Wildlife and Animal Photography

Safari parks have signs strongly warning visitors not to exit their cars for obvious reasons. A family visiting the Beekse Bergen Safari Park in Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands ignored those warnings to take photos of a group of cheetahs and very nearly paid dearly for the poor decision.

The studio Conde Nast Entertainment has officially acquired the rights to the life story of photographer David Slater, who became known around the world after getting locked in a copyright battle involving a monkey.

Wildlife photography can be really peaceful in its own way: you're sitting in the wilderness, watching the wonder of nature, enjoying the quiet. Apparently, it can be so peaceful that even bears will sit down next to you to relax for a moment, which is exactly what happened to this photographer. 

Common sense has prevailed after a US court ruled animals cannot file copyright infringement lawsuits, in the ongoing case between animal rights group PETA and photographer David Slater.

A known photographer has decided to cease production of his range of elephant skin bags after outcry from the photography community. Some of the bags listed on his site would retail for up to $40,000.

It turns out that taking quality images of animals is actually quite challenging. Grab a telephoto lens and check out this video for some tips that make getting a strong shot just a tad more reliable.

Despite stemming from 2011, the case regarding the copyright of a photo technically taken by a monkey is not over yet. Even though photographer David Slater and animal rights group PETA reached an agreement last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now rejected the request.

It's pretty rare to even see a Killer Whale in their natural habitat. A photographer stumbled upon the once in a lifetime experience to not only see the creatures but to capture them up close on camera for us all to admire; his footage is stunning.  

The Internet is run on cute puppy photos, and that’s a verifiable fact. Do your part in contributing using these helpful pet photography tips.

Spring is coming. If you're anything like me, you'd rather be out in the woods pretty much all the time right now. And if I'm out in the woods, chances are I have some kind of camera with me.

Professional photographer Stacey Oliver had the moment of her career at a routine wedding shoot when this happened....

"Dogs have opened up a whole world for me that has made me less lonely," says Elias Weiss Friedman, better known as The Dogist. Meet the man who turned photographing dogs on the streets of New York City into 3 million followers and a New York Times bestseller.

A photographer’s child photo series has gone viral - complete with death threats – after he was accused of animal abuse for his use of live baby animals in his portraits.

While we all know educational photography videos on YouTube are the bee’s knees, sometimes what’s really needed is an in-depth book to sink into. Enter Steve Perry’s “Secrets to Stunning Wildlife Photography.”

If you've wondered why registering your image copyrights is a good thing, here's a case for you. Insect photographer Alex Wild is seeking $2.7 million in an image-use case in which a pest control company used 18 of his images without permission and refused to take them down.

The same way people portraiture requires imagination and inspiration to create something different, so does dog photography. Have you tried photographing dogs but wished you could have added something to make them stand out more? Phil Harris has created a short video to give you 10 quick and easy tips and tricks to achieve that.

With wildlife photography, much of it is giving yourself the opportunity to be in right spot and the right time. But sometimes it’s not realistically possible to be present behind the camera when your skittish subject is nearby in the frame. That’s where camera trap photography comes in.

Every holiday season (and sometimes in between), we see the typical high-end pet photography shoots as excellent photographers put their time, money, and skill into creating impressive setups and wall-worthy images to help breathe life back into adoption rates. But it can be a lot to commit to a proper studio setup to shoot dogs every month, let alone every year. However, even with minimal effort, skill, and time, the difference you can make at any time of year in a foster dog’s life as a photographer is incredible. You just wouldn’t believe it. So I’ll prove it.

Since age seven, Josiah Launstein has been developing his photographic skill and style. Perhaps good parenting resulted in this child prodigy's success — it certainly helps to have a father who is a photographer — or maybe it was luck that led him to find what he's passionate about at an early age. Either way, this young Alberta native proves the saying, "age is just a number," to be true. 

Some of the best photographic opportunities happen when you least expect them. In this video from John E. Marriott, he shares valuable tips on how to always be prepared for the surprise wildlife photo of a lifetime.

