The stars of the animal kingdom are the big mammals. Photographers from around the world head to Yellowstone, Alaska, Africa, India and many other mammal hot spots to capture these majestic icons. It’s difficult to appreciate just how hard it is to get a great shot of any large mammal until you go out and try it on your own. If you watch any of the nature channels, you’ll see shows jam packed with gorgeous footage. If you thumb through major publications or books on large mammals, you’ll see stills that take your breath away. Both leave many thinking, “That doesn’t look so hard.” But what you don’t see are the thousands of feet of footage that get deleted that didn’t make the cut. You don’t see the hundreds of hours spent in the field to capture the few shots that make it into the book. You don’t get to see what each photographer had to endure on a daily basis dealing with clouds, rain, uncooperative subjects, etc. Good big mammal  photography is difficult. Use the following tips to make it a bit easier for you.

Backgrounds: When I run my nature photo tours, I often say two of my favorite lines: It’s All About the Light AND the Background is Equally as Important as the Subject.  A bad and busy background doesn’t allow the main subject to pop off the page.  On the other hand, a background that’s clean and out of focus allows the animal to appear three dimensional. Use long lenses at wide open apertures to get the background as much out of focus as possible. If the background remains as a distraction, wait for the animal to move to another location where it’s better. If the animal is too close to the background, it will be difficult to throw it out of focus. Again, wait for it to move and if it’s possible for you to move to a different location, do so.

Look for Behavior: Shots of big mammals simply standing in a field are a dime a dozen - at this point, maybe even a nickel. This being said, I encourage you to still capture the record shot, but then wait for action, behavior, or something different to occur. It may happen in five minutes or it may take five hours. This is where you need to decide how long to wait and how much it’s worth. The one guarantee is if you don’t invest the time, you won’t get the shot.

© Russ Burden

Always Be Ready: Know your camera like the back of your hand. Most great animal action happens fast and it’s not going to wait for you to refine adjustments. To reinforce this further, when the action occurs, it’s a one time deal. It’s not Hollywood where the director yells, Take Two. The more quickly and efficiently you can access the settings, the greater the chance you’ll capture the peak moment. 

Timing: The mating season, in addition to when the babies are born, are the two times a year most big mammals are photographed. The mating season works well as the males are active rounding up harems, fighting, and they are in their best coat. The potential to get a lot of behavior and action shots exists. When the babies are born, it’s more about the interaction between the mom and young. In addition, the cuteness factor of the newborns is in high demand.

© Russ Burden

Add Variety: Many photographers go for the frame filling shot that shows just the animal.  While these are great to have, editors often request photos of animals in their environment. Don’t limit what you capture just because the frame filler tends to have impact. Additionally, try to frame every big mammal you encounter both vertically and horizontally. Do this for both the frame filler and the environmental photo. So instead of walking away with just one image, the frame filler, you now have multiple scenarios of the same subject.

© Russ Burden

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my 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.