Composition Tips for Wildlife Photography – Part II

• By Gaurav Mittal
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In part two of this three-part article, I continue on with some fundamental tips to help you create compelling images.

Continued from Composition Tips for Wildlife Photography – Part I…

Embrace The Tight Composition

After reading the last tip, this may seem contradictory. Tight compositions do not always work, though they are well-suited for shooting bird or wildlife behavior and portraits. They not only allow the viewer to get an intimate look at the subject, but they also add a human touch. In the image above, my goal was to direct the viewer’s attention to the two birds’ close interaction; therefore, I composed a frame-filling scene by getting close to the busy birds.

Avoid Distracting Backgrounds

A distracting background can make your subject superfluous in the context of the whole frame. For example, in the image above, the birds’ interaction and feeding action stands out against a clean background rather than compete with it. This entails moving around, getting high or low, and finding uncluttered space. Frame the bird and pay close attention to the background.

Avoid Chopping Off Body Parts

Either by design or in post-processing, body parts are cut off when you are too close to your subject or if the images are poorly cropped. This leaves your subject looking unattractive and handicapped. Here is an important point… we often come across a situation where the animal is partially hidden behind foliage, making the lower part of the body invisible. Invariably, you forget and lose track of their feet while shooting, cutting out this essential element. In the image above, I saw the animal behind the foliage and framed it to ensure I had enough space at the bottom to let the viewer sense the location of its feet.

To be continued… Composition Tips for Wildlife Photography – Part III

Tags | Composition, Tips