Ok, well, ive seen many, many brilliant photos here on zoochat, and i feel that mine in comparision are rather poor. I would like to know a few things when photographing wildlife... How do you take a picture when an animal is moving? Mine all seem to come out blurry. Glass and wire mesh or cage bars, how do i overcome these obsticles? Thanks in advance
1) Fences/Wires: Secret is to use a long telephoto lens set on the maximum aperture (largest opening). You will need a camera that lets you shoot in full manual exposure or aperture priority mode for this. If you're not sure what your lens's maximum aperture is, just put it in aperture priority (usually A or AV on the top dial) and turn the control dial until the numbers won't go any lower (if it goes down to 4 or 3.5 or 2.8 and won't go any lower, that's where you want to be). If you have a point and shoot camera without this option, just set it to portrait mode (symbol of a girl's head) and zoom out the lens as far as it goes. This blurs out the fence as long as you can go to manual focus as well to focus past the wires (autofocus will want to lock on the wires, which are closer). 2) Glass: Same as above, but carry a black cloth to hold next to the lens to shade glare. You can also sometimes use a polarizing filter to eliminate or reduce glass glare, but keep in mind this also gives you a slower shutter speed because the filter is so dark.
You get blurred photos if the animal is moving or the camera is moving (or if both of them are moving ). You need to set a fast shutter speed to counteract the movement, 1/125 seconds may be OK for slow movements but you 1/250 or 1/500 for medium speed ones and 1/2000 or less for very fast ones like a hummingbird's wings. The real secret is to practise as much as you can and throw away all the ones you aren't happy about. Alan
Read your camera`s manual. Take a lot of time, read it and try the things at your camera. To get good shots in difficult situations (few light, animals moving, shooting through bars) you need to use the manual controls, and you need to learn how to do that first, and understand what aperture, ISO, and shutter time means and how they influence each other. Then practise a lot and things will get better. And then you may find that you need a new camera or a new lens...
The best way to avoid reflections on glass is to place the lens as close to it as possible. A rubber hood on the lens can also be beneficial. If you need to use a flash stand at a strong angle to the glass ( say 45 degrees or more) so you don't get reflection from the flash. Alternatively, stand square on to the glass and put the lens (or hood) hard up against the glass before using the flash (you may need to physically move the camera around as - opposed to angling it - to frame the picture). When photographing through wire, I find that wire painted black is best, and not in direct sunlight as this will washout the picture. Hix
Thanks to everyone who responded, i have taken note of everyones replies and shall put them to good use next time i visit a zoo, hopefully taking some good photos!! Thanks again
