Image by Steve Bloom

Once you’re bitten by the wildlife photography bug, chances are you’ll want to explore further afield. It takes persistence and patience to get close to wild animals – and naturally, a long lens helps too.

However, good fieldcraft and an understanding of animal behaviour make a bigger difference to successful shots than an expensive piece of glass.

Researching your subject is vital. Knowing what time of day that a species will be active, or how good its eyesight or sense of smell is, will all help you to be in the right place at the right time.

The internet is an essential tool in this respect, allowing you to get up-to-the-minute details on the location of winter spectacles, such as mass gatherings of wading birds at the coast, or the spectacular aerial displays of roosting starlings inland.

There are a range of approaches to getting within frame-filling distance of animals and birds in the field, but perhaps the most effective is by using a hide. Talk to local landowners and farmers about the possibility of leaving one set up in a suitable spot on their land, as this way it’s likely to be undisturbed by the public.

Image by Mark Hamblin

The right clobber

If you’re planning on tracking animals on foot, kit yourself out in the right gear. A cottage industry has built up around the specific needs of wildlife photographers and filmmakers, although army surplus stores are good for the basics.

You’ll need quiet, rustle-free clothing, ideally covered with a suitable camouflage pattern – although this is by no means essential. Zips and popper fastenings are far preferable to noisy Velcro, and there should be enough decent-sized pockets to enable you to keep all your camera accessories with you when stalking.

Naturally, the longer your lens, the more distant you can be and still get shots with impact. You should use a monopod to support a large lens when you’re stalking, as it is more manoeuvrable than a tripod – it can also be used to support you when the going gets boggy!

PAGE 1: Why you want to get close to animals
PAGE 2: Key techniques for getting close to wildlife
PAGE 3: How to set up a hide
PAGE 4: How to shoot from a car window

READ MORE

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Great shots with superb composition and perfect metering can be easily totally ruined by a lack of sharpness. Fortunately, making sure that your shots are consistently sharp is relatively easy if you follow a few simple rules…

Great shots with superb composition and perfect metering can be easily totally ruined by a lack of sharpness.

Fortunately, making sure that your shots are consistently sharp is relatively easy if you follow a few simple rules. Use our simple four-step guide and you’ll be a real sharp shooter and you need never bin another blurry shot…

1. Use a tripod whenever possible

Our number one rule is to always use a tripod if you think you‘re going to be shooting at shutter speeds lower than your lens‘ focal length (so / 25 sec for a 00mm lens). Yes it‘s a bit of a hassle but it‘s worth it. Don‘t raise the centre column, or your tripod will effectively turn into a less stable monopod.

2. Shutter speed is essential

Selecting the correct shutter speed and aperture combination is vital. Use Shutter Priority mode and start with a minimum shutter speed of around / 25 second. If it‘s still too dark, bump up the camera‘s ISO setting so you can stick to a faster range of shutter speeds. If your camera has a mirror lock setting, then switch that on too.

3. Brace it!

If it‘s not possible to use a tripod, look for a natural camera rest instead. Brace yourself against a pillar, tree or wall and tuck your arms into your chest while controlling your breathing. Make sure you press the shutter in a smooth movement – don‘t jab it.

4. Stabilisation

If your camera has image-stabilisation feature then switch it on. Stabilisation means you can shoot at slower shutter speeds while reducing the risk of camera shake. Remember, though, image stabilisation won‘t reduce any blur caused by people moving in the shot.

Lugging your tripod over field and glen between suitable shooting locations is tedious. Taking your camera off your tripod and packing it away in its holdall may seem like the safest option, but as light and scenery changes, picture taking opportunities can rear up out of nowhere. Having your gear ready to rumble will encourage you to take that award-winning shot.

Lugging your tripod over field and glen between suitable shooting locations is tedious.

Taking your camera off your tripod and packing it away in its holdall may seem like the safest option, but as light and scenery changes, picture-taking opportunities can rear up out of nowhere.

Having your gear ready to rumble will encourage you to take that award-winning shot.

1. Over the shoulder

The best way between short stops in the field. Ready to rock and roll without messing around for every composition.

2. One hand carry

Excellent for longer jaunts, or in cities where tripods are a menace. Angle the lens upwards to prevent knocks.

3. Hands free

Tackle rough terrain by tucking the tripod underneath your backpack‘s front straps. Sit the lens on your shoulder.

