about the species you want to photograph: customs, food, places where you usually live, etc. ?I even sing in birds; We will often listen to them without being able to see them and know how to recognize them singing helps a lot.
Once you know the species you have to look for the animal you want to photograph, here is the fieldwork, if we talk about mammals we will have to know how to recognize traces, traces of droppings, etc. in the case of birds, binoculars and a lot of patience.
Which brings me to the next point. Patience and perseverance should be an important part of the work from now on, some species are easier to immortalize than others and it will take fewer days, but in general (I’m talking about what I’ve been through, but also what other colleagues have), many sessions end up being a failure and you go home empty-handed and don’t feel very good.
It’s important to know that this is going to happen and not get discouraged, the day you get the picture you wanted, all those bad days you forget.
From there a wide range of options opens up, but in almost all cases with a common factor, hiding is essentially a place to hide at an optimal distance to be able to take a good photo, it will be a place where it will be hot, cold and you will have to be still. Always silent, silent for many hours.
There are many options to install a hideout, you can buy it, use tents, or even install it yourself (respecting the flora of the place, without cutting branches or damaging) and always with the corresponding permissions if you do. protected areas or private farms.
The permissions issue is a little confusing and you would need a full article to clarify it. Another time, we’ll go back to him if you ask.
Normally, before installing the skin, a feeder or feeder must be installed so that the animals you want to photograph get used to spending every day.
It can also be installed near a common innkeeper you have already seen use.
Other skin modalities, usually designed for waterfowl and with which very attractive photographs are, are tumbing skin and hydro skin.
In both cases, the principle is to lower the plane from which we take the photographs and put ourselves at the level of the animal’s eyes, getting much more spectacular photographs.
In the case of flipped skin, consisting of lying on the edge of a lagoon or lake in an area through which the birds pass, the hydropiel is a structure that floats in the water in which the chamber is placed and you can photograph aquatic species difficult to observe from the shore, with a much more attractive view than the typical aircraft with holes (from above).
As you can see, the time spent photographing animals is very important, not everyone can afford the number of hours it takes to have a good session or maintain a feeder or drinker.
This is where professional skins come into play, they have all the work done before filming and you just go on stage and enjoy the session, this is an excellent option to get close to species that are difficult to observe or that require a lot of time. Approach.
On the contrary, and this is a personal opinion, we lose that satisfaction that we have when we see a cliché and know all the work behind it: the unproductive sessions that led you to this photo, even the bond that is established with the animals. Photos?
In Spain there are few audiences (for example in Gallocanta to photograph cranes or in the Pyrenees for BoneBreaker), also many private, with all the necessary permits to carry out the activity and, in my experience, with highly qualified people.
Although I don’t use these aspects much, the times I did, the experience was excellent.
All this must always be done with respect for the species to be photographed and those that inhabit the environment in which you will carry out the sessions, a photograph is never worth more than endangering the life of an animal, taking it away or destroying its habitat.
This type of photography is attractive because it gives you the opportunity to share unique moments and encounters that are very difficult to live otherwise; If you also take a good photo that immortalizes this moment, is satisfaction difficult to explain?
Finally, I would like to put you in touch with the code of ethics of ASAFONA (Aragonese Association of Nature Photographers), an association to which I belong, to serve as a guide for what I consider an example of how to carry animal photography.
This article is an article by Aymerich’s urban, landscape and wildlife photographer. You can follow his work on his website.
If you also want to participate as a guest author, click here
Did you like the article? Thank Alvaro for his advice sharing the article on your favorite social network so others can enjoy your fantastic work and experience, thank you and see you soon.