Wildlife photography is among the more technical photography disciplines. It sometimes feels like I’m carrying around a traveling circus in my backpack. But what does it look like under the big tent? In this article, I’d like to introduce the many essentials for wildlife photography, beyond just the camera and lens.
Today’s article focuses on the many “little things” that are necessary in wildlife photography. If you want camera or lens recommendations, you may consider the following articles instead:
Supporting the Camera and Lens
Camera support isn’t just about tripods and monopods, although these are by far the most commonly used tools for stabilizing a wildlife photographer’s gear. (If you’re still undecided whether three legs are better than one, I’d recommend checking out our article Tripods vs Monopods for Wildlife Photography.)
A few tips for choosing the right support:
- Choose one that you’ll be willing to carry everywhere. Carbon fiber models are usually lighter than aluminum ones with the same stiffness, for example.
- Make sure it can reliably support your gear. Although, you can get by with a lighter model if you’re mostly planning to shoot from a blind at a low height, where the thinnest leg sections stay retracted.
- Tripods and monopods aren’t just about taking sharper photos; they’re also about taking the weight of your camera to save you from muscle fatigue. A lighter tripod won’t be as stable, but it can still serve you well for this reason (as long as it isn’t dangerously flimsy).
- Tripods/monopods are a compromise between vibration damping, weight, and of course price. Find the sweet spot that works in your favor.
- A good tripod or monopod is often a purchase for many years to come. It is usually a better value to buy once at a higher quality, rather than buying at a lower quality only to upgrade later.
Tripod heads could easily fill a chapter of their own. Although ball heads are very popular normally, I don’t consider them the best option for wildlife photography. The freedom of movement we love in landscape photography can quickly become a nightmare when shooting with a long telephoto lens. And a poorly tightened ball head, combined with a moment of distraction, can turn your expensive lens into a pile of cheap glass shards.
Instead, at least at long focal lengths, gimbal heads or fluid video heads are the best choice. I’ve covered the pros and cons of both options in my LensMaster RH-2 Gimbal Head Review. There are also a few hybrid options somewhere between a ball head and a gimbal, like the FlexShooter Pro. And if you already own a good ball head but don’t want to lug around a big gimbal, an attachment like the Tomahawk Gimbal Attachment may be an option.
Stability and sturdiness, smooth operation, precise tolerances, and good serviceability — these are the qualities you should demand in a tripod head. Just as with a tripod, a good head might last you as long as the one on your neck!
However, this is not the only way to hold your camera steady. Another tool I use is a bean bag. Most often, you’ll need a car to go with it. You simply place the bean bag on the car window as if saddling a horse, and where the rider would sit, you rest your lens. It’s a simple tool but allows you to track your subject easily, and it does an excellent job of damping vibrations (don’t forget to turn off the engine). I’ve used my bean bag on fence posts, rocks, and even the ground.
Another alternative is a Platypod. It’s essentially a flat plate resembling a snowshoe, onto which you screw your tripod head. Although this tool can be used for many types of photography, wildlife photographers probably make the most use of it. It’s good for situations where you need to shoot as close to the ground as possible. No tripod will get you that low. Plus, it’s easy to clean afterward.
See Without Being Seen
This is the eternal dream of wildlife photographers — seeing your subject without being seen by them.
When someone mentions camouflage, most of us probably think of military fatigues or movies like Predator. Fortunately, most animals don’t come equipped with infrared vision (though rattlesnakes do), and while many birds can see into the UV spectrum, it’s not nearly as revealing as we might fear. In short, it usually pays off to gear up with something that helps you blend into the environment.
If you’d like to dive deeper into the subject, I recommend reading my article Wildlife Photography Camouflage: Tips and Different Approaches. You’ll find advice ranging from the simplest camouflage tricks to more sophisticated methods. You might be surprised to learn that sometimes the best camouflage is a baby stroller or a jogging outfit. The article also discusses using your car as a mobile hide, as well as dedicated tools like camouflage nets and hides.
Beyond the ground-based camouflage methods discussed in that article, I would also like to give a brief mention of photo rafts. These tools make it possible to venture farther beyond the shoreline and potentially photograph distant waterbirds up close. However, be sure to use these in combination with very warm clothing and something that can keep you dry, like waders. These aren’t “rafts” in the traditional sense and don’t have a bottom to them; it’s vital that you maintain safe foot contact with the bottom at all times.
Even though you may only venture a few meters from the shore, a photo raft can open entirely new opportunities. Not only can you get out of the reeds and onto open water, reducing your shooting distance, but you’ll also gain much more freedom in choosing subject background. Plus, waterbirds often look their best when photographed at ground level.
A small and inexpensive tip to wrap up this chapter: For land-based wildlife photography, cut a piece off an old sleeping pad that fits neatly into your camera backpack. Without one, it can be tough to endure long hours in a hide. Keeping your backside dry, comfortable, and parasite-free is fundamental. If you’re planning on shooting at ground level, take the whole sleeping pad with you. There aren’t many jobs where you can lie down for hours. Make it pleasant and enjoy every minute of it.
