3 Emotions You Must Control to be Successful in Wildlife Photography
Whenever we think about emotion in to wildlife photography, we often consider the feelings we have when we view a particular image.
You might feel amazed when you see an osprey fly into a nest carrying a fish. You might feel pain when you see a pride of lions hunting a young zebra. Or perhaps you feel amused when you see a mouse in a funny pose.
Regardless, the point is that you and I have both felt emotions when we have looked at a photograph.
However, as a viewer or a beginner wildlife photographer, do you ever stop to consider what emotions wildlife photographers experience while practicing their craft?
Better yet, have you ever wondered what emotions wildlife photographers must learn to control to be successful?
If you haven’t done this yet, I hope you enjoy this blog about 3 emotions you must keep in check to be a successful wildlife photographer.
Great blue heron and nest | Nikon D4 + 200-500 mm f/5.6 | ISO 160, 1/2000, f/5.6 @ 280 mm
1) Impatience
In my opinion, impatience is the most important emotion that you have to learn to control to be the best wildlife photographer you can be. Put simply, patience is a virtue… and the one that breeds the best results.
But exactly what or who do you have to be patient with?
Be patient with your subjects
First of all, you have to be patient with your subjects. I remember when I first started wildlife photography, I walked an entire trail, only stopping briefly when I saw an animal to snap a few shots before moving on. When I got home and looked at my photos, I was almost always disappointed because I was not getting the results I wanted. They were usually not composed well, not sharp or the wildlife did not pose the way I wanted it to.
My issue was that I had not yet learned to fight my impatience with my subjects. In other words, as a beginner wildlife photographer, I wanted all the award-winning photos as quickly as possible, but I was ignorant of how much patience was required.
As I continued to read, listen, and watch educational content about wildlife photography, I learned that waiting a few seconds or even minutes was often not enough to capture the shot I wanted.
Once you arrive in an area, animals will likely take at least a few minutes to get accustomed to you or even show up. Now that I have much more experience in wildlife photography, I can honestly say that several of my best photos are from waiting for the perfect shot for hours at a time.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “There’s no way I can wait for an animal for hours!”
I used to think the same. It has taken me years (and I do mean years!) to train my patience up to this point and I still have a ways to go. But slowly but surely, I improved every day.
When you find yourself laying in some mud and bird poop for two hours bored out of your mind and finally a great egret flies in and lands in front of you, even if it’s just for a few seconds, it makes it all worth it.
Great egret | Nikon D500 + 300mm f/2.8 VR II + 1.4 TC-14E II | ISO 800, 1/2000, f/4 @ 420 mm
For anyone who’s a hiker, perhaps you can relate. I know how horrible the endless climb can be from a boredom and physical pain perspective, but once you arrive at the lookout… well, it’s absolutely worth it. Wouldn’t you agree?
This is why you have to be patient with your subjects. First, you never know when or if they will show up. Second, you never know if they will do what you want them to do. Neither is promised.
What we do know is that if we sit, wait, and try to blend in with the environment, that we will be more likely to spend a few glorious moments with a beautiful animal behaving naturally. Whether you get the photo or not, that experience is well worth the wait.
Pro tip: If I am ever feeling anxious because I have been waiting for an animal in one spot for a long time, I use what I call the 300 Technique to regain control of my patience. While waiting, I count down from 300 to 0. I tell myself that I will only move when I am done counting. During the first 50 to 100 numbers I may still be fidgety, but by the time I get below 200, I have almost always forgotten my impatience, which allows me to stay in the field longer. A few times I’ve gotten lucky and the animal I’ve been waiting for has shown up before I’ve finished counting!
White-tailed deer | Nikon D700 + 200-500 mm f/5.6 | ISO 3200, 1/100, f/5.6 @ 500 mm
Be patient with yourself
Second, you have to learn to be patient with yourself. But what does this mean exactly?
No one will pick up a camera for the first time and produce their best work. Being patient with yourself means accepting that you cannot rush the process of improvement and that what you produce today, you may not consider good tomorrow.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. It just means you are progressing.
Let’s take a look at this another way. When you first grabbed a camera, I am sure you had an idea of how you wanted to photograph that bird in your neighbourhood. Now, did that first photo you took turn out the way you wanted? If I was a betting person, I would say it didn’t...and neither did mine.
I used to become so frustrated with myself because I knew what photographic goal I wanted to achieve, but I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong. It got to a point that I stopped shooting and even enjoying wildlife photography. In addition, I blamed external factors, such as the light, my gear, or the animals, rather than myself.
What I didn’t understand was that wildlife photography, like many skills you develop, is a life-long process. It takes time to improve. A lot of it. Years, in fact.
I consider a wildlife photography journey an iterative process. If you’re unfamiliar with this term, all it means is trying something and changing it as you go to improve it over and over. In even simpler terms, it’s a fancy way to refer to the practice it takes to make your product perfect.
This iterative process was what I failed to grasp in the beginning. When I finally understood, my frustration decreased substantially and I finally looked inwards.
I accepted the fact that becoming good at something takes time and that the only way to improve is to be patient with yourself and your process. I knew that I would have to try again and again, and again, for many years before reaching my desired outcome.
And that was okay.
Black-crowned night heron | Nikon D500 + 200-500 mm f/5.6 | ISO 2500, 1/500, f/5.6 @ 500 mm
Be patient with your gear (and bank account!)
Gear lust is a real thing and from personal experience, I can tell you that it’s best if you avoid it. I recommend that you get yourself a camera and lens that work for you within your budget. Don’t spend more than you can afford to.
Once you have your new gear, learn the ins and outs to become an expert with it. There may be a time when you do upgrade to more expensive and higher-quality gear, but that shouldn’t be right away.
