WILD LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY



Before anything, let me tell you I am not a wildlife photographer I have seen the lives of the wild life photographers closely This is more difficult than weddings, portrait and fashion... If you would want to listen to the the details of wild life photography from a professional wild life photographer this may not be the topics for you Secondly, this topic is not more about equipments,  we will discuss about that towards the end of the topic.


This will be more about the passion for wild life, the real meaning, what will be your life as a wild life photographer the kind of patience you need how do wild life photographers earn money How easy or difficult is wild life photography in today's date.. We will discuss about all these .     So, basically what is wildlife photography? Many people are confused. There are these workshops and safaris If you go in the safaris  and if you think you became a wildlife photographer may be you are not right. The wildlife photographers belong to a different breed. So then, whats wildlife photography? There is a natural habitat for an animal where it lives if we go to the place where they stay and try to make pictures keeping them in their own comfort zone this is wildlife photography When I say 'Animals' in the topic. you can include animals, birds and everything that you find in wildlife. 


So, whats the secret behind making beautiful pictures? There are 2 ways.... One is the click a very rare animal which people have hardly seen Meaning, if you are clicking a tiger, make sure its of a rare species something which is not seen in the media easily... get hold of such a subject or an animal which may be common but you are presenting it in a very different way. A unique picture, a unique expression, a unique pose which is probably not clicked by any other photographer. 


So, you can click in 2 ways. 

1. A unique subject 

2. Subject in a unique form when you do either of this your photo is going to stand out... As such , getting recognized as a wild life photographer is not easy but sometimes, people tend to get lucky. There is a possibility that a photographer may not have clicked all beautiful wildlife photos in his life but he may get lucky by clicking that one unique shot Say, that may be an entry to prestigious competitions like the one done by  National Geographic .... and he may overnight get recognition and just be lucky.... Once you are famous, there is a possibility that you get work and multiple assignments and you can pursue it as a career. 


But, lets assume you are not so lucky then you need a lot of patience. The way you keep your patience waiting for that animal to shoot. The same patience need to be shown to make it your career. You can do one thing..!! You want to make wildlife photography as a hobby, then, no worries If you feel, this is your passion you are ready to wait patiently until you get a recognition even that's ok... OR may be You may have to be a good businessman along with being a good wildlife photographer where and how to present your photos in itself is a talent. 


Now, lets assume you have patience you go to the wildlife to click pictures you wait for the animal the animal did not end up coming there you came back but you did not feel bad because you are a wildlife photographer wildlife photographers usually show such passion and patience.... You went there again.. waited for it again.. This time you were able to click a lot of photos of the animal but you ended up shortlisting  some three to four unique photos. 

Now comes the presentation skills.... Whether you upload them on Facebook or Instagram but people are not usually impacted by looking at a photo on the social media..... You have to do One among the two. You need to know a lot about that animal along with that photo, you need to share all the information about that animal. Most of us are not aware of more than 10-15 animals around us... When you write stuffs about that animal ... where it is found, what climate it is seen, its food habits etc.... When you write all these, people tend to show interest in reading it and will like it or in case its not a rare animal most people know about the animal in that case, its a good idea to write about your own experience telling people your experience of clicking the animal where you went, how many days/hours did you wait for it, what kind of place was it... If you share a story of that day along with that photo... even that is going to interest people,, These are the 2 ways you can touch hearts of the people with your photos... This was your presentation. 

Now we will talk about earnings.. As far as I know wild life photographers Some people make calendars, coffee table books Some wild life photographers are associated with governments for state tourism and wild life protection.. there are some of them, who after have a a couple of years into the wildlife, start with workshops and safaris... If you just want to start with wildlife photography going on a safari OR a workshop for a couple of times initially is absolutely fine but assuming that itself is wildlife photography may be wrong. What do we usually see in safaris A tiger is walking on the road A cheetah is walking on the road, tiger sleeping under a tree a zoomed in photo we have seen this a lot... we need something unique now not just that imagine multiple people in a group struggling to capture the same tiger you can imagine what would be the result.. whats the use? So, this is fine.... until you are learning. But don't assume you are a wildlife photographer now... because being a wildlife photographer is not an easy job. Now we know that we need a lot of patience for something like wild life photography mostly likely you wont get instant success unless you are associated with someone in the system , like an already established photographer. So, you need passion you need patience, A skill to create a unique photos. When  you need so much to become a wildlife photographer I feel entry level camera may not be the best option I feel good equipment's are equally important. 

So, when we think about equipment's we need to think about what are those important aspects  we need to keep in mind assuming we are going to shoot wildlife... I would recommend a full frame DSLR or a mirror less but in case of budget constraint then use a crop sensor One obvious thing is we usually don't go very close to the animal we click photos from far accordingly focal lengths also will be large. 

So, in case of prime lens we will have large focal lengths... like 300mm , 400mm... etc and when we think about zoom lens like how I have seen wild life photographers minimal focal length will be 100 100-400mm, 150-600 mm... such will be the focal ranges... we may need another thing... the tele converters .. they have the capacity of multiplying the zoom optically. Say, you are using a 300mm lens and you use a 2x tele converter you will be shooting at 600 mm... So , virtually you will be using a 600mm lens we get 1.4x and 2x Its upto you whatever is in your budget  and what you want to use... I feel you need a strong tripod to hold those long and heavy lenses. 

One more thing about animals is, the expression of the animals don't stay , they are quick and they are not posing.. it may just be there for a fraction of a second, so when you are waiting for  a particular expression or pose and if you are trying your luck with one click there is a possibility that the animal may have closed its eyes or made some weird pose... Lot of frames per second is required... So that we are able to click photos continuously and you will be able to select some nice poses apart from that you have no idea how alert the animals are the sounds of the mere movements of hands and legs also may alert them and you may lose them.. Silent shutter is very much needed. Mirror less cameras are being a solution for these things high FPS and silent shooting is there is mirthless. Also, I would suggest that an expensive lens and an expensive camera the combinations becomes a little difficult for beginners, I would request you to buy whatever regular camera equipment's you want to buy but when you are out to shoot the wild On that particular day, a good body, lens , tripod etc... can be rented.... When we are beginners, we will not be going out to shoot wild life on a daily basis what if you just get tired of going out and in a couple of months. So, you don't have to invest in such expensive equipment's... Just rent them.. after you have done this for 5-6 times... you will get a reality check  on your passion for wildlife and you will get to know what exactly you need for what you click... Then you can easily decide on the combination of body, lens and other accessories that you can buy and use for years to come. 

Which budget bodies are good, which premium bodies are good, what budget lenses and what premium lenses tripod , tele converters and all accessories details I have shared the corresponding links in the button. You can go and check it out...     Thank you so much