Protecting Your Camera and Lens
It’s frustrating when a breathtaking scene unfolds right in front of your lens, only for you to retreat because a sudden downpour crashes the party. The thing is, extreme weather often adds a touch of authenticity and dramatic mood to photographs that a picture-perfect blue sky simply can’t match. To help your camera and lens survive such conditions, it’s wise to keep a dedicated rain cover in your backpack.
There are plenty of different designs out there — with sleeves for both arms, clear windows, openings for flashes… I prefer simple solutions, which is why I’ve grown fond of the Mr. Jan Showercap camouflage cover. It’s essentially a simple sleeve that cinches around the lens hood with an elastic band, fastens around the lens barrel with a velcro strap, and tightens behind the camera with a drawstring. Simple, effective, and gets the job done.
Calling Wildlife
While the main purpose of camouflage is to avoid scaring animals away, calling them in is a much more proactive approach. Here, photographers borrow a trick or two from the hunter’s or researcher’s playbook. For mammals, various calls imitate sounds of females, offspring, rivals, or prey. For birds, recorded songs are often used.
There are many commercial sound libraries available, but you can also download bird calls from the extensive Xeno-Canto database, or simply use the free Merlin app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
That said, these techniques should always be used with sensitivity. The last thing you want is for your images to come at the expense of the very subjects you’re trying to photograph. The breeding season, in particular, offers fantastic photographic opportunities, but it’s also the time when birds are at their most vulnerable. Playing calls near nests is something I strongly advise against. You can read more about this delicate topic in How to Photograph Nesting Birds Responsibly.
A less invasive way to attract birds closer to your hide is by using decoys — artificial bird models. This works similarly to how we humans look for a good restaurant in an unfamiliar town, visiting places that are crowded! Birds aren’t that different. The presence of a decoy near your hide signals that the place is safe. A good example would be these Wood Duck decoys.
Binoculars and Thermal Imaging
One of the biggest challenges in wildlife photography is simply finding the animals in the first place. When experience and keen eyesight aren’t enough, a good pair of binoculars, or more recently, a thermal imager, can be a real game-changer.
You can read more about the importance of binoculars in wildlife photography in Massimo Vignoli’s article. Thermal imagers, on the other hand, bypass millions of years of camouflage evolution by detecting the animal’s heat signature and translating it into a vivid, color-coded display distinct for the human eye.
Today, you’ll find a wide range of both monocular and binocular thermal imagers across various price points. In the past, we tested the Zeiss DTI 4/35 to give you a first-hand look at how thermal imagers perform in real-life field conditions, and to help you decide whether they’re worth the investment for your photography needs.
Backpacks
What’s the best backpack for a wildlife photographer? I’m fairly certain there’s no single right answer, because we’re all different. Not just in terms of taste and body shape, but also in the gear we use. That said, when you’re searching for “the one,” ask yourself these questions to get a good sense of what pack you need:
- Will all the gear I need in the field comfortably fit inside?
- Do I need a backpack for just my camera gear and a few essentials, or will I be using it for multi-day trips into the wild?
- Will I only be traveling by car, or will I also be flying with it and need to adhere to size restrictions?
- Will I use the backpack exclusively for wildlife photography, or do I want the option to use it with a smaller kit or even as a regular hiking backpack? (If you answered yes to the first option, you’ll likely prefer backpacks with a built-in padded camera compartment. For the other two, look for models with removable inserts that can be sized to fit your gear.)
- Do I prefer accessing my gear from the front, back panel, or top? (Rear-panel access is often beneficial in wet or muddy environments, such as when out in nature.)
- How weather-resistant is the backpack and its zippers, and does it come with a rain cover?
- Do I like using a waist belt? If not, can it be detached?
- Will the backpack be comfortable? Or: will the discomfort be as minimal as possible? (The best way to find out is to test the backpack under real load, ideally in the field. Reviews, including ours, are helpful guides, but your shoulders and back might have a different opinion.)
- What kind of warranty does the manufacturer offer? If a buckle breaks, will you be able to replace it?
- What about the pack’s color? (For the exterior, I’d recommend shades that hide dirt well and blend in with natural surroundings. For the interior, a lighter color will make it easier to spot smaller items inside, like a black lens cap.)
If you’d like to narrow down the overwhelming selection, our reviews of the NYA-EVO Fjord 60-C, Gitzo Adventury 45L, and Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L might be a good place to start. Besides these well-designed packs, you’ll also find tips in those reviews about a few other models that could be a perfect fit for your needs.
Summary
And with that, we’re slowly wrapping up this overview of wildlife photographer’s essentials. An overview that will never be, and indeed cannot be, complete. I once met a renowned wildlife photographer who routinely brings dumbbells into the field and can hardly imagine heading out without them. If you’re curious about what I personally pack for my trips, here’s my longer list of what to take on a wildlife photography trip.
And what about you? Do you have any piece of gear I haven’t mentioned, something you simply can’t imagine a wildlife photo shoot without? I’d love to hear about it! Don’t keep it to yourself, share it with us in the comments below.
