Ellie Rothnie is one of the UK’s most likeable and influential wildlife photographers. Her career has been built on hard work, professionalism, and her ability to plan. As a Canon ambassador, Ellie has used the brand to capture nature from the beginning, and her journey has taken her from “office worker” to adventures around the world.
Ellie believes that creative style is instinctive and cannot be taught, but it can be encouraged through self-exploration. Her approach is driven by her passion and curiosity for nature and being outdoors. Through her workshops and guidance, she nurtures this passion and inspiration in others, encouraging them to see for themselves rather than follow the rules.
We chatted with her again five years after her last interview in PhotoPlus, to find her professional career at new heights but her warmth and gentleness were unchanged. Discover how Ellie prioritises philanthropy and potential growth, her technical approach – and why the basics of photography are still important – and why having a love for animals will see you through your career.
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Ellie Rothnie is a nature photographer, tour leader, and guide based in the UK. Her career began in marketing and advertising, but in 2007, she started focussing on her passion for wildlife photography, and by 2016 had become a full-time pro. In October 2023, Ellie was appointed a Canon Ambassador for the Canon EMEA region, an achievement she is very proud of having photographed with Canon gear all her life. Ellie’s work has won numerous international competitions, she is widely published in national press and magazines and is a judge for the RSPCA's Young Photographer Awards, Travel Photographer of the Year, and British Wildlife Photography Awards. She is also a regular blogger & seminar presenter for WEX Photo Video. Ellie is in her 11th year as a tour leader with Natures Images, the UK's leading wildlife photography trip company, as well as co-leading several trips with one of Europe's most respected herpetologists at NatureBG.
You turned professional in 2016. What was it that made you leap?
That's when I left my so-called corporate office job, and before that, you probably would call me a semi-pro because I was already earning money from two different sources – the marketing side and the photography. I’d been guiding for a few years up until that point, and writing articles. Buying new lenses and gear with my income. Ultimately, it was an itch, and you have to scratch an itch, don't you? I've never looked back, and I’ve been full-time for eight years.
Tell us about your job as a wildlife photographer. Is your key focus leading the tour?
My job involves a lot of workshops and photographic guiding, but a lot of writing, blogging, seminars, competition judging... I think you just have to take as much as you can. When I first went full-time, for the first year I felt so busy. But then looking at my earnings, I thought, “Oh, okay, let's have a look at this.”
I set my time into three columns; one was called philanthropy, one was called opportunities for now and another one was areas to work on - potential opportunities going forward. I was then pretty hard-nosed, because anything that didn't fit in there, I turned down. It sounds a bit brutal, but it's helped me focus and get everything done.
It doesn’t sound brutal. As a freelancer, you can be pulled in many directions, and it’s hard without a corporate structure to know where to focus. It just emphasises that photography is as much about the business side as the creative.
That’s right. Having come from working in companies, a lot of those life and business skills were there already. You’ve got to work out how to build your brand, market yourself, and sell your services and the only big difference is that now you're doing it for yourself. It's been a godsend to have that experience behind me.
How do you approach workshops? You must have to adapt your teaching style for individuals to thrive.
Absolutely. The photographers all have different skills, backgrounds, and (probably not best to mention in a Canon magazine) different camera brands. It's been fed back that I'm very gentle in terms of my approach. I don't shout at anyone or dictate settings, but I ask people what they want to get out of it.
One person might want everything in focus, and another person wants something that's a lot more artistic and so we're down at f/2.8. I can guarantee that even if we're standing in front of the same subject, with 8-10 photographers, everybody will tell you something different because we all interpret what we're seeing differently.
So it’s more about the art of seeing. How do you teach that?
It's going to a spot and saying, “What do you see?” I'll take a quick shot or something and show it to them on the back of the camera. Then we’ll break down what it is they want to capture, be it a behaviour or using the weather in a certain way. It’s such a subjective thing, though.
People often try to copy or emulate the work of photographers they admire when starting, whereas your approach sounds more organic. How do you find your creative style?
