Camera technique
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Go on a local safari
ABOVE & BELOW Apotential project to try now before they disappear is to capture signs of the lockdown
You don’t need to go far to shoot wildlife. In fact, with the right technique and gear, you don’t even need to leave your garden. (But now you can if you want to, thankfully.) So if you want some animal action close to home it’s time to hit the parks, reserves, riverbanks and woods. So, is fieldcraft or gear more important? Well, the best wildlife photographers employ both, but that doesn’t mean you need to spend weeks sitting in a ditch waiting for that one perfect specimen or spending a fortune on a super telephoto lens. Fieldcraft is really about getting closer to the subjects you’re shooting. And, for starters, you can improve yours simply by slowing down. If you act in a predatory way, wildlife will think you’re exactly that. Get into your location and take a seat or lie down so you’re shooting at the same level as the subjects. The longer you wait, the less interested animals will be and the closer they’ll come. Outdoors, dress sensibly – plain grey, brown, green and black clothing is fine. When it comes to shooting, keep your shutter speed up to 1/500sec and more. This will help you freeze movement and will offset any shake, which can soften pictures when shooting with a long lens. Boost your ISO if you need to, as it’s better to have a grainy picture than a blurred
Start an outdoor project
Throughout the lockdown, The Photography News Podcast has been suggesting lots of home shooting project ideas, but now’s the chance to broaden your horizons and take on some outdoor projects, too. So what are you going to do? Because of limitations, projects still need to be done close to home, but there are plenty of great things you can get up to in your own town. How about something based on the emerging economy of your town as it gets back to normal? You could shoot a series of street-style pictures on market days – of course, while following social distancing guidelines. If you want something less people-based, there’s plenty to
shoot when it comes to street furniture or architecture. Try something that will have longevity and take on more importance over the years, like documenting the shop fronts of your town. Or you could try shooting the same local landmark from a variety of views. The most important thing is to find something that really inspires you. And when you do, why not put a cherry on top of your lockdown project by finishing it off in a book or a set of prints? After all, if you’ve followed something to completion, you should give it the treatment it deserves and show it off to as many people as possible! Check out this month’s Buyers’ Guide, where you’ll find our pick of printing services.
ABOVE Sit quietly on a park benchwith your camera at the ready and local wildlife will come to you.With birds, you can always entice themwith some food. Or just use the longest lens in your armoury and practise your fieldcraft skills
one. And if you have image stabilisation, use it. As for lenses, longer models will always give you a better chance of filling the frame. Super telephoto zooms like Sigma’s 150-600mm or 60-600mm are
a great solution for wildlife. But remember that it’s not all about creating ‘portrait-style’ images – if you don’t have quite the reach you need, use the limitations of the lens to add context to the animals’ environment.
NEXTMONTH Shoot all day and all night
Go to photographynews.co.uk for more Summer Festival content. This month, find out how to shoot stitched panoramas, plus how to take great shots of the sunset, safely
12 Photography News | Issue 78
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