First, thanks to all of the talented photographers who have entered my ViewBug Big Cats Photo Contest, here is some pointers for those who are new to photographing big cats. Big cats can be found in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, South and Central America and throughout the United States – in the wild and in wildlife parks.
If you like photographing big cats as much as I do, here are some quick tips.
1) Focus on the eyes. In most cases, if the eyes are not well lit and in sharp focus, you have missed the shot.
2) See eye-to-eye and shoot eye-to-eye. Get down low and try to shoot at the subject’s eye level.
3) Shoot at the peak of action. Portraits are pleasing, but action shots have more impact.
4) Watch the background. It can make or break the shot. Try to compose your photograph with a plain, non-distracting background. Shoot at a wide aperture to put the background slightly out of focus.
5) Try to get a backlit shot – one in which the sunlight is glowing around the subject’s body. Be careful not to overexpose that rim light. Check your camera’s highlight alert to ensure a good exposure.
6) Take portraits and environmental shots. That is, photograph big cats in their environment.
7) Study big cat behavior. Knowing your subject will help you get a higher percentage of good photographs.
8) Use plug-ins to make your best shots look even better. I use Macphun’s Intensify Pro to create images with more detail and impact. To create dramatic black and white images, I’m now using Macphun’s Tonality Pro more and more.
Want to learn more about photographing big cats? Join Rick Sammon on his wildlife workshops.
