Wildlife Photography: Using your senses to get the shot

In the time that I’ve been doing photography, I have focused primarily on creating two types of images: Landscape and Wildlife.

These two types of photography, to me, are the most soothing. You can escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and just go out to the beach, State Park trails, or whereever, and relax and reconnect with nature.

In a lot of ways, wildlife photography is kind of like stepping back in time, because you truly have to use almost all of your senses to have a chance to get the shot you want.

Think about it: Your eyes lookout for animals. Your nose can certainly pick up on certain smells to guide you (whether that be something to avoid, or a potential gathering place of wildlife). Touch comes in to play as you sense how light on your feet you must be.

What I have come to learn, though, is that hearing becomes almost an extension of sight when you are doing wildlife photography.

When I have been out on Gordon’s Pond or some of the other nature trails in the area, it always seems like my ears on alert. That sense is always seemingly heightened when I have my camera in the view finder.

Why? Well, I like to think it is because my ears are guiding my eye to the next shot. If I’m focusing on one animal, and another makes a noise to my right, I generally shift my attention to that animal next to see what I can create there.

How much you use your senses will be determined by what type of wildlife you are looking to photograph and where you are, but they will always come into play.

This is just my personal view on working to get the best wildlife shots, and I’m sure you have your own approach or even suggestions. Let’s talk about them in the comments, and I may even share them in a future blog post!

If you want to view some of my wildlife images, check out my Birds of Delaware Gallery and be sure to give me a follow on Facebook and Instagram to see all my images as they first get posted.