Amazing Wildlife and Nature Photography: What It Takes to Capture Them

What It Takes to Capture Beautiful Wildlife and Nature Images

Living on a small farm in Arkansas has given me many photo opportunities.

In the short time I have been involved with nature and wildlife photography, I now find that most people as well as I appreciate it much more whenever they learn about the effort behind capturing those incredible photos that we all enjoy.

Often it is the subject in the photo,  or the image itself that gets all the praise and not the one who took the photo.

Adult Bald Eagle Taking A Majestic Bow

Patience Is a Virtue

Patience may be the most important part of nature and wildlife photography. Without it you may never capture that great photo of an animal that you are dreaming of.

Waiting for that special moment to take the shot takes hours and hours and sometimes days before you even get a small glimpse of that animal.

The more time you spend around that animal you learn more about their habits, what they sound like, what time they might come out to feed or just stir out in the open.

Trumpeter Swans On A Small Pond In Arkansas

Light Is the Most Important Aspect in Photography

There are two golden hours in photography and once you learn to use those times in the day to go out and take your photos you will see what a difference this can make to your images.

The golden hours are the hours around sunrise and sunset.

These hours are when the light is more golden and it creates shadows and gives your photos a more soft look.

Try to avoid the hours in the middle of the day when the sun is at its brightest.

Also cloudy days can give you a really great time to shoot because the clouds can be like a light diffuser.

When shooting animals you will find that these golden hours are when most animals are likely to be seen and the best time of day for your photography.

Ozark Mountains Of Arkansas At Sunrise

Don’t Forget to Enjoy Yourself

Waiting for a specific action to capture an animal through the viewfinder of a camera can make us miss the bigger picture of what is going on around us.

While it is true you need to stay focused when preparing to shoot, do not stay so focused that your entire adventure was only about capturing that one or handful of images.

Take time to enjoy the entire experience not just that few seconds behind the lens.

Canada Goose On A Small Farm In Arkansas

Leah Edwards

Arkansas native who is an avid outdoor lover and crazy inspired by nature and wildlife photography. Visit my work on sweetiessliceoflife.com