A photo of a running stream, a babbling brook or a cascading waterfall can be transformed from a mere snap into an atmospheric masterpiece. This can be done simply by slowing the camera’s shutter speed so that the water is turned into a smooth and flowing ribbon of liquid. The effect is easy to achieve and even newcomers to photography can enjoy the creative possibilities that this technique can offer.

A photo of a running stream, a babbling brook or a cascading waterfall can be transformed from a mere snap into an atmospheric masterpiece.

This can be done simply by slowing the camera’s shutter speed so that the water is turned into a smooth and flowing ribbon of liquid. The effect is easy to achieve and even newcomers to photography can enjoy the creative possibilities that this technique can offer.

Essential gear

ND Filter –

Cuts down the amount of light reaching the camera sensor and enables slower shutter speeds.

Tripod

- A vital tool for long exposures. Get a sturdy model with enough adjustable height and stability

Remote release -

To reduce the possibility of any camera shake, a remote release should be used.

What will happen if I don‘t use an ND filter?

Either you won‘t get a slow enough shutter speed or your image will be overexposed.

Shake-free photographs

Using a tripod in the field is essential in order to keep the surroundings super-sharp while the water becomes creamy with movement. As exposures will run into seconds, rather than fractions of, you‘ll need to ensure it‘s sturdy and stable.

The best shutter speed?

The length of time the shutter is open will dictate how the water looks on the final image. It all depends on the speed the water is flowing really, but anything above 1/500 sec will freeze the action while dropping it down to 1/160, the movement starts to show.

Want to improve your landscapes simply and effectively? Of course you do! Returning from your weekend roaming around the Scottish Glens or High Peak, you want people to look at your images and make them feel as though theyíre standing in the middle of that wonderful scenery.

Want to improve your landscapes simply and effectively? Of course you do!

Returning from your weekend roaming around the Scottish Glens or High Peak, you want people to look at your images and make them feel as though theyíre standing in the middle of that wonderful scenery.

Adding interesting foreground will help you achieve that reaction. It intensifies context, enhances composition and really puts the viewer slap bang in the terrain. Without foreground, your photos will become flat and two-dimensional.

Adding some interest at the foot of your frame not only drags the viewer into the scenery, but it also adds that alluring third dimension ñ depth.

Beautiful backdrops

The best method of training yourself to shoot more foreground is to try and think of your landscape shots first and foremost as pictures of something in the foreground, but with the most beautiful and stunning backdrop. And finding the right foreground for your landscape doesn’t have to be a quest for the Holy Grail.

Simple common features such as rocks or mosses can be used as foreground on even the most barren landscapes, as long as you compose low and with the camera angled slightly downwards.

Of course, you donít have to shoot ultra wide-angle all the time to capture great foreground. Use the compression effect of shooting on a standard (50mm) or short telephoto lens (around 70- 20mm) and look for natural depth where hills and mounds intersect each other.

Framing your shot so there’s an area of interest at the bottom of the frame acts as an anchor. It will give the viewer something to fix on and allow their eyes to wander up, drinking in the beautiful landscape as they go.

Top tips for the best foregrounds Fantastic foreground ideas to help you create amazing landscapes

1. Look for lines

Foreground that exhibits lead-in lines travelling towards the centre of the frame is a sure-fire winner. Be sure to keep an eye out for any ploughed fields, paths, rocky outcrops or streams that will lead in the eye with ease.

2. Happy aperture

To bring out the detail in your foreground without risking an unsharp background, use a small aperture between f/18 and f/22 and focus a third into the frame, concentrating explicitly on the foreground.

3. Feel the texture

Strong raking morning or evening light will bring out the exciting detail in divots and mounds on even the most boring grassy field. Shoot early and late to capture this wonderfully natural texture in your photos.

4. Colour it in

Look for colour in foregrounds to help create a visual pathway into your photos. Fields of rich red poppies in an English summer landscape or strands of vivid green seaweed on a coastal sunrise will do the trick.

5. The low down

Getting down low and framing with your tripod fixed at its lowest setting will ensure you take in plenty of foreground. Use the Rule of Thirds to place the horizon in the top third of the frame and let the foreground take up the bottom third.

It’s often the case that the common sense approach can solve most of your problems, but sometimes it falls prey to overthinking. If you’ve got yourself a hide, then this simple set of steps will have you well prepared for getting great nature shots.

