Wildlife Photography How To

(Editor’s Note: Exploring Light is a monthly Shutterbug column featuring tips, tricks, and photo advice from professional photographers in Canon Explorers of Light education program. This month's column is by Bob Davis, with great tips for shooting sharp photos of wildlife and birds in flight.

Here's a unique tutorial from bird photographer Shelley Pearson who treats us to an uncommon mix of information, gorgeous imagery, and inspiration for nature and wildlife shooters. In the next five minutes you'll learn how to unlock the beauty of backlighting effects.

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Whether you’re shooting at a local nature reserve, on safari in Africa, or photographing birds in your backyard, there are several things you can do to dramatically improve your results.

Bird photography is an exciting and very accessible genre, with beautifully colored subjects as close as your own backyard. Yet, some shooters feel intimidated and overwhelmed because they mistakenly think photographing our feathered friends is beyond their skills.

Last week we featured the first of a two-part beginners guide to nature and wildlife photography from expert Janine Krayer—a photographer and instructor who spends much of her time teaching workshops and photographing exotic animals in the wilds of Africa.

So you just spent a day photographing birds or other forms of wildlife and returned home expecting to be impressed by the images you made. But low and behold, the photos you see on the computer aren't nearly as compelling as you thought.