We often talk about the large predator hierarchy of Londolozi, with lions at the top, cheetahs at the bottom, and the rest filling in the space in between. What we don’t often talk about however, is the photography hierarchy.
Ok I don’t even know if that’s a thing, but what I’m referring to is the importance of various elements in your photograph in order to make it work. The top two are fairly obvious (subject and light), but number three (the bronze medal position, clearly very important) is your background. Background in wildlife photography is a very important subject for us, and that’s why we’ve chose to focus on it in this article.
Why background is important in wildlife photography
There is practically nothing in the background here that distracts from this impala ewe’s face. The other impala directly behind her head would ideally not be in there, but it unfortunately wandered in just as she turned to look at us, and we didn’t want to reposition at the risk of scaring her off.
There are a number of different things to look for when aiming for the right background, but your number one goal should be to have a background that doesn’t detract from your subject.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to keep it clean. The simpler the background is, the more your subject will stand out against it. This can mean a background of a single colour, one that is completely blurred, or both. Simply repositioning by moving a few metres left or right can vastly improve your shot. Avoid clutter and look out for small bits of light coming through the trees or foliage that can be distracting.
Keep an eye on your background’s colours
On the subject of colour, a background should ideally compliment your subject; the colours shouldn’t clash. It’s a fine line to tread though, because to get your subject to pop, it can’t mirror the background colour too closely either. Going into winter as we are, with the grass turning dun-coloured, the favourite photographic subjects of lion and leopard become slightly harder to obtain striking images of from a purely background perspective. Yes, the light is fantastic and the bush is more open, but it does become a challenge getting a lion to stand out against grass that is essentially the same colour as its coat. This is where your angle of shooting becomes important.
This Tsalala female was up on a rock so we were able to shoot from below here; the distant trees on the next hill were therefore handily blurred out. The blue and green of the background also allows her golden coat to stand out that much better.
Winter out here is usually defined by clear blue skies, so if you can get low down – either down a slope for lions or having a leopard up in a tree or on a termite mound – you can photograph them against a clean blue background, which ticks two of the all-important background boxes.
When it comes to backgrounds, simply aim for clean. The Tamboti female watches the sunset from a marula tree.
Blurring your background helps enormously in drawing attention to your subject, but this usually involves distance from the subject to the background or a telephoto lens. We’ll leave that discussion for another day.
When composing your image, make sure you let your eyes wander out from your subject to scrutinise for things like branches coming out from behind the head, glaring highlights or others of that sort.
If you are really struggling with the background and it’s just not playing ball, another option is to simply zoom right into the subject and eliminate the background altogether!
Not only is the background eliminated, but far more emphasis is placed on the detail of the animal, creating a very powerful shot.
Remember, if it doesn’t make the image better, it makes it worse.
What makes a good wildlife photograph?
So, what makes a good wildlife photograph? It’s, of course, not a simple and unilateral answer. A good wildlife photograph draws his excellence from his knowledge of his cameras, the animals he seeks to photograph, and his love of photography of course. This cannot be quantified, but it can, through sharing, be made available to all. Please feel free to consult our article: “What makes a good wildlife photograph?“.
Read more about:
- 5 Simple Tricks to incredible Black and White Photographs
- Photography Tips: take a Great Silhouette Shot
- What are the best focus settings for Wildlife Photography
If you want to know what wildlife photography is at Londolozi, check out our Photographic Safari experience page !
Love the photography “lessons” I try to remember it when I am out in the bush.
James, Great tips, keep them coming
I have to say the impala photo is one of my favourites in a while. Artistic disagreement coming up, but i think the out of focus impala adds to the feel , in other words the impala is isolated from the background but not alone .
Yes – I agree. It adds to the ‘environmental’ feel.
So much related to personal taste and impression with images. Have had an ongoing debate with a fellow traveler about photshopping some blurred background from one of my favorite leopard images. He finds it distracting; I feel it brings context to the leopard staring at us from a tree.
Great suggestions . . . there is a principle I learned in marketing class a verrrry long time ago – the professor called it, the KISS principle . . . when in doubt . . . Keep It Simple Stupid. You said it much more elegantly.
Fabulous James and your example photos were sapot on. Great reminder for all of us. What you forgot to mention was the really terrific job the guides do in positioning us for these perfect shooting angles with the sun at just the right place, etc. They provide the “mobile tripod” but the guy behind the camera still has to optimally compose the picture. Thanks for reminding us!
Great tips. Thanks, James!
Great suggestions for memorable photos. I’ve learned the hard way that backgrounds are so important, when I view my photos later. Luckily I’ll get a re-do as I’m returning next March for a few days. Can’t get enough wilderness- hopefully more leopards and lions. 😊📷📷
I AM pleased! I haven’t received my Londolozi Newsletter since last Saturday and was wondering what went wrong! So that’s alright – and another nice article on Photography to remind us to have our wits about us before we press that shutter button!
Thanks for hints! We are keeping track of them for our next visit!!!