Technique LOW-LIGHT WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Professional wildlife photographers Richard Peters and Matthew Maran have spent many years working in a range of conditions and perfecting their craft. They share their top tips for capturing wildlife in low light
Wildlife photography often conjures up ideals of a warm glowing sunrise or sunsets, with perfect light illuminating the subject. The reality is far from this. It is often the case that you find yourself photographing in dull, grey or just generally low-light conditions.
These situations command a little more composure and control over how you set your camera to capture the moment in the best possible way. Low light brings challenges that can be fun to overcome and also very rewarding.
They key is knowing what types of images you can take in those lighting scenarios and the best ways to approach them. The more lighting scenarios you know how to make the most of, the more opportunity you will have to take a good shot in any given situation.
So, the next time you find yourself in less-than-ideal light, rather than shy away from it, crank the ISO up or use one of the following techniques to see what images you can come away with. Whatever you do, don’t call it a day. You never know what images are waiting for you in the low light.
Richard Peters
UK-based wildlife photographer Richard has received many accolades, including twice in Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He runs photo safaris and is an ambassador for Nikon, Swarovski Optik and Datacolor. Visit richardpeters.co.uk or Instagram @richardpetersphoto
Time your moments carefully
The longer your focal length, and the larger the subject in the frame, the more movement is emphasised. This then requires a faster shutter speed. However, in low light, shutter speeds are often sacrificed to keep the ISO low. If you’re shooting in 5-figure ISO values, try to limit this to static subjects. Then you can drop your shutter speed right down, use your camera’s image stabilisation and keep shutter speeds as low as possible. For example, here an aperture of f/9 was used to achieve a greater depth of field at 800mm, but the overcast morning pushed the ISO to 22,800 despite a shutter speed of only 1/400sec. By waiting for the lion to pause for a moment as it looked at the camera, a sharp image was possible.
Use artificial light
This is more of an advanced technique and can divide opinion. But if care is taken, it can produce some wonderful results. Generally, always use flash guns on low power output and in the peripherals of the subject. This will allow you to photograph animals in very low light, such as at night. It also allows you to be very creative with your images, manipulating the light to your advantage.
Here a flash