As I’ve started spiraling down the wonderfully challenging path of bird photography, it’s become apparent that there’s a lack of well-made resources to get a jump start on it. Given it’s a small genre with a lot of competitiveness in earning money with limited avenues to sell work, I can understand that. However, I’m always happy to find someone with high-caliber work share their time-earned insights into the craft. In this video, Steve Perry breaks down 10 great tips on photographing birds while on the shoreline.

Wildlife photography is one of the more expensive kinds of photography, with some popular lenses costing over $10,000. For many photographers, trying to get close enough to the subject may require longer 600mm lenses, but when you consider the price for each of them, a little research can definitely go a long way. The Canon 600mm F/4L II is a little cheaper than the Nikon 600mm F4E; however, sometimes the price isn't a major factor when deciding which to buy.

Some of you may have woke up early on Christmas morning to rush to the tree and unwrap your shiny new drone. Unfortunately, the unusually cold conditions in parts of the US meant that many of you were grounded. So while you were there holding your new toy in your hands, staring wistfully at the crisp air outside, you may have had to justify the large price tag to yourself or to your partner/parents.

Stefano Carnelli is an Italian photographer living in London and Berlin, shooting socially-engaged, documentary images on medium-format film with a particular interest in the relationship between people and landscapes. His recent project, “Transumanza,” explores the lives of shepherds and their flocks in the Po Valley of northern Italy, examining how their historic traditions have changed in response to globalization and an ever-shifting landscape.

PETA have once again found themselves dictating animal-related photo laws and regulations after their intervention with Shutterstock has led to the agency banning all “unnatural” ape and monkey pictures.

Wildlife Photographer Michel d’Oultremont knows what it’s like to wait. Sometimes he spends a week and a half just waiting for the perfect light and the animals he photographs to show up. The resulting images are well worth the effort.

The winners of National Geographic’s 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year have been announced. This year, Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan comes away with the grand prize for his wildlife photo, “Face to Face in a River in Borneo.”

New footage has emerged of a starving polar bear surrounded by dry land. The heartbreaking video, picked up by National Geographic, sees the malnourished animal struggling to walk as it searches for food.

One photographer has begun capturing the moment that rats and mice born inside laboratories and used for testing are released to the outside world.

"Hell Is Here" is the title of Biplab Hazra's photograph of a burning elephant calf that got him this year's Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Award from Sanctuaryasia.com, which describes itself as India's leading nature and wildlife conservation portal.

The first episode of "Blue Planet II" was aired in the U.K. this week to critical acclaim, showcasing some of the most remarkable camerawork ever seen on the seas, and even giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the huge efforts undergone in capturing this international TV event.

In a recent series about people, technology, and nature, Vice highlighted the growing problem of poachers who are using photographer’s GPS data to locate, harass, and kill rare animal species. In the US, one of the more prevalently poached species is the rattlesnake, a species that is almost exclusively North American.

Here is a great video with some tips and tricks for photography in a tropical setting. Something that I'm sure a lot of us would kill for the opportunity to travel and shoot, the folks over at NatureTTL have some advice to save yourself a headache in the event you have that chance. If you want to save yourself some time and avoid learning things the hard way, give this video a watch as they break down a few different basic ideas to help you prepare for the climate.  

This week the Natural History Museum in London will hold the ceremony to announce the winners of the Wildlife Photographers of the Year. The winning images are powerful reminders of life beyond cell phones, Facebook, and other daily routines we have become accustomed to. Notably, some of the most impressive categories are from those not even old enough to drive.

As Halloween nears, we are all soon to be bombarded with a litany of images in our social media feeds of our friend’s unwilling pets being forced to don cute/embarrassing outfits picked out by their fawning owners. In fact, it’s highly likely that we have perpetrated this subtle canine fashion abuse ourselves at some point and time in our lives. How can you help it? They’re just so darn cute. But what is far less likely is that any of us will have achieved the rakish heights of the world’s foremost purveyor of canine imagery, William Wegman.

