How to create animal photography

Lead: Shooting wild animals is the highest pursuit of animal photographers, full of excitement and challenges. If you want to shoot those dangerous animals in the wild, you must ensure a certain safe shooting distance. At this time, those ordinary lenses are stretched, so we must choose a super telephoto lens with a focal length of more than 200mm in order to create animal-themed photographs in the wild environment with ease. In a sense, the longer the focal length of a photographer's lens, the more opportunities he will get in wildlife photography, which requires a lot of equipment investment and strong physique as a guarantee.

How to build a frame digital SLR camera for animal photography, the focal length conversion coefficient is about 1.5 times, and the equivalent focal length is longer, which can solve the dependence on telephoto lens to some extent. Having a super telephoto lens is not enough to complete the creation. Because the telephoto lens is huge and bulky, it can't be photographed by hand in the case of unsatisfactory lighting environment. You must use a tripod with a larger diameter and a heavier load to cooperate. After solving the problem of equipment, the most important thing for wildlife photography is to choose a suitable shooting location. In order to create the most authentic and natural photos, photographers should try their best to finish their creations without disturbing animals. Therefore, finding a suitable bunker is an important principle to choose the best shooting position. Wildlife photographers often wear camouflage clothes, and even paint their cameras and lenses with camouflage, hiding in the shadows of shrubs, grasses and trees and observing animals from a distance. In some well-known animal habitats and nature reserves, some shooting ranges are often delineated, and it is difficult to take clever photos when creating in these shooting locations. If you want to shoot really exciting works, you need to go deep into nature and shoot those original wild animals that have not learned to deal with humans.

Depth of field and blurring of foreground and background

The key to the success of wildlife photography is to blend animals and the environment well, show the state in nature, and at the same time stand out from the environment and become the center of the picture. In the face of huge carnivores, photographers often take long-distance shots with telephoto lenses, highlighting the subject by blurring the background. This is also the most common way of creation. Background is extremely important for a photo, and a clean background can naturally make the viewer's attention fall on the subject. The larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field and the more prominent the subject. The angle of telephoto lens is very small, so you can get a completely different background by moving it a little. The performance of corresponding background blur is to use foreground blur or foreground occlusion to shoot wild animals.

Use a dark background to create a contrast between light and dark.

In addition to the simple way of blurring the background, the contrast between dark background and bright animal subject is also a common form of animal photography composition. Shadows exist widely in nature. If the animal's hair is bright and illuminated by light, the scene in the shadow can be used as the background of the picture by choosing the shooting angle. At the same time, using the limited tolerance of digital SLR camera, the animals are photographed by spot metering, and the background of the picture will appear almost black.

Using light and shadow effect to express ecological scene

The charm of light and shadow can also be used to represent animal populations and shoot the overall ecological scene of habitats. In the strong light at noon, a group of flamingos huddled in the pool to rest. Photographers use spot metering to correctly expose flamingos in the picture, and the color effect is rendered by light, while darkening the background. At this time, flamingos of different colors form a color contrast. Because of the different light receiving surfaces, different parts of the bird also present unique textures and layers, which echo the reflection in the water. Under the precise exposure control, the picture shows a natural transition between light and dark from the water surface with the foreground illuminated to the background in the shadow. The photographer used the light and shadow effect to perfectly represent the ecological scene.

Waiting in animal photography

If you ask what is the key technique of animal photography, what is the answer? Wait? . Like waiting for perfect light in landscape photography, animal photography also needs perseverance and infinite patience. Waiting in animal photography requires perseverance, because waiting in animal photography is often futile compared with the light that will eventually appear in landscape photography with the passage of time. It takes perseverance and time that ordinary people can't imagine to take a picture of carnivores hunting. Because the probability of a specific event is not only low, but also the shooting time is fleeting and difficult to grasp. And this is the greatest charm of animal photography.

Static animal photos

Animal photography and sports photography have similar characteristics. In animal photography, static pictures show animal shapes, while dynamic pictures can make photos full of vitality. When taking pictures of static animals, the body and manner of animals are the key points to capture. If the theme is an animal population, then interaction and interrelation are the focus of description.

Dynamic animal photos

You can use aperture priority mode when taking still animal pictures. In order to achieve the best dynamic effect when shooting dynamic pictures of animals, shutter priority mode can be used. When taking photos with dynamic themes, pay attention to the accuracy of focusing. Focusing is not a problem for slow-moving animals, but it is more difficult for fast-moving animals. Tracking and focusing can be used to quickly capture dynamic images of animals. In addition to tracking camera settings such as focus and continuous shooting mode, we can also apply technologies such as high-speed synchronous flash to animal photography as needed. Right? Moving? Contrast can also be used to describe. If we can find a companion to set off the main body in the picture, then the expressive force of the picture can undoubtedly be enhanced by using the method of dynamic and static contrast. Let's talk about it, right? Moving? The description of the novel can also be reflected in some details. In this case, the zebra herd began to stir. Although the picture does not capture the movement form of zebra, the dust raised by horseshoe still makes the picture full of movement.

Show the integration of animals and the environment.

Animals can't live without their living environment. The integration of animals and environmental factors is helpful to express the living habits and living conditions of animals and better interpret the theme of eco-photography. In addition, it can also make the picture contain more information and even convey more connotation themes such as environmental protection. In this example, the photographer integrated penguins with the ice and snow environment in Antarctica. This picture is made up of dramatic dotted lines. Penguins are like a group of guardians of the world of ice and snow, enjoying themselves in the cold environment. This photo not only highlights the life characteristics of animals, but also adds visual impact to the picture with a beautiful background.

