How to capture wildlife shots with impact: conservation awareness

Blending into your subject's environment and being as quiet as possible should result in more images of the animal exhibiting natural behaviour, a powerful attribute in wildlife photography. "It's crucial to be silent," Christine says. "One of the most important camera features a wildlife photographer should look for is a silent shutter."

Marc adds: "A quick autofocus system and Burst mode [when several photographs are captured in quick succession] are important too, to increase your chances of getting a good picture."

Along with quieter shooting in Silent Drive mode, the Canon EOS 250D offers 5fps, plus two autofocus systems, bolstering the chances of catching a pin-sharp shot. Your camera can be customised by turning off the AF assist beam which means the red light won't turn on to assist with autofocus, which is ideal for not disturbing your subject. The optical viewfinder offers the choice of a streamlined 9 AF points or Live View mode. Live View mode allows you to shoot via the touchscreen and automatically tracks the subject using 143 AF points, for greater control you can take advantage of the 3,975 manual selection points.

In order to have the best chance of not disturbing the animals, you can reduce LCD brightness to remain hidden. Shooting with no flash ensures your shot won’t scare off your subject, just make sure to raise the ISO to capture as much light as possible. The maximum ISO on the Canon EOS 250D can be extended to 51200. Using a high ISO can create image noise but the Canon EOS 250D comes with a High ISO speed noise reduction setting that can be used when you process your images.

2. Increase shutter speed to avoid blur

Speed is the name of the game in wildlife photography, and Marc suggests boosting the ISO to compensate for the fact that less light enters the camera when you ramp up the shutter speed to capture movement and reduce motion blur. "Whatever the animal, always work with a high ISO. A lot of people seem worried about using a higher ISO, but you need it."

Christine adds: "If you don't raise the ISO, you risk your image being blurred because the animal is moving faster than the shutter." In order to avoid blur it's important to raise the ISO so you can increase the shutter speed and capture a high quality, sharp image, choosing the right setting to match the motion.

As the photographers discovered, selecting a high ISO to enable faster shutter speeds doesn't compromise image quality on either camera. Both the Canon EOS M200 and the Canon EOS 250D are capable of ISO25600, with the latter expandable to ISO51200.

3. Select minimal kit wisely

"You don't need to have all the gear in the beginning," Christine advises. "Start with a wide angle and a telephoto lens, then add more later."

To compose a shot of an animal in the context of its environment, you could try pairing the Canon EOS M200 with a wide-angle lens such as the Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM. Alternatively, to crop in close and shoot from further afield, the telephoto Canon EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens is an ideal partner. For the Canon EOS 250D, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens is a compact telephoto that jumps in close to the action, whereas the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens enables you to shoot wide, capturing animals within a landscape or cityscape setting.

4. Get up close and show hidden detail

Conservation is about considering 'the bigger picture', but photography in this genre looks at all creatures, great and small. "What I like very much about macro is the possibility to show what otherwise goes unnoticed," says Christine. "There's so much beauty within a very small world."

Macro enthusiasts using the Canon EOS M200 can attach the Canon EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro IS STM lens, which not only offers up to 1.2x magnification, but as the world's first autofocus lens with two integrated, controllable LEDs (Macro Lite), provides extra illumination and eliminates unnecessary shadows.

"Many people think that macro images aren't typical of conservation photography," says Christine. "But to us, what is really important is to have a portfolio that covers all the different aspects of nature. If there's something that's tiny and beautiful that needs to be highlighted, macro photography is the perfect tool to use."

5. Know your camera

Christine and Marc know the most successful way to capture wildlife well is through patience and preparation. "Anticipating what your subject is going to do next will give you an edge, so you must be good at observing and knowing how your subject is likely to act," says Christine.

It's also important to be familiar with your camera so you know all of its major functions and the limits it can be pushed to. "Using a camera that you understand is far better than having a more complicated one that will give you two more photos per second. When a species eventually shows up, you have to know your camera inside out and be able to handle it properly, so you can react quickly and not waste precious seconds searching for things like focus controls."

One of the first things Marc liked about the Canon EOS M200 was the straightforward, user-friendly design, with its 180-degree touchscreen. "It's so great. Because you can find everything you need within seconds, it's just so quick and super easy to use."

Christine adds: "So many people think it's about getting a camera that seemingly does it all, but really it's more about the person behind the camera and what they can do."



Written by Natalie Denton



*Canon EOS 250D (Black/Silver) is the world's lightest among all the digital single-lens reflex APS-C size sensor cameras with a movable LCD monitor, including battery and memory card as per CIPA guidelines, as at 9 April 2019 (researched by Canon).