Who's a good boy?! For around 45 years, William Wegman has been working with canine companions and exploring all of the peculiar possibilities that come to his mind. With a studio, lots of props, and a playful disposition, Wegman has crafted a career the revolves around man's best friend.

BBC America just released a jaw-dropping five-minute preview for their upcoming series, "Planet Earth: Blue Planet II." The footage is gorgeous, David Attenborough is narrating, and Radiohead and Hans Zimmer provide a sonic feast. Sit back and enjoy.

Scuba Diving magazine just released the winners of their 13th annual underwater photography competition. This year’s “Through Your Lens” contest features incredible images taken over this past year from photographers throughout the world.

George Wheelhouse is a fine art nature and landscape photographer from Bedfordshire, U.K. I recently spoke with him about his contemporary portraits of animals, as well as his more traditional woodland and mountain landscapes. Though many of Wheelhouse's favorite subjects are local, he told me that he loves to travel to remote locations, particularly to Nordic areas. He also shared that he is quite fond of boreal forests like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Canada.

“It’s a photo that I wish didn’t exist but now that it does I want everyone to see it.” That is how the Wildlife Photographer of the Year finalist behind this photo describes his image, which illustrates the threat facing our seas.

When it comes to wildlife photography, high megapixel cameras aren't normally the first kind of cameras that most people tend to think of. Cameras such as the Canon 1DX Mark II, the Nikon D5, and the Sony a9 come to mind, due to their incredible burst rates, rugged build quality, and amazing autofocus systems. Tony Northrup, an avid wildlife photographer, believes the Nikon D850 to be the best camera for wildlife photography. In his latest video, Northrup describes in detail why he believes this to be true and based on the information he presents, it's difficult to argue against his points.  

As a dog photographer, one critical post-processing skill is the ability to remove leashes from your images. It is often the single most time-consuming step of editing your dog portraits. I have tried many techniques for removing leashes, and I find this one to be the fastest while producing great results.

Vincent Munier is a Nikon ambassador, but more importantly, he’s probably one of the best animal and wildlife photographers. He’s photographed quite a few subjects in his career, but shooting the snow leopard in its environment was an exceptional project. It's one that Nikon supported and we now can enjoy through this beautiful video.

Black dogs are the most likely of all coat colors to be euthanized in shelters. And of course, they're no less worthy of adoption than their lighter counterparts, which is why Commercial Photographer Shaina Fishman decided to bring awareness to the issue with this great series.

It's been several years since I first had the chance to visit Yellowstone National Park, but I can honestly say that it was an incredible experience throughout and I can't wait to go back. The trip to the national park was honestly a game-changing experience for me and how I approach my own landscape photography. I learned so much on that trip, not necessarily about my gear, but about what to shoot and how to capture it in a way that would help me really remember what it was like to see things in person.

Photographing wild animals in their natural environment is very rewarding and one of the most beautiful experiences that a nature photographer can live. Actually, that most photographers could live. Being face to face with a polar bear with nothing but a camera in between is both extraordinarily breathtaking and scary. Wild nature photographer Joshua Holko, filmmaker Abraham Joffe, and cinematographer Dom West went to the Arctic and documented this experience so that we could try to relive it with them.

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at dramatic macro shots of insects, but don’t have a studio setup or - let’s face it - the desire to cart strange insects back from your outdoor excursions? Entomologist Phil Torres has a neat solution. In this video, he takes us through his simple and elegant setup for shooting studio-quality macro photographs in the field.

A Sumatran tiger at a United Kingdom zoo strolled up to a Nikon KeyMission 360 camera, swatted it down from its perch on the fence, and chewed it up a bit. Needless to say, the KeyMission survived and safely protected the memory card with the footage in the process.

Since the new Sony a9 announcement and subsequent release, it’s been earmarked as an honest competitor to the sports and wildlife scene. As time went on we saw a lot of talk about it being framed in the context of sports photography, so I eagerly wanted to take it out and see what it had to offer to the wildlife and bird photographers who were often getting left out of these discussions. Here’s a collection of my thoughts after heading out into the woods with the Sony a9.