Composition In Wildlife Photography

Composition in wildlife photography is one of the the main differences between merely recording the presence of an animal and portraying a striking image.

It's harder to achieve good composition in wildlife photography than other forms of photography because the subject is usually moving. Sometimes you have to just shoot rapidly otherwise you'll miss the action. Whenever the opportunity does arise to add some composition to your shot then you should take it - slow down and carefully compose your shot.

There are plenty of photographers who are naturally artistic and have a good eye for composition. For those that aren't, it can be learned by understanding the rules of composition, applying them and then breaking them for a reason.

Eventually it will become instinct.

Ansell Adams said:

“The so-called rules of photographic composition are, in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and immaterial”

Unless you have the natural eye of Ansell Adams then get to know the rules of composition below because it can be learned. I tend to classify my wildlife photography images into three types:

1. Animal portraits.
This is where there is just one centre of interest - the animal itself. The aim is to get the viewers attention on the animal alone. Great effort is taken to eliminate other elements of the picture that could be distracting.

2. Animal landscapes.
This is where the aim is to show the animal in its environment. For these shots there is usually more than one centre of interest. The smaller the animal is in the frame, the more important composition becomes because you need to draw the viewers attention to the subject.

3. Animal groups.
This is where the centre of interest is the group rather than any particular one. An example of this type of image is a flock of birds. Wildlife photography shots like this are ideal for short lenses.

Uncluttered Background of Pure Color

For an animal portrait it's important to have an uncluttered background where there's nothing to distract the viewer from the subject.

The best way of achieving this is by blurring out the background so that it's of pure color and little texture with only the subject in sharp focus. It then appears to pop out of the image with a three dimensional effect.

The barn owl shot below is an example of a very uncluttered background which was a field in the distance.

Barn Owl with Prey (Field Vole) - Click to Enlarge

The way to get this soft diffused background is:

Choose a small depth of field such as f2.8, f4.0 or f5.6.
Ensure that the background is at least two feet behind the subject - the further away the better.

Placing the Subject in the Frame

Composition can often be improved by simply moving the subject around in the viewfinder or changing your position. The closest thing to a golden rule is the rule of thirds. Imagine the viewfinder has a grid in front like this:

Any of the four points where the lines intersect are the strongest places to position your subject. The weakest position is the centre.

The subject should be walking, looking or flying into the
centre of the frame. If it is too big for this then there
should be more room in front of it than behind it.

The shot below shows a barn owl hunting in its natural environment above a reed bed lit by the late evening sun (an animal landscape). The Owl is positioned on one of the intersecting lines and obeys the rule of thirds.

The Barn Owl is positioned so that it's flying towards the center of the frame and has plenty of space to fly into. If it had been positioned to the left of the frame it wouldn't have worked because it would be flying out of the frame rather than into it.

Barn Owl Hunting - Click to Enlarge

The smaller the subject is in the frame the more important it is to position it correctly. However there comes a point where the subject is too big in the frame for the rule of thirds.

In these cases place the subject off center to the left or right of the frame on the horizontal centre line with more space in front of the subject than behind it. The shot of the Teal below is an example of this.

Teal - Click to Enlarge

Lead the Viewers Eye to the Subject

As the subject gets smaller in the frame and your shot moves away from being an animal portrait towards being an animal landscape it becomes more important to lead the viewers eye towards the subject(s). There are many ways to do this.

Make the subject easy to see such as putting a light subject against a dark background, or a dark subject against a light background.

Use leading lines - These are diagonal or curved lines that lead from the corners of the photograph towards the centre of the frame or towards the subject. Examples of natural elements that can be used for this are rivers, borders and fallen trees.

Avoid Vertical Lines

For horizontal compositions try to avoid having vertical lines through the centre of the picture. This tends to lead the viewers eye there and nowhere else.

Compositional Balance