Getting Close/Animals in Action

Getting Close

Wildlife Rules:

If a subject is running/flying/swimming away from you as you approach... then stop moving towards them. Give your subject some space. Plan on spending some time at the place where you're wanting to capture a subject... let them come to you.

Do your homework:

Find out where your subject is going to be, the enviornment that they are usually at, at a certain time and wait there.

Keep your distance:

This is pretty self explanatory. :)

Stalking strategies:

"stay low, move slowly and quietly" when subject is not eyeing you.
Rest every once and a while, to make sure not to move up to quickly
get ready to shoot at any time

Don't Fence them in:

wildlife will feel threatened if you close them in, so avoid it at all cost. You could end up getting trampled, hurting the wildlife, or just losing a good shot.

Vehicles make good blinds:

Use your vehicle as camaflouge!

Peanut Butter Incentitives:

Some photographers like to use bait to bring their subjects to them. This is under your personal disgretion on whether this is ethical or not.

Animals in Action

Be on site before the sun sets:

This is crucial to good photography. Make sure to be there before the sun is setting and you can get some awesome photographs.

Lower that Tripod:

Get down to eye level to provide a more intimate, at their level, kind of feel.

Shoot first, edit later:

Don't be looking at your camera while you're in the field... you may miss some amazing shots!

Sharping your focus technique:

Use manual focus to focus an image that is in motion. It is often harder to try and use auto focus in these situations because the camera is usually not quick enough to pick out the spot of focus.

Build a stage to capture action:

There are many different techniques where you can "build a stage" if you know what a subject will do... to get some great photographs.