Because smartphone cameras have become so good, the possibilities of what you can do with them have expanded. One such avenue is wildlife photography.
Now, before anyone crucifies me about this, professional wildlife photography is a very specialised art that requires special equipment to pull of properly.
This post is more geared towards the hobbyist mobile photographer or someone who finds themselves in an area with wild animals and wishes to capture shots of them on their phone.
What is wildlife photography?
In regular photography, wildlife photography refers to a type of photography that is mainly concerned with capturing images of various forms of wildlife in their natural environments.
Wildlife photographers make a living traveling to even the most distant of places to document wild animals in their natural habitat.
It is a very challenging and expensive form of photography that requires a lot of patience and dedication from a professional photographer who has passion for wildlife.
As much as this article is about wildlife photography, I won’t be discussing it from a professional point of view where you travel around taking pictures of animals for money.
Rather, as mentioned before, my take is more from a hobbyist point of view.
So, is it possible to do wildlife photography with your phone?
Technically, yes. Is it ideal? Most probably not. But the right mobile camera can get the job done in its own way.
Of course, it’d be easier to capture a shot of a lion from a distance with a dedicated camera instead of walking up close to one. But that’s not to say it’s impossible to take a picture of a lion with your phone.
Thanks to technological advancements and computational photography, mobile photography has improved dramatically in just a decade.
For example, phones can now zoom in optically without degrading the picture considerably. So, now you can take photos of dangerous wildlife from a safe distance.
But despite improvements in their technology, smartphone cameras still have some serious limitations which stem from design. The cameras have to be small to fit the design of the phone so sacrifices have to be made.
The size of the sensor is the biggest limitation as it affects picture quality and performance in low light conditions. However, it’s still possible to take good pictures of wildlife despite the setbacks.
Does it replace DSLR?
The simple answer here is no. As mentioned above, mobile phone cameras still have to contend with the limitations of their design.
It’ll a long time, if ever, for smartphones to be at the same level as dedicated cameras. Remember, as mobile cameras improve, so does the technology in their bigger counterparts.
DSLR and mirrorless cameras are far superior to smartphone cameras because of their large sensors. Bulky as they may be, this allows them to attach lenses with long focal lengths.
This makes it easier to capture shots of dangerous or shy animals from a distance.
So, if dedicated cameras are better, then why shoot with a smartphone? You don’t have to shoot with a smartphone. If you have a bigger and better camera, then sure, shoot with it.
But for those people who don’t have expensive “proper” cameras, using a smartphone with a good camera is a viable option.
There are also some people who choose to shoot with a smartphone not for the convenience but for the challenge brought by the limitations of the camera.
It can be quite exciting to see how far you can stretch yours and your mobile camera’s capabilities in various situations and types of photography.
Tips to capture wildlife with phone
If you’re out and about in nature or around wildlife and are keen to take some snaps with your phone, below are some tips that can help you get some really great shots.
1. Be discreet
Even though you get the curious, the indifferent, and the downright dangerous animals in the wild, some can be quite shy. The slightest noise or sighting of a human can scare them and they’ll run away.
So it’s a good idea not to bring any attention to yourself. This includes turning off the camera shutter sound.
Despite scaring the animals away, discretion is good for capturing candid shots of animals interacting with each other and their environment.
Of course, this depends on the where you are and the animals you’ll be taking pictures of.
If you’re staying at a game lodge somewhere in Africa, there’s a good chance of wild animals coming close to where you are. This is where you’d need to be discreet to get shots of them.
If you’re on safari, you obviously will only be as discreet as the vehicle you’re driving in. Discretion is also not such a big factor at zoos, farms or rehab centres.
2. Use a good phone camera
I always talk about how it’s the person using the camera and not the camera that takes good pictures. I still stand by that.
But the reality is that smartphone cameras are really limited. So, one improvement over another makes quite a difference.
In another article I wrote about the difference between a good mobile camera and a bad one. For you to understand these differences, you need to first understand smartphone camera specs.
Basically, if a mobile camera has a good sized sensor for a phone, a decent amount of megapixels that aren’t tiny in size, it ticks the right boxes. Of course, these are not the only factors that make mobile photos look good. Be sure to check out the article here.
By using a phone with a good quality camera, you can at least be sure that you’re halfway to taking pictures that look fantastic.
It’s up to you to learn to use the phone’s camera to its full potential so your shots always come out amazing.
3. Get close if possible
If you’re in an environment where it is possible to safely get close to the animals, then do so. But only if it is safe. Do not attempt to lure animals that could potentially harm. If you have a guide, let them tell you how close you can get.
When my family and I spent a long weekend at a game lodge, we were lucky enough to see animals such as zebras and bucks from quite a close proximity.
In fact, on one or more occasions they came right by where we were staying. Because they’re so chilled, I was able to walk on foot and snap a photo from even closer.
Of course, if you are going to get closer to the animals, remember the point about discretion. Even though I was able to get close to my giraffe friends, I did get too close and that seemed to bother them away.