1. Shut up, keep still

Prevent your subject from seeing and hearing you. Keep the noise and movement from you and your SLR to a minimum.

2. Stay out of the sun

Make sure the sun‘s behind or to the side of you as shooting directly into the sun can result in underexposed images.

3. Leave it a while

Position your hide a few days before you intend to use it as this will enable wildlife time to become accustomed to its presence.

4. Blend your barrel

Try to disguise your lens barrel with some camouflage netting and vegetation to make it less obtrusive.

5. Keep your distance

A 300mm lens is probably the minimum focal length for wildlife photography in order to achieve good-sized images.

There’s nothing better than checking the LCD on your camera after a shot to reveal amazing composition and light. And there’s nothing worse than checking the sharpness back home on the computer and seeing a blurred and wasted frame. Sharpness is everything and lack of it is one thing that can wreck an otherwise fine shot.

There’s nothing better than checking the LCD on your camera after a shot to reveal amazing composition and light. And there’s nothing worse than checking the sharpness back home on the computer and seeing a blurred and wasted frame. Sharpness is everything and lack of it is one thing that can wreck an otherwise fine shot.

Sharper images are a combination of many factors. Some things you wonít be able to control, such as the quality of glass in your lens, but the good news is that the majority of factors are in your hands with disciplined shooting techniques and the right gear.

Ever heard the phrase ‘buy cheap, buy twice’? Well this has never been truer than for camera equipment. Tripods and monopods should be sturdy, heavyweight and well-constructed bits of kit. They should be able to hold your camera and lens without feeling rickety. Find a tripod or monopod suited to your camera kit and needs by taking your gear into a shop and trying them out.

Better pictures and sharper images are also the result of good techniques. Choosing the correct shutter speed, one which is greater than the focal length you’re shooting, and knowing your own hand-holding threshold will instantly transform your photography. Bracing against trees, walls or buildings will all help to get sharper pictures whenever you shoot without a tripod, regardless of shutter speed.

Using a smaller aperture and accurate focusing will help to keep your photos pin-sharp from front to back when shooting landscapes or vast cityscapes. Use a combination of the right gear and the best techniques to improve your success rate and you’ll soon be coming home with the sharpest images you’ve ever taken.

Top tips for sharp pictures

Tripods

Avoid extending the centre column and if you’re shooting at waist level always collapse the lower, thinner legs first.

Lens quality

Always buy the best glass you can afford and check it out before you buy.

Handholding

Invest in a battery grip to make portraits format pictures easier to take.

Shutter speed

Shoot at a shutter speed that’s greater than the focal length you’re shooting. That means if you’re using a 500mm lens your shutter speed should be a 1/640sec.

Sweet spot

Shoot around your lens’ ‘sweet spot’, which is about f/8 or f/11. It’s best to avoid extreme apertures such as f/22 or f/2.8.

Focusing

Focus a third of the way into the frame for sharper landscape pictures.

Bracing

Walls, fallen trees, fences or even your mateís shoulder can be used to lean on and take steadier pictures.

Getting good garden wildlife shots can be made a lot simpler with a few basic tips. By using the right kind of feeder and a bit of a bit of fruit you’ll be able to attract more life to your garden images. We show you not only what to feed birds and butterflies, but how to present their food for the best possible pictures.

Feed birds with a flat wire feeder

These are better than tube feeders because they enable more birds to feed at once and are also completely squirrel-proof. Terry makes his, which cost less than £5, from a sheet of small gauge-wire mesh measuring 100x50cm.

The mesh is folded in half and crimped along the side edges. He fills it with peanuts and folds over the top. As well as birds that come to feed, the shower of broken peanut pieces on the floor will attract the odd badger.

Put bird food mix into bark

Feeding from drilled holes in an old tree trunk or a log is a good idea, as youíll have a natural-looking backdrop. Terry makes his feed, which camouflages in with the bark, using 500g of lard, 700g of bird peanuts and 100g of wholemeal flour blitzed together in a food processor to make a paste.

Usual diners include tits, woodpeckers, magpies, jays and nuthatch, and wood and yellow-necked mice at night.

Attract butterflies with plums

Fermenting plums are useful attractants for butterflies, particularly red admirals. As well as moths, including our most beautiful, the red underwing, which can be seen flying in September. They like to get quite merry on the alcoholic plum juice.