Unfortunately, wildlife photography is an expensive art, so you will likely spend no less than a couple hundred dollars on a camera or lens. The day will come when you upgrade, but make sure that it makes financial sense.
“All you need is a camera and a lens to take photos.”
If there’s one phrase that has helped me be patient with my gear it has been this one. There will always be new technology that makes it easier for you to get photos. But there’s no reason why your current setup cannot get the job done, even if it is a little harder. Become an expert with your gear and learn to work with its limitations. Then, when you do have a need to upgrade and you can afford it, you will be much better prepared for it.
Note: If you have read my other blogs, you know that I am a huge fan of finding budget gear for wildlife photography. I wrote a few about why the Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S and the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR are two excellent lenses for wildlife photography on a budget that could help you get started without breaking the bank!
On the camera side, I will consistently shoot with bodies that are 5 years or older! The two I currently have are a Nikon D700, which is from 2008, and Nikon D500, which is from 2016. I bought both of them used.
Canada goose | Nikon D700 + 300 mm f/4 AF-S | ISO 2500, 1/250, f/4
2) Excitement
I have encountered two main situations when you have to learn to understand and control your excitement to improve as a wildlife photographer: in the field and right after you get home from a shoot.
Review your checklist before taking the photo
In the first instance, it’s all about controlling your excitement when the subject you have waited so long for appears. Rather than giving in to the adrenaline that is begging you to rattle off millions of photos without a second thought, it is important to make a rational, rather than an emotional decision. For example, if I have been waiting for a belted kingfisher and it finally appears in the spot I want it to, I run through a quick mental checklist.
Is my exposure set correctly?
Is my composition the way I want it?
Have I eliminated any distractions that would take away from my final image?
Is my background clean enough to show my subject properly?
Is my subject posed properly?
If my answer to any of these questions is no, I will usually avoid taking the shot. You may be thinking that this is a lot to consider beforehand and it can be… at first. Once you become accustomed to running through this mental checklist, these considerations will become second nature and you will be able to adjust your shot as needed in just a few seconds!
This checklist has been key in my journey to fight against my excitement, pay more attention to detail (and avoid more mistakes), and ultimately become a more skilled wildlife photographer.
Note: If I am photographing a species for the first time, sometimes I will not fully pay attention to the checklist to be able to at least document the animal, even if I know it will not be my best photo. After getting that documentary shot, I will then move on to more thoughtful shots.
Belted kingfisher | Nikon D500 + 300mm f/2.8 VR II + 1.4 TC-14E II | ISO 640, 1/200, f/4 @ 420 mm
Avoid editing and posting photos right after a shoot
Secondly, once you finish an exciting shoot and get back home, you may be tempted to transfer your photos and edit, and maybe even post some of the photos you took that day. The best advice I can give you is the one I follow: don’t edit or post photos you just took.
In your adrenaline rush after a bomb shoot, your excitement may trick you into thinking your photos are better than they are. You will feel this very, very recent emotional attachment to them.
To avoid my own emotional bias, I will only import my photos into Lightroom and possibly cull them but will stop myself from going further. Sometimes I will wait weeks or even months before editing a batch of photos. This limits my bias and helps me select the photos I will edit more fairly.
Limit your noise and movement when your subject appears
If you give in to your excitement and make quick, loud movements, all your effort in getting into the perfect position is at risk! Animals are scared by movement and sound, so fighting against your excitement can help with this. In wildlife photography, we ideally want our subjects to move on because they choose to, not because we force them to. Our goal is to capture natural, unstressed, and undisturbed behaviour, which happens to produce the most rewarding moments.
White stork | Nikon D7100 + 70-300 mm AF-S | ISO 250, 1/1000, f/5.6 @ 300 mm
3) Envy
Lastly, I wanted to talk about a very human emotion. Envy is something we all feel sometimes and it is nothing to be ashamed of. However, how we deal with that envy can dictate how we progress as wildlife photographers and as people, regardless of our field.
In wildlife photography, it can be very easy to fall into a stream of negative thoughts when we see what our peers produce, especially since social media dominates our lives. I know firsthand what it’s like to open up Instagram or Flickr and think:
Why can’t I get that shot?
Man, if I could travel there, it would take my photography to the next level!
Ah, shoot. I knew I should have edited my photo like this other famous photographer.
Why does everyone have great photos of [INSERT SPECIES] but I don’t?
While envy is natural and we have to accept that we feel this way, redirecting our energy away from the opportunities we don’t have to those we do have can be so empowering! Rather than burying yourself in a pit of envy, dig yourself out, feel content, and at peace with the animals and locations you shoot. After all, you don’t need to travel nor shoot rare species to get amazing photos of wildlife.
If you want to know more about why you don’t need to travel for wildlife photography, check out my previous blog, 5 Reasons You Don’t Need to Travel to be a Great Wildlife Photographer.
Canada goose | Nikon D4 + 300mm f/2.8 VR II + 1.4 TC-14E II | ISO 450, 1/100, f/5.6 @ 420 mm
Conclusion
Understanding and controlling my emotions—namely impatience, excitement, and envy—has been key in my growth as a wildlife photographer.
These three are natural and happen to us all at some point. However, they can prevent us from behaving rationally. While it is nearly impossible to make decisions that are separate from our emotions, controlling them as much as possible can be crucial for you to continue improving as a wildlife photographer.
Where to buy
If you are interested in purchasing any of the gear I used to shoot these photos, check out the links below:
If you live in Canada, Kijiji is a great place to get even cheaper gear if you are willing to buy cameras and lenses without an intermediary service, such as Amazon or eBay.