There is a famous expression in the stills and movie industries ‘Stay away from Children and Animals’. I’m not sure who should take the credit for this profundity, but whoever he was, he knew what he was talking about. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to prevent you from taking pictures of your young children, your favourite Labrador or maybe Peefer the parrot, if you’re doing it for fun. That’s one thing, but if you decide to take more serious pictures, you’re going to need some help.

Photographing inanimate objects like colourful juicy looking apples placed on a black velvet cloth with a

stained glass backdrop casting multi-coloured washes across the image is relatively easy – oops, what have I just said? I can just hear hundreds of ‘still life’ and portrait photographers saying ‘Easy did he say? Did I hear correctly, who is this guy?’

Nevertheless folks, it is a fact that if you are in a controlled environment - with your camera mounted on a tripod, assistants moving in and out tweaking the lights, makeup and props dressing your shot through the lens – it is a lot easier than shooting a Leopard chasing an Impala that he plans to eat for lunch. Here’s a good example. Hitting a static target at the shooting range is difficult enough, but it takes a special skill and a lot of experience to hit the same target if it’s on the move. Moving objects create a whole new set of problems and mindset. Instead of the luxury of a composed lit frame with exact apertures and wide lenses, you are thrown into unpredictable moves that directly impact on your film speed, your focus, the amount of available light and the choice of lens. It also drastically increases the production of endorphins that jack up your adrenaline level.

Without getting hugely technical, for you to get a good shot of a moving Leopard, you have to be on a rapid-fire camera with a 100mm to 300mm lens, which is extremely restricting even for the more experienced photographer. If your subject is moving fast you have to frame, focus and fire on the fly (as they say) the majority of time, hoping to God you got it. Longer lenses need more light than wider lenses. Most wide angle lens lenses have apertures of between 1.8 and 2.8, whereas 300 to 500mm lenses start with an aperture of between 5.6 & 11– so you do need light. If there isn’t the required light aperture, you need to be on a minimum 400 ASA film in order to enhance the available light and capture a hit-and-miss series of frames that you will either ditch or leave the podium carrying the award.

Okay, so where are we going with this? I suggest you start practicing on Peefer the parrot to get the feel of a moving object. You must understand that Peefer, your Labrador, your child or any other uncontrollable subject is not going to do what you want them to do - so if Peefer offers you a great profile shot, you can put money on it that as you hit the shutter, he will drop out of frame or give you a beautiful close-up of the back of his head. It takes a lot of practice and even more patience.

If you really want to learn about composition and action framing, take yourself and your camera off to the local sports stadium and snap at athletes or baseball players in action – it’ll be your first step to shooting wildlife stills.

And of course when you join us for on a wild adventures trip I’m all too happy to give a helping hand.

Here’s a great Digital Photography Book to start you on your way.