Being able to photograph amazing wildlife can feel like such a privilege. The insight you get into the natural world and the time you get to spend out-of-doors makes it a particularly enjoyable experience. It’s something which anybody with a camera can take the time to do, but you’ll need to know how to go about taking the best possible pictures to make your time worthwhile.

The key to successful animal photography is patience. It might take you a long time just to find the animals which you are looking for – this is the very first step, and even this can try your patience. Find somewhere quiet and comfortable to get set up and be ready to capture the wildlife which crosses your path. The beauty of wildlife photography is that you never know which animals might turn up if you’re willing to wait. It may not be the exact shoot you were planning, but it could be just as good, if not better.

Practice makes perfect. When your subject matter is so unpredictable, the only way to get better is to keep trying out different techniques and angles, seeing what works well for you. Practice is important for every photographer, but  if you want to be able to take some great photographs of animals, you’ll need to go the extra mile.

Technically, you want to use a fast shutter speed and avoid using a flash. The shutter speed will reduce blurriness if animals move around, which they have a habit of doing at just the wrong moments. A flash isn’t a good idea when shooting wild animals as it will startle them, and you’ll end up frightening away the wildlife which you want to attract.