Wildlife and their habitat is like a dream world and being a wildlife photographer (Wildlife Photography) is one of the best ways to enjoy the wildlife and enter this awesome wildlife world. Now, I’m going to share my experience on what it takes to be a Wildlife Photographer and how to become a Successful Wildlife photographer in just 3 Crucial points!
To be a Successful Wildlife Photographer, You have to be a Wildlife Lover!
I would like to start by saying ‘Getting a camera’ is not the starting point of becoming a wildlife photographer. The meaningful starting point to become a wildlife photographer is to be a wildlife lover. Unless you love what you photograph, you can never be a successful wildlife photographer. Let me explain that – think about a situation when a stranger asked you to click a picture of him/her and a situation when you are clicking a picture of your Loved ones. Obviously, you would enjoy while taking a picture of your loved one and you would be creative, excited and be at your best. This applies to the Wildlife Photography as well.
Know Your Wildlife Photography Kit well!
Get yourself a decent Camera for Wildlife Photography. There are so many options but here is my tip to select your kit. If you are a bird photographer, you need at-least a 500mm lens. If you want to capture action shots – you need at-least 7 frames per second capable camera. Similarly, for the type of photography you have to set the key functions you need and then select your kit. You can get a decent wildlife photography kit within 50-70K INR and you can go upto 15,00,000 INR. Which ever camera you have, unless you understand the functions, strengths and limitations of your kit, you can’t get the most out of it.
I’m not going to discourage you to start with an expensive camera and lens, but Expensive Gear alone won’t give you the outcome you expect!
So, don’t get disappointed if you don’t get what you expect on day 1. Keep trying you will reach there. Wildlife Photography needs a lot of patience and perseverance.
Top Wildlife Photographers will Travel a Lot and know Animal Behaviours!
The most crucial part of your journey as a Wildlife Photographer is to travel a lot and learn animal behaviours. Only when you know their behaviours, you can wait for those moments and capture them. You may be so excited to just photograph a Tiger or a Lion for the first time. Think about you doing the same thing for years, you will get bored, slowly you would disengage from wildlife photography. Just look at the below Wildlife Moments from Wild Indian Jungles, all are taken with the theme of Love in Wildlife, the way they express and behave. Isn’t these wildlife moments mesmerizing? Waiting, Chasing, Capturing and Enjoying these kind of special wildlife moments would certainly keep you excited as well make you a great wildlife photographer.
Wild Love | Wildlife Moments expressing Love and Care
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About the Author:
Alvis Lazarus is a Wildlife Photographer from Nazareth. Top Shot Winner 2017 (National Geographic) and Your Photo Winner 2017 (BBC Wildlife). Alvis’s work is published in Nat Geo, BBC Wildlife and Conde Nast Traveller Magazines. See his work here: Instagram | Facebook | Website
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