If you’re at a zoo, obviously you’ll be limited by the enclosure in terms of how close you can get. Some animal breeding and rehabilitation centres allow people to touch and interact with the wild animals. This could be a good opportunity take take good shots from really up close.
4. Zoom on your phone
This point kind of ties in with what I already mentioned earlier about using a phone with a good camera.
One of the improvements made to mobile photography over the years is the introduction of multiple cameras on the rear of the phone. This has made it possible for phones to have lenses with different focal lengths.
In the past, phones commonly only had one camera. And because the lens on that camera was a prime lens with a fixed focal length, it was not possible to zoom optically.
So, people would use digital zoom to magnify a subject that’s far away. But, in all honesty, digital zoom mostly resulted in images of inferior quality.
On some multi-camera phones, one of the lenses of the cameras is a telephoto lens. This allows the camera to zoom “optically” without the highly noticeable picture quality loss of digital zoom. How far the camera can zoom in depends on the focal length of the telephoto lens.
Most cameras have a 2X optical zoom. There are, however, phones that can zoom in even further. For example, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom has 5x optical zoom, despite its misleading name.
However, there have been some phones with as much as 10x optical zoom in the past but they proved to be unpopular due to the size of the protruding rear camera.
But thanks to technology, it’s rumoured that the upcoming Huawei P40 Pro will feature 10x optical zoom without adding much size to the device.
So, if your phone camera has optical zoom, it will make it easier to capture some animals from a distance. If your phone doesn’t feature optical zoom, do not use digital zoom! Rather attach a lens to it.
5. Attach lenses
If your phone is an older model with only one camera, that doesn’t mean it can’t take good pictures. In fact, some of my favourite mobile pictures were taken using phones with only one camera.
The only difference is that you’re limited in terms of what you can do as is the case with optical zoom.
Before optical zoom became a thing on smartphone cameras, lens attachments were quite popular. And they still are. What you do is attach a lens of your choosing to your phone’s camera externally and snap away.
In the case of wildlife photography where you might need to keep your distance from the animals, you can attach a telephoto lens which will then magnify your subject. How much magnification you get depends on the focal length of the lens you have attached.
To capture tiny bugs and animals found in the wild, you can attach a macro lens. To the best of my knowledge, not many if any current smartphone with multiple cameras has one with a macro lens.
And not every phone with multiple cameras have a telephoto lens. So, it’s not common to see mobile photographers attaching external lenses to phones that already have more than one camera.
6. Keep your camera steady
No matter whether you attach a telephoto lens or zoom in optically (or even digitally, which you shouldn’t do), one thing that never changes is the fact that the more you zoom in, the shakier your shot gets.
So, if you’re going to zoom in, you’re definitely going to need to keep your phone steady.
Ordinarily, when taking wide shots with a wide angle lens and a fast shutter speed, you can simply hold you phone still with your hands if they’re steady enough. Otherwise, you need to find a surface you can support your phone on to avoid blurry shots.
The best way to keep your phone steady is to invest in a camera support system. There most common is the tripod and its different variations.
However, when you need to be on the go and don’t have time to set up a tripod, a monopod is a quick, lightweight and very versatile option to consider.
7. Be quick and patient
Animals are super unpredictable, especially wild animals. Therefore, you need to keep your wits about you if you want to capture good photos.
Anything can happen at any time, so you need to be quick enough to get the shot before the moment goes away. And once it’s gone, it’s most likely gone for good.
One thing you can do to make sure you don’t miss anything and also stand a good chance of getting the best shot possible is to use Burst mode. This is where you set the camera to take multiple photos one after the other. You can then choose the ones you like best from the lot.
But using Burst mode doesn’t automatically guarantee that you’ll capture everything and not miss a moment. Just like when doing street photography with your phone, you may have to anticipate what might happen. And that’s where patience comes in.
If you are out to get a photo of an animal doing something particular, you might have to wait for that moment to happen. And if you’re any bit familiar with the animal’s behaviour, you might just have a better idea of what to expect and when.
Animals spend most of their time doing nothing. If you want to catch them in any sort of action, you’ll have to be ready and wait.
8. Learn to take good photos
I could give you all the tips and tricks about shooting wildlife with your phone but it would amount to nothing if you don’t learn how to take good pictures with your phone.
The first step is to know and understand the camera you are using. If you know what you’re working with, you’ll appreciate the flaws of your device’s camera and find a way to navigate around them.
But taking good photos of wildlife with your phone goes beyond just having a decent phone camera and learning how it works. You have to apply technical and creative thinking.
Other things that come to play are things such as composition, lighting, positioning, and others. If you acquaint yourself with these principles and others, you’ll be well on your way to being a talented mobile photographer.
For more tips on how to capture great photos with your phone, check out the 15 Tips on How To Take Amazing Photos With Your Phone.
If you want to learn more about how to improve your smartphone photography, download the 5 Ways To Improve Your Smartphone Photography ebook here. There’s a lot to learn in its 22 pages of content and it’s ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
