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Beyond the (Nature) Head Shot by Russ Burden Separate your wildlife shots from the rest by following these nature photography tips from Russ Burden. Article rating: 8.95

As wildlife photography evolved and before game farms came into existence, getting a head shot of a wild animal was considered, “The Trophy Shot.” Today they’re a dime a dozen and even though they pack drama, they’ve lost their impact. In order to be able to market your wildlife shots or compete in photography competitions and be successful, you need wildlife images that show action, show a new twist, show dramatic lighting, or capture rarely seen behavior. Gone are the days of simply buying a 500 or 600mm lens and nailing long distance shots of a mammal, bird, or amphibian. Found below are three ideas to help bring you to a higher level of wildlife photography.

Add A Twist: One way to separate your wildlife shots from all the others is to add a twist or make them different but in a way that gives them impact. In the first shot of the goshawk (a friend of mine is a falconer and he was training this goshawk to come back to him), I pre planned what I wanted and it actually worked out better than what I envisioned. Back when I was shooting film, the night before the goshawk shoot, I set my camera to make a double exposure and photographed the moon in the top right corner of the frame. In that the camera was set to make a double exposure, I had to be very selective before making the image of the bird or else I’d lose the opportunity of getting the shot of both the hawk and moon on the same chip of film. I had to wait until the bird was in an advantageous location to correspond to the placement of the moon. When my friend let the bird go, it serendipitously perched on a branch with a clean background. We planned the flight training/photo session for sunset so the light would be advantageous. It cooperated. Although the goshawk is weighted to the left side of the frame and is looking out of it, the image works as it’s balanced by the weighting of the moon. Even though I broke a compositional rule having the subject look out of the frame, the image works.

Action: The shot of the mandarin duck has been successful for me on two counts. For one, it’s not a common species which makes it more in demand. Secondly, it shows action. When I found out that a mandarin was visiting a local pond about ten miles from my house, I made a lot of trips in the early morning to capture it in good light. In that I had accumulated many images of it just being duck like, I wanted to get to the next level. In studying its behavior, I learned its signal of when it would take off and where it would land. I kept at it and was rewarded with this image on a still morning of the mandarin landing in the water with a great reflection of itself.

Get in Tight: In talking about going beyond a head shot, I felt the need to be literal to include a head shot. If the trophy head shot days have taken their toll, then with regards to a head shot, get in very close. Concentrate on the details but still incorporate all other photographic guidelines of composition and light. In this shot I took in Africa, I had a lot of things working for me. The early morning light was soft and golden, the elephant was a good specimen, and the sky behind him was clear. The only problem was he was surrounded by thorny undergrowth which didn’t make for a clean image. I wanted to take advantage of the good light so I thought about my options and wound up zooming my lens to its longest setting and got in close on what he was doing. Don’t overlook other possibilities of getting in close to show feather patterns of birds, fur patterns of the big cats, or any other circumstance where textures or patterns can be captured.

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my new book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.

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