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<\/a>Anyone who has attempted wildlife photography knows that making a field-guide image is much easier said than done. However, despite the difficulty of making a field-guide shot, I believe there is much more to great wildlife photography including equal parts of technical precision (focus and exposure) and artistic judgment.<\/p>\n
A compelling composition and creative vision, added to the field guide image, become the secret sauce of fine art wildlife photography. A great wildlife image captures a moment in time that, when viewed after the fact, evokes the photographer\u2019s feelings and emotions at the instant the shutter was clicked. In addition, the fine art wildlife image should tell a compelling story about the animal, its environment, and context.<\/p>\n
Fine Art Wildlife Photography<\/h5>\n
There are several compositional guidelines that are ordinarily non-negotiable for great wildlife photographs. These are the baseline characteristics for any great wildlife image. They are rather simple in concept but not necessarily in execution:<\/p>\n
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- Clean, out of focus background with no distracting elements<\/li>\n
- Eye level point of view<\/li>\n
- Diagonals lines (literal or implied)<\/li>\n
- Subject entering the frame with plenty of breathing room in front<\/li>\n
- No cropped body parts (even if obscured by vegetation)<\/li>\n
- Avoid the south end of a north bound animal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Once these basics are mastered, we can move onto more subtle compositional techniques. Let\u2019s consider three compositional varieties for fine art wildlife photography:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Intimate Portrait<\/li>\n
- Environmental landscape<\/li>\n
- Environmental Interactive<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Intimate Portrait<\/h5>\n
Well-executed wildlife portraits have characteristics and features similar to well-executed human portraits. The subject\u2019s eyes are critical. Eye contact creates an emotional connection between the viewer and the subject. A wildlife portrait where the animal is looking away is not nearly as strong as one where the photographer captures eye contact. Introduce a catchlight (A \u201ccatchlight\u2019 is simply the highlight of a light source reflected off the surface of the eye), and a blank stare is transformed into personality and emotion.<\/p>\n
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Fine Art Photography Wildlife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Posture is important too. Head and extremity position should be natural and flattering, just like with human portraiture. Diagonals, implied or literal, create dynamic and energetic compositions.<\/p>\n
Intimate portraits demand simplicity. You must isolate the subject and avoid distracting background clutter. Depth of field control and a low point-of-view can be helpful here. An eye level point of view and a shallow depth of field will frequently create a soft, out-of-focus background that enhances the subject rather than distracts from it.<\/p>\n
Environmental Landscape<\/h5>\n
An environmental landscape composition purposely includes the subject\u2019s surroundings. As such, it provides context. The animal can be a relatively small compositional element in the scene. It\u2019s basically it\u2019s a well-composed landscape photo that includes wildlife. Fundamentally, an environmental landscape helps tell a story. By its very nature, it can reveal such things as the animal\u2019s location, the season, and time of day.<\/p>\n
fine art photography wildlife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Unlike the field guide image and intimate portrait, the environmental landscape helps connect the subject to its environment. In addition, it helps connect the viewer to the photographer\u2019s experience. Where the field guide image can feel sterile, the environmental landscape feels alive and depicts the natural world in which the animal lives.<\/p>\n
Environmental Interactive<\/h5>\n
An environmental interactive composition captures wildlife in action. It captures your subject\u2019s behavior and interaction with other animals. Such behavior might include feeding, hunting, migration, nest building, mating, grooming, fighting or any other normal activity. These images include more of the animal\u2019s surroundings thana portrait but less than an environmental landscape. Just enough of the animal\u2019s surroundings are included to tell the story. Usually it doesn\u2019t take much.<\/p>\n
fine art photography wildlife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Basically, the environmental interactive composition captures the life and times of the animal. Personally, I find this to be the most challenging and satisfying type of wildlife photograph. Care must be taken to not unintentionally alter the normal behaviors you are trying to capture. Obviously, there are a lot of variables, some of which are beyond the photographer\u2019s control. Sometimes it\u2019s better to be lucky than good. However, when everything comes together, the results can be spectacular. Environmental interactive images are the \u201cmoney shot\u201d that frequently elicit an emotional reaction from viewers. For me, I know I\u2019ve nailed an environmental interactive shot by viewer\u2019s comments such as \u201cOh my, how close were you\u201d, or \u201cThe chicks are so cute\u201d.<\/p>\n
Fine Art Photography<\/h5>\n
To sum up, fine art wildlife photography requires a healthy combination of technical precision and artistic judgment. At the risk of over-simplification, a great wildlife image should include most, if not all, of the characteristics from both the technical and artistic columns below:<\/p>\n
Technical<\/p>\n
- \n
- Tack sharp eye<\/li>\n
- Out-of-focus background<\/li>\n
- Low noise<\/li>\n
- Maximum pixels (min crop)<\/li>\n
- Eliminate \u201clazy\u201d flaws:<\/li>\n
- Crooked horizon<\/li>\n
- Dust spots<\/li>\n
- Cropped edge elements<\/li>\n
- Blown highlights<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Artistic<\/p>\n
- \n
- Eye contact<\/li>\n
- Catchlight in eyes<\/li>\n
- Compelling composition<\/li>\n
- Contextual background<\/li>\n
- Draws the viewer in<\/li>\n
- Emotional connection<\/li>\n
- Tells a story<\/li>\n
- Conveys a feeling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
fine art photography wildlife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n It would be nice if fine art wildlife photography were completely formula driven. Unfortunately, it\u2019s not that easy. However, with practice, research, and persistence, you can use these compositional techniques as sort of a template from which you can begin your quest for great wildlife photography.<\/p>\n
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