PHOTOGRAPHING FAUNA

Photographing wild and semi-wild animal is one of the most requiring areas of photography. For taking pictures of animal, one needs to keep a lot of patience and also a little amount of onwards planning is valuable. Though this area of photography is grueling but the results achieved can surely make it worthwhile. For most of the people it is not possible to travel to the areas befitted for photography of threatened species, but some may live in the reach of a farm, safari or a wildlife park. Many different species can be located in the Wildlife Parks and safaris.

Photographing wild animals

1. Before taking a shot, one must give sometime in observing the nature and behavioral aspect of an animal; you must see whether the animal gets easily startled or is it moving in an unvarying direction.
   
   
2. Always select a viewpoint with some interesting element in the background. Background can definitely help in giving a distinct appearance to the picture.
   
   
3. One needs to be very patient while taking photograph of an animal. Gesticulating or speaking loudly can make it run away from you or it can pounce on you. Discomfiting an animal can prove to be dangerous. They may seem docile to you, but note that they are wild. It is always better if you avoid teasing and bothering the animal.

Above - safari parks provide ample opportunity for photographing wildlife. A telephoto lens is essential as animal like this lion can only be photographed from a safe distance.

Above - if taking a photograph in a safari or wildlife park or zoo, a natural image is perfectly possible as long as the background includes relevant vegetation rather than an unsightly man-made intrusion.  A close-up shot can be obtained without frightening the animal by using a 100mm lens.

Above - this shot was taken from a low viewpoint with a wide-angle lens. This produces a dramatic image of the sky. By getting into the position and being patient it is relatively easy to obtain effective and at times amusing shots of certain animals, whose natural curiosity, eans that they eventually come close to the camera for a better look. In this shot, the shutter was fired when the cow was about 3 ft (1 m) from the camera.