Creative, commercial photographers.

How to take photographs of animals

June 29, 2009

Most of us love to take photographs of animals and whether it is a photograph of our cherished pet snuggled on the sofa at home, a meerkat at Tropical World in Leeds or an elephant when on safari, we always hope that they are going to turn out brilliantly and really capture the moment we experienced. However, this is not always the case as animals rarely pose appropriately and sometimes do not seem to want to be in our shot at all. In commercial photography, a photographer will sometimes have to capture an image featuring an animal for an advertising campaign or brand image. There are some ways to improve your photographing of animals and to help you create beautiful images too.

How you position yourself when taking a photograph is highly important. When photographing an animal, it is best to get as close to it as possible. If you can get physically near then do so but if not use an appropriate lens on your camera and get closer that way.

Your choice of image is also of great importance. Try to capture an image that really displays something about the animal, their personality, how they live and why you felt that this moment really had to be photographed. Make sure that the animal is framed appropriately in the photograph and that they are the focus of the image.

Finally, you must be prepared to wait and be ready to get that perfect shot the second it arrives. We canâ€™t make animals pose for our photographs but by giving them a relaxed and quiet environment, they are more likely to be themselves and behave naturally in their very own special way, which is often required in commercial photography.