My approach is more instinctive than planned, and I think that comes with time. I always say to beginners, to take a look around, and follow people’s work, but use it as an inspiration. That's where I started 20 years ago, working with other people in the industry who I admired and sucking it all up. Finding a creative style is a million-dollar question. You can’t teach it.
What you can do is encourage people to explore themselves. I've talked about this so much recently, but if you feel it in the heart, then it's right for you. As photographers, we all evolve, as technology, trends and our skills improve. But there’s no right or wrong way because photography is an expression, a view of yourself.
Is it important to learn the basics of photography?
You should understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO, how the exposure triangle works and creative concepts like the rule of thirds. These are all helpful guidelines and you can go out and break them. But appreciate what they are, play with them and understand them so you can make your own decisions.
We're all taught about the importance of backgrounds being nice and clear and not distracting, for example. But I like shooting through things in the foreground as well. It's interesting when you're teaching people how to do this because you're saying “Get down as low as you can”. But then the camera’s still pointing at an angle and I'm pushing them down even lower.
Wildlife photography requires planning, whether going to a certain habitat or checking the weather. But I sense you don’t have a strict idea about what you want from a shoot, which leads to a more open mind.
I do carry ideas around in my head, and I might have something there for five or even 10 years. But it's more about “one day if this situation presents itself, this is what I'd love to get from it.” I don't go out on a shoot thinking, “I've got to get the idea that I've had for the last five years”, because that's a sure way of being disappointed and frustrated.
It’s important - when you do this as your job - to keep the passion and the love for photography and for being out with wildlife. You do need to research and visit the right location to photograph a Great spotted woodpecker. But then something else remarkable can happen with a different species and that's when you get something unexpected. It's more special.
You’ve been shooting with Canon since your Dad’s Canon A-1 film SLR. What was it like becoming a Canon ambassador last year?
I was invited to apply for the programme and chuffed to bits to get even to that stage. I honestly didn’t expect to get it, but when I did it was a mixture of surprise and speechlessness. To be recognised for what I’m doing – especially for a brand I’ve used all my life – made me very proud.
I’ve had an amazing journey with Canon and the team are incredible. You’re there to support them, but they also ask “What would you like to learn from us?” It’s a two-way partnership, and being offered that development as a photographer is always pretty special.
What Canon gear do you use today?
Very different. I’ve switched to mirrorless, so I’ve got the Canon EOS R3 and a couple of telephoto lenses including the RF 400mm F2.8L IS USM. There’s the RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM because I do a lot of macro work, which is a beautiful lens. The Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM isn’t necessarily in my kitbag, but it’s still one I use and I think I’ve had it for at least 15 years; it’s a testament to the quality of Canon glass.
Let’s talk camera settings. What’s your approach to exposure modes?
A lot of the way I shoot is in aperture priority, as that’s what I like to control. Dad’s A-1 had an aperture-priority AE mode, which might have influenced my mindset. I’m basically using the ISO to control the shutter speed, and I can dial in exposure compensation, which is the basis of my approach for high-key images, for example.
I tend to shoot as wide as I can, which is why I’m looking for lenses I can get to f/2.8. I want to open it up and let as much light in as possible. I also dial in the white balance. Aperture priority is a great way to control the key elements, but work quickly with fleeting wildlife. Because action can happen quickly. I see a lot of new photographers shooting in full manual mode and getting it very wrong because they’re missing opportunities.
You’ve also had great results with the multiple exposure mode.
Setting up multiple exposures in-camera with my EOS R3 allows me to get gorgeous, creative shots. I’ll usually take a sharp image of the subject first, then I might put the frame out of focus, change the aperture, or even recompose the whole scene for the second overlay. I do that a lot if the conditions are right.
You talked about your three columns of work at the beginning. What’s coming up for you?
Every year I judge the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards, and that’s coming up in September, It’s been running for over 30 years and is a great way to nurture and encourage young talent in the industry. That’s the philanthropy column! I’ve got a workshop for Keyna coming up next weekend, taking a group out there to the Masai Mara. I’m working with Canon on quite a few projects, then it’s Brown Bears in Finland and back to Kenya nearer the end of the year. Always busy!
A longer version of this interview originally appeared in Issue 222 of Photo Plus magazine.
