Today is World Photography Day, and to celebrate, we’re going to learn some tips on how to capture amazing wildlife images near you! Wildlife photographers work hard to capture beautiful animal images in their natural habitats without disturbing them. Sometimes, when they’re on assignment, camped out in disguises called “blinds,” they can sit and wait for animals for hours, even days! This means that they need to have patience and a great understanding of their subjects in order to capture beautiful images of them. Do you think you have what it takes to become a wildlife photographer?
For today’s eco-activity, let’s learn how to take amazing wildlife photos! Since World Photography Day and World Honey Bee Day line up perfectly with each other, today your assignment is to take a photo of one of our pollinator pals!
What you will need
- A phone or camera
- A wild place close by with lots of areas for pollinators
Tips for taking awesome photos!
- Make sure your subject is in focus. On a camera, this means either using the auto-focus settings, or if you’re in manual focus mode, adjusting the focus ring. Making sure that your subject is crisp and clear in the image is important for capturing a great photo! If you’re using a phone with a touch screen, you can tap on your subject before taking your photo to make sure that they’re in focus.
- Think about the foreground and the background of the picture, not just your subject. What’s in front and what’s behind your subject? Being attentive to your surroundings and framing your subject with a beautiful foreground and background can be the difference between an ok photo and a great one!
- Make your subject stand out! You can do this in many different ways. One way is by framing your subject so that there’s room wherever they’re going! If you’re taking a photo of an insect for instance, and they’re walking to the right, leave a little extra room on the right so that you can tell where your multi-legged friend is heading. This will help them stand out and draw the eye to your subject! You can also do this by using what’s called “depth of field” on a camera. By shooting at a low depth of field, you’re making sure that only your subject is in focus, and the background is blurry. This makes your subject stand out even more. Try using portrait mode on your phone if it has it for the same effect!
I actually made a blind. I really love to take wildlife photos. It helps people to understand nature and conservation.
I haven’t trued it yet.
the pic i took is of a ostrich