part three

Part three in Nature Photography focuses on photographing wildlife in sense, and has three main sections of getting close to animals, catching animals in action, and capturing wildlife portraits. The first main section of this part goes over many points regarding getting close up to animals in their natural environments and strategies to do so. A lot of the techniques mentioned relate much to the strategies used in hunting as well. One of the most important things to do before going out and photographing wildlife is to study the natural history and background of the animals intended to shoot. The reasons why this must be done, is for the purpose of knowing how close you are able to get to an animal without disrupting their comfort zones and if not there is the risk of getting shots that are out of the animals natural being.
Sometimes there are animals that you need to keep around for hours or even days just to get them comfortable enough around you, so that they will loosen back up and act natural around you/the photographer. Other than stalking animals, there is always the option of using a blind which is best used on birds rather than mammals and should be strategically placed or used. A vehicle is a good blind because most animals are not intimidated by its appearance and does not present a huge threat. Also, depending on the distance from the animal, you may choose to either use a 700mm telephoto lens, or a standard 500mm lens. Sometimes baiting an animal with peanut butter and such items may be used, but that is optional depending on prided some photographers are.
The next section describes different ways to capture your subjects in action, within their natural habitats. Knowing your habitats is important for the knowledge that there are many wildlife refuges around everywhere, and with quick research it is easy to find where you need to be for certain species in their natural acts. Being on site early before the animal itself is up and moving is a good idea, because you will then be able to be in its habitat and catch their acts undetected with no disturbances to the animals natural acts. Finding your better angles and editing photos later is also another good way to get the actions shots you want and need, because for every second lost editing could be that second you need for that perfect shot. Knowing your camera is also important for example, when shooting smaller birds the camera needs to have a faster shutter speed in order to stop it in its motion.
While taking wildlife portraits it is important to know the advantages of using a telephoto lens and also there is a technique mentioned called the three-layer picture space. In the three-layer picture space there is a foreground, midground, and background. I think the most important part of this section lies in the anatomy of a wildlife portrait, which describes more than 17 different aspects that need particular attention while capturing a shot of a subject.