It should be emphasized that in animal photography, the environment is the supporting role of the picture after all, and the expressive force of the main body of the picture should not be affected by too many environmental factors.

Shoot the tacit understanding of different species.

Nature is a wonderful creator. Although many creatures belong to different species, they have a special relationship of interdependence and existence. In animal photography, there are few opportunities to capture this picture of harmonious coexistence and mutual help. In this case, a group of hippos gather leisurely in the water, and two birds who do not belong to this group rest on the back of the river. They can get along so well because this bird can help hippos prey on parasites on their skin. Thousands of years of evolution have enabled these two animals not only not to repel each other, but also to live in harmony. Photographers need to have a certain knowledge of zoology when taking photos of such subjects. They should be quick-eyed when they have the opportunity, and don't let the good opportunity slip away quietly.

Open composition shows close-up of animals

It is not common to shoot animals with close-up and open composition, which can create a strong visual impact. Close-up photos focus on capturing and depicting details. In framing and composition, animals can not only be extracted from the background, but also not included in its external contour, and can only show an expression, an action or a part of the body, and the part can be forcibly enlarged. This picture of seeing the big from the small and summarizing the whole from the local can arouse the imagination of the viewer and arouse people's rich associations.

Eyes are the soul. Like portrait photography, animal photography also emphasizes eye capture. Where there are eyes, there are gods, which is very suitable for use here. The five senses of animals are very different from those of humans. Sometimes only the eyes and nose will appear on the same focal plane. At this time, it is necessary to carry out reasonable framing and depth of field control in order to show the animal's expression, skin and hair texture incisively and vividly.

Shoot with a foldback lens

Folding lens is a sharp weapon in animal photography, and its application effect is also the best. In the long-distance and difficult bird shooting theme, the shooting effect brought by the cheap folding lens is often not much worse than that of the expensive ultra-telephoto fixed-focus lens.

Advantages of folding lens:

The focal length of 1 is 500mm or even longer.

Its volume and weight are much lighter and smaller than those of telephoto lenses with the same focal length.

Disadvantages of folding lens:

1 The imaging principle and internal structure of the folding lens are very special. There is an opaque fixing mechanism on the front lens surface, which reduces the amount of light entering, so its applicable aperture is relatively small and cannot be adjusted.

2 Manual focusing must be used.

3. The photos taken by Jiao Wai's foldback lens will have a circular blurred background, which will affect the image quality.

Shoot birds with a wide-angle lens

It is not whimsical to shoot birds with a wide-angle lens. In many parks, birds spend a long time with people and are not afraid of people approaching. You can take pictures of birds taking off with a wide-angle lens. Showing the picture of birds roaming in the blue sky with the perspective effect of near big and far small not only depicts the birds themselves, but also has many meanings such as longing and hope. This kind of successful works are often used in various commercial advertisements, which contains the meaning of pursuing ideals and forging ahead.

Shoot the flying posture of birds

Capturing the moment when birds fly is a big difficulty in animal photography, and it is also a shooting skill that must be mastered skillfully.

Most birds live in groups. When you come to the habitat of migratory birds, don't be busy shooting, but observe the rules of bird activities, such as flight trajectory, the foothold and formation of bird flight, whether there are behaviors such as predation, feeding young birds, mating, etc., so as to choose the most touching scene to shoot. Then, we should choose the best shooting location, preferably with wide field of vision and strong concealment, so as not to disturb the birds with the shutter sound of continuous shooting. Set the camera to tracking focus and continuous shooting mode. If the camera processing speed is slow, you can use JPEG format to increase the continuous shooting number. In addition, according to the focal length of the lens as close as possible to the target, the success rate of shooting with a tripod is higher. Then aim the camera at the parked bird, press the shutter halfway and start tracking and focusing. Generally, birds have preparations before taking off. Once the bird takes off, quickly move the picture to the airspace where the bird wants to fly, and press the shutter at the right time. It is best to choose a clean sky as the background of the picture. If you can capture the scene of birds flying with me, it is undoubtedly the most ideal.

Photographing animals in wetlands

Wetlands refer to natural or artificial, permanent or temporary marshlands, wetlands, peatlands or waters with still water or flowing water. Wetland, known as kidney of the earth, is an ecosystem with many unique functions and an ideal habitat for many animals and plants. Therefore, it is also a paradise for animal photography. In the wetland, due to the existence of water system, the ground, water flow and vegetation have rich colors and textures under the irradiation of morning and evening light. The most common animals in wetlands are birds, which prey on tiny insects or fish. In this kind of scene, the beautiful environment cannot be ignored by photographers. At this time, the ingredients of a single animal often look pale and weak. Using the compression effect of telephoto lens, the habitat and activities of birds can be photographed, and an original picture of animal life can be formed by combining the rich lines of wetlands. Photographers can also choose the ideal foreground and background to decorate the picture. In short, when taking pictures of animals in wetlands, adding more environmental elements can often get better picture effects.

Take a silhouette with the scenery

Using landscape photography to shoot animals can get works with beautiful artistic conception, unique perspective and vitality. Animals in the picture can be used as a composition element of landscape photography, which can be interpreted by silhouette effect under special light conditions.

For example, in the setting sun, sunset glow, backlight, beautiful silhouette light and other scenes, the theme of photos can often be enhanced, showing praise for life and nature. In composition, animal elements can be placed at the intersection of the golden section or the trisection. In this case, photographers use silhouette to shoot elephants in the sunset, which highlights the formal beauty of animals and makes the earth and the quiet atmosphere in the evening complement each other.