In this short article, we are going to take a look at the best ways of composing wildlife photographs. You’ll have probably heard of all the various rules on how to compose the perfect photograph. Rules such as ‘the rule of thirds‘ and ‘the golden ratio‘ have been widely mentioned throughout the history of image-making.
All these rules have been formulated by observing how our brains work and what we see and find more appealing.
An insight into how I compose my images.
One thing we’ll all agree on is that wildlife is unpredictable. It’s next to impossible to know where an animal will land in the frame.
When I’m composing a shot I try to have a couple of options around me. For example, this may be a wooden post next to a dry stone wall next to a gorse bush. If my subject lands on either of these options I can re-compose quickly and get some nice shots.
I’m the sort of person who likes to spend a decent amount of time at a single spot and hope for something expected to come in. This approach (instead of hiking and seeing what turns up) allows me to consider the overall composition, background, and the development of the lighting throughout the session.
Keep the subject in the center, and crop afterward.
The sharpest part of every lens is in the middle where the glass is the flattest. That’s why I photograph nearly all of my shots with the bird in the middle of the frame.
Now I’m a fan of the Rule of Thirds principle so, in post-production, I’ll crop the image to these proportions, knowing the bird will hopefully be at its sharpest.
This approach sometimes means zooming out a bit to capture some of the scenes to the left and right of the subject.
Get as low as possible
If I only had one choice of one rule to abide by, it would be this one. By getting down low you enter the world of the subject. The backgrounds are easier to control and you’ll find your photos will just look better.
For the above image of a Redshank, I was led down on a muddy bank with the tide coming in and catching the bottom of my beard.
Get eye-to-eye with animals
As with the approach above, getting on eye level with your subject makes more appealing photographs. When you are looking up or down at a subject, you can lose the intimacy of the shot.
I might mean only the smallest of adjustments in how you sit/stand can make all the difference.
Don’t go climbing trees with your camera though to get that shot. That’s just asking for trouble.
Keep it all simple
Backgrounds and foregrounds can be very distracting and can confuse an image. Try to make sure there is plenty of distance from you subject to the background.
This can be difficult when a bird is perched in a tree and there are branches right behind or in front of it. Sometimes it is worth waiting for it to possibly move to an outer branch or to a near unobstructed perch.
Keep an eye on the changing light
There is no such thing has bad light, it’s just different light.
When you first start taking wildlife photographs your main focus is to get a sharp image with a good pose. Then once that is well practiced, you’ll start to experiment with getting the exposures just right.
The majority of images I compose tend to have the light source behind me and lighting the subject straight on. This helps show all the colours and details of the animal.
It’s sometimes good though to experiment with the light source. Try photographing your subject with the light source coming from the side or either from behind the subject.
These approaches will allow you to explore new ways to compose images and set different moods and tones.
Lead the eye into the image
We read an image like we would read a sentence on a page. It’s important to lead the viewer’s eye into the picture and tell a story along the way.
The viewer’s attention right from the beginning tends to be the lightest and whitest part of an image.
In the image below the lightest part of the image is the top of the branch, followed by the light streak on the Kingfisher’s back and neck. The branch the Kingfisher is on helps lead the eye across the important part of the image which is the Kingfisher.
Use interesting lines in images to draw the viewer through your images. This can be a fence that leads to the subject or perhaps even a small brook that leads the eye up and into the image.
Create lines, especially diagonal ones
Diagonal lines have always been appealing to us. Our brains look for interesting patterns and lines and we can use this to our advantage when we are composing an image.
Lines in images can be created by using branches and walls to lead the eye into the image. Lines can also be used to nicely frame the subject in an image when composing wildlife photographs.
If there was movement, show it
One of the toughest images to capture is birds in flight (BIF). It’s something that doesn’t come naturally to me and I need to practice more of it. Capturing a bird just at the right time whilst it is in motion can create some very unique images.
One trick I have found when composing wildlife photographs is to sit and watch animals and look for telltale signs that they are going to move. Ducks will do a certain type of pruning before they have a big stretch as shown below.
Once you suspect a movement and you see the behaviors leading up to it, take a burst of photographs, and hopefully, you’ll capture just the right moment.
Break the rules
You don’t always have to stick to the rules when composing wildlife photographs. Some images may look better if you break them. You need to do what is right for the image. The following examples don’t follow the rule of thirds theory that I love. They just wouldn’t look right and I find it best that the subject is right in the middle of the image and commanding all of your attention.
The takeaway
Remember to have fun and experiment with different compositions. Get low down and muddy, and move around the subject to try different light sources. You may just stumble on a unique photograph with a bucket load of mood and intrigue.
Need help photographing small birds?
How to Photograph Small Birds
Would you like to see some examples of different composures and lighting?