Why we love wildlife photography
What is wildlife photography?
Wildlife photography is a genre of photography concerned with documenting various forms of wildlife in their natural habitat.
For many, wildlife photography is a business, a hobby or a passion. For many, wildlife photography is about going into the wilderness, exploring mysterious forests, diving un-explored seabed’s and discovering new species.
For us wildlife photography is everything. It is our way to study wild animals, to photograph them in their natural habitat, to observe their natural behaviour and finally to share all this information with everyone. We don’t take wildlife photography in a professional way. We don’t think about all the camera specs and all the “scientific” language and science of taking a photo. We just want to take a photo so we can share with others. Just that.
We divide our wildlife photography in 3 steps.
- Pre-travel
This first step is to prepare for the mission. We decide what animal we want to photograph and plan according to it.
- Animal Study
After deciding what animal we are looking for, we do some research about the animal.
We study the animal’s behaviour so we know what we want to photograph and how the animal will behave. This way we can try to predict the animal’s behaviour and know if they are stressed by our presence.
We study the animal’s location and habitat. This way we know what place to go see them and also where to look for them. If they prefer to be closer to water, deep into the forest or in the open field, we know where to look for them.
- Equipment necessary
This is the part we try to decide what equipment to take with us. The location is a big factor. Can we get there by car? If the answer is yes, then we might take more equipment in case we need it. If the answer is no, and it involves a lot of trailing through tough terrain then we take the minimum.
- Making a plan
Last part of the pre-travel fase is to make a plan. Plan what time to leave the house, how to approach the location without disturbing the animals and plan the amount of time we are going to be there (normally 2 more hours than we think we need).
- On the Location
The day has come, and it is time to photograph!
- Finding a spot to stay
First mission is to find a spot with a good cover and a good view for the subject. With our homework done we now know where we can expect our subjects to be.
- See the animal
The animal has arrived. First let it be comfortable with our presence. No noise should exist at this moment, no photos, no nothing!
- Forget all the plan and just enjoy the company of this amazing animal
This is the most important one. Feel so happy to see the animal that you just take photos. Forget all the plans! Enjoy the company of this beautiful animal and just be happy.
- After the photoshoot
After it is done, it’s time to see the results.
- See the photos
Past all the photos to the computer and check the results. Choose the ones we can use and then start doing a little of post-production.
- Question why we don’t have better photos
After the postproduction we start seeing that the photos aren’t the greatest in the world. Question what went wrong and then remember we are just trying to be perfect. But here is the beautiful thing, nothing is perfect.
That is wildlife for us. This is why we love it. For the adventure it gives us.
We wrote a blogpost on how to photography wildlife ethically last week. We will leave the link aqui.
We inspire because we care
Love,
Bea & João
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