P#7 Q1: What's the Single Biggest Mistake People Make When They Photograph Wildlife?

The evolution of great wildlife photography

Roy Toft: There are plenty of mistakes people make -- I make them as well. But I think the biggest mistake people make when they're photographing wildlife is they don't spend enough time with their subject, or they don't spend enough time in that photographic situation that they're in.

People tend to be in a hurry. And a lot of people think of wildlife photography as kind of like stamp collecting. You take a picture, and you've got that animal. "I can see it in the frame, it's a good picture, so that's enough. Let's move on. What's around the next corner?"

I did this for years. I would throw my camera over my shoulder and walk down the trail, and not have any idea what I was going to go photograph that day, and just think of it as, "Whatever I see, I can photograph."

I photographed something for awhile, I'd be very happy with just getting it in the frame and being able to recognize it, and then that was enough.

I would go on down the trail again, "Let's see what else we can find."

So much of that type of imagery is not really that exciting. You're just capturing a split second in this animal's life, and oftentimes it's not very interesting.

That's the biggest problem with a lot of wildlife photographers when they go out there. They're not maximizing their opportunity.

Working the situation

Roy Toft: If I'm in a good situation with an animal, I have a decent distance, then I'm going to work that situation until I feel it's time for me to leave.

I'll be looking at things like background, which a lot of people don't think of when they're photographing an animal. They just concentrate on their subject.

So much of a photograph goes beyond just the subject. It's the foreground, it's the background, it's the lighting, it's your perspective, it's your positioning. All those things can't be done in the first five, ten seconds, so really good photos tend to evolve.

It means being there for a while and working a situation, letting the animal get comfortable with you being there.

Often times those first ten, twenty frames are the pictures of the animal looking at you, "What is this guy doing pointing this thing at me?" Then people leave and those are the only photos they get, those animals staring at the camera -- nervous pictures. Those aren't the compelling pictures.

You want the pictures of the animal being relaxed, doing his natural behavior, going back to feeding, maybe having some sort of behavior, maybe the mate flies in if you're photographing a bird.

All those really interesting pictures take time. A lot of that has to do with the animal being relaxed.

I think that's the number one failure of a lot of nature photographers: not working the situation to its fullest.

In summary

Be prepared when you photograph wildlife. Don't expect to be able to capture the animal right off the bat. Take the time to find animals in their natural habitats, be aware of their surroundings and the backgrounds that will appear in your photographs. Pay attention to lighting.

Let the animal get comfortable with you, and take the time to work the situation to get more compelling wildlife photographs.