How To Photograph Wildlife

Get some pro-tips for seeing and photographic wildlife. Learn more about watching wildlife.

Tip: Time your outing when wildlife is most active: ideally dawn or dusk.

Tip: Use binoculars, a spotting scope, or a telephoto lens for a safe, close-up view.

Tip: Use the zoom on your phone or camera, and to steady your shot, touch your elbows to your ribcage, or rest your elbows on your knee or another stable surface.

Tip: Your phone's volume buttons may also work to zoom if you don't have a free hand to use your touch-screen zoom

Tip:Look to the edges of the landscape (e.g. where forest trees meet an open meadow).

Tip:Stay quiet and still. Noise and quick movements can threaten wildlife.

Tip: When photographic from a safe distance, skilled photographers suggest lining up the horizon of the landscape along the lower third of your frame and/or lining up the animal(s) to one of the four intersection points.

Tip: Pull safely off the road, and use your car as a safe enclosure for viewing and photographing from a distance. Not only do cars provide a layer of protection, they also provide surfaces that can help you stabilize your camera.

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