How to Become a Wildlife Photographer (Step By Step Guide)

Photography is one of the best passions that one can have. It’s a relaxing, creative, and engaging activity that you can make a part of your life.

Wildlife photography is a genre that’s very fun and engaging. You get to see the outside and capture the moments of the wild. What can be more thrilling than that?

But it’s a bit different than other types of photography. People often get confused about starting on wildlife photography. But it’s not that hard to start.

Let’s go over everything you need to know to have an easy start.

Table of Contents

1 How to Become a Wildlife Photographer and Get Paid For Your Photos
2 Additional Resources for Wildlife Photographers
3 How to pick a career and boost at it Guides for Careers in Photography
4 Want more advice?
5 How much profit can you make with wildlife photography in a year?
6 Final Thoughts

How to Become a Wildlife Photographer and Get Paid For Your Photos

Ever wonder how you can get started quickly on wildlife photography and make a profit doing it? Well, it might be simpler than you think it is.

With the right steps, you can create a successful career in no time. You just have to believe in the process and have dedication.

To help you with that, let’s discuss all that you need to know on how to start your career as a wildlife photographer. With the proper directions, you can make your progress super-fast. The following step by step process will help you with that.

Getting Started in Wildlife Photography

The first thing you need to do is get a good camera. Choosing the lens with the right configuration for your camera is the most crucial thing as well.

A good camera doesn’t have to be very expensive. Going for a mid-range one will work fine. But the camera lens plays a very crucial role in the level of your photography. So, pick the lens after doing some research.

Zoom lenses are better for wildlife shooting. So, get yourself a zoom lens. Lenses with 300mm focal distance are great for this.

Once you have everything in place, you are ready to move onto the next step.

Learn Basic Photography

Now that you have the gear, it’s time for you to learn some basic photography. If you are new at this, start with the simplest things.

You can take a good online course. That will help to teach you the basics and the fundamentals of shooting great photos.

Remember, you must get the basics down well before anything else. These will help you capture the best images that you crave for.

Starting with complicated techniques is not an ideal thing to do. It will slow you down. Start simple, and the results will be worth it.

Develop Fundamental Photography Skills

As mentioned earlier, you first need to focus on the basics. You must learn the functions of the camera buttons. That’s the mechanical part.

Besides that, you need to learn how the angle works. Also, which lighting you choose plays a huge role in your photos. You must learn to select the lighting level that you will work on.

Nobody is born with those skills. Every good photographer had to work hard to learn those skills.

Those skills need time to develop. You should practice more and more. That’s the way to get good at it.

Build a Portfolio and Market Yourself

This is the first step for you in the process of getting paid. You need to start capturing some real wildlife photos yourself. Then make a strong portfolio.

That will help you to attract clients. But you need to use only good samples in your portfolio. Try putting the best shots there. That is going to make it more attractive and appealing to the clients.

You can market yourself as much as you want after that. You may try online or local clubs in the beginning. That will be a great way to get clients fast.

Look for Photogenic Environments

Some places have a natural charm. That makes it very appropriate and easy to take amazing pictures. You should be mindful of those spots and be in a lookout.

Places with some natural stuff are always appealing to the eyes. That can be rivers, trees, or anything of that kind. Nature is the best thing that is going to enhance your pictures.

Search for a good background for your photos as well. That’s needed to give your images a perfect touch. As you capture more and more, you’d be able to look for great photogenic places with next to no effort.

Do Research and Carry Necessary Gear

Doing some research before going to your photo shooting sessions will help a lot. It lets you have a more clear idea of what you are working with.

Getting the gears needed is also a priority. The gears make it easy for you to take the pictures. Also, the quality of your photo increases if you use the right gears.

Start Off With Safe/Basic Species

Wildlife photography can get dangerous, especially when you are just starting. Taking shots of animals that can get fatal is not the best idea.

That’s why it’s best to start with safe animals. Smaller animals are perfect for that job. You’ll be able to improve your skills and get some nice photos for your portfolio as well.

Once you are comfortable with that, you can go for animals that are a bit more aggressive.

Assist Someone

The best way to learn something is to learn from the best. Once you are somewhat comfortable in taking good photos, you should assist someone.

There are a lot of photographers out there that need an assistant. If you want to help them, they would be more than happy to have you. You can learn so much from them.

So, make sure that you use it in your way. It will skyrocket your progress in just a matter of days.

Be Patient

The skill of wildlife photography is hard to master. You need to spend countless hours to get somewhat good at this. But the result is worthwhile.

So many people quit before even spending a decent amount of time on developing the skill. That’s why they never can reach the goals that they set.

If you dedicate yourself to it, you are going to get there very fast. You have to trust in the process of that. Be patient, and you’ll have it all.

How to Photograph Mountain Gorillas

Taking photos of a gorilla is not easy.

The right gear is the most important part of this process. You need a good camera with a good zoom lens. That way, you can capture the image of the gorilla with ease.

You should approach the animal with caution. Gorillas can often get reckless and cause trouble. You should take the help of an animal keeper. That will make your job easy.

Additional Resources for Wildlife Photographers

You can look up some extra resources to enrich yourself for wildlife photography. You can follow the resources down below.

You can try out the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographer which is a fascinating resource to try out.
World Photography Organization is also a great resource.
JCM Photographic Society is a good one to follow
Association of Photographers is also very inspiring
The Photographers Guild

Those will help you develop your point of view. You can be a better photographer just by looking at other’s works. That’s why you should always follow these resources. They will inspire you and make you a better photographer in no time.

How to pick a career and boost at it Guides for Careers in Photography

You might know that there are a lot of career opportunities in photography. You can pick so many different niches in it. But you have to follow your passion at its best to be great at it.

That’s why you need to read other guides on it as well. The following guides will help you a ton on this.

How to become a popular photographer in your area
How to Become a Photographer
How to be an amazing Photojournalist fast with simple steps
How to Become a Wedding Photographer

Make sure to follow these guides for getting better at it.

Want more advice?

You should research whenever you get time for it. That will only make you a better photographer in the long run. There is no better way of learning than doing research by yourself and learning from it.

And don’t get eager for money at first. Be passionate about your job. The money will come with time.

How much profit can you make with wildlife photography in a year?

That is an interesting thing that most of us want to know. The average earning of a photographer is somewhere around 20,000 pounds to 25,000 pounds. That, of course, can vary for numerous amount of things.

But you can make a good amount of money doing this job. You can see how it’s picking up popularity. That is a great career option nowadays.

What can be better than turning your passion into the work that gets you money?

Final Thoughts

That was everything you need to know on how to become a wildlife photographer. As you saw, it’s not that hard to reach your dreams. With the proper directions, you can climb to the top in no time.

You should follow your dreams and passions at any cost. That is the best way to be happy in the now. And if you can make it a profession, even better. You’ll be able to do what you love for the rest of your life. What can be more amazing than that?

You may also love to read our other Genres of Photography here.