Wildlife photography

The field of photography known as "wildlife photography" focuses on recording diverse species of animals in the environments in which they are naturally found.

Photographers who specialise in wildlife sometimes require expertise in fieldcraft in addition to their photographic training. For instance, certain animals and birds are difficult to approach, and as a result, it is necessary to have knowledge about the behaviour of the animal or bird in order to be able to forecast the actions that it will do. In order to photograph some species, you may need to learn how to stalk them or utilise a hide or blind to disguise yourself.

Even though standard photography gear can be used to capture images of wildlife, in order to get good shots of certain animals, more specialised gear is necessary. For example, in order to get good shots of birds or marine life, you need underwater cameras or macro lenses. Photographing insects can be done with standard equipment.

In the early days of photography, when lenses were relatively slow and photographic medium had a lower sensitivity, it was challenging to capture a good shot of wild animals. The majority of animals seen in early photographs were kept in captivity. These included photographs shot in 1854 at the Bristol Zoo of young lion cubs, as well as photographs made in 1864 by Frank Hayes of the very last Quagga. The introduction of faster photographic emulsions and speedier shutters in the 1880s contributed to an increase in the popularity of wildlife photography. The earliest photographs of wild birds in motion were captured in 1884 by a German named Ottmar Anschutz. These kinds of developments led to the creation of photographs like those. In the year 1897, members of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) took some of the first images ever taken of songbirds breeding in the Philadelphia region. The first animal photographs published by National Geographic appeared in the magazine in July of 1906. The photographs were shot by Representative George Shiras III of Pennsylvania, who also serves in the United States Congress. Some of his photographs were shot using one of the very first camera traps that used a wire to trigger the shutter.

The Photographic Society of America, the Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique, and the Royal Photographic Society, which are the three largest photography organisations in the world, have all agreed on a single definition for nature and wildlife photography that will be used to judge entries in photography competitions. The three organisations' respective presidents wrote a joint statement announcing the decision "The establishment of a universal definition for nature and wildlife photography will be a significant step toward assisting photographers, a large number of whom take part in competitions on a global scale, in understanding what the guidelines entail. Additionally, it will give the organisers with a very clear explanation of how to proceed when they are faced with the challenge of dealing with ineligible photographs."

The gear required for photographing wild animals is sometimes highly sophisticated.

Camera traps, hides, ghillie suits, and flash extenders are some of the numerous types of specialist equipment available.