In my work as a pet dog photographer I meet a spectrum of breeds and I work in a huge variety of locations and homes. For this photo shoot I went to my clients’ stunning country home in a rural village not far from Chichester in West Sussex. Surrounded by period features, extensive gardens and even an ancient wood.

Many photographers prefer the security and routine of a studio, rather than the uncertainty of location work. Quickly coming up with a range of concepts in a place you’ve never seen before (and potentially facing a range of environmental challenges and constraints) can be daunting. We have no idea what we’re going to find or how we’re going to work with the spaces we encounter until we get there. And we have to find a way to come up with shots our clients will love. But that’s precisely what I enjoy so much about working on location - the excitement of each new place and the stimulation it brings. When I drive away from a photo sessions I can’t wait to get home to see what we’ve got.

On location we never know what sort of images we’re going to end up with. We’ll always have aims, but how that pans out on the day is something both client and photographer will look forward to. Flexibility is everything - the ability to try new concepts and have plenty of spontaneous ideas. I have a routine that I work through from the moment I arrive on location and this helps me to construct a game plan. It’s the most important half-hour of the session. Relaxed clients are key to the success of a shoot given the unpredictable nature of location work - and I couldn’t have wished for nicer pet parents.

With little dogs like these, laughs are a given. Let’s face it - not many pet dogs are fully obedience trained. Owners know that the kind of photographs they want will require a team effort and a professional problem solver. Pets can be excitable and energetic - there can be little to no chance of getting them to stay where we want them. All quite normal. Pets can also grow bored easily so I try to keep the shoot varied, never dwelling too long on any particular concept. At the same time working at a relaxed pace will help furry subjects to view you as a welcome visitor rather than an oddity!

Pet photography photo shoots on location can vary in timings - one well-behaved dog can be photographed in a number of ways within a couple of hours. A very energetic pet, or more than one pet, often results in a longer session. This includes a tea break or two, and recharge time where needed. Because we can’t always place pets in the ideal position, background and light, the retouching stage of postproduction is often more involved than that of our human subjects.

The full collection includes fun storyboards and relaxed images of the girls playing and being themselves. Below are the images we selected for wall display:

Choosing the frames to complement the images is always fun. When making suggestions I think about which images will work well hung together, and which work best as stand-alone pieces. The rest of the images (in fact the entire collection) is often destined for an accompanying bespoke album.

The end result is something I always look forward to - seeing a client’s face when their goods have arrived and are revealed to them. Tears are common, and that includes me. I use the finest framers and printers in the industry so my clients can be confident their heirlooms will last a lifetime and beyond.

Autumn has always been my favourite season, and it’s the perfect time of year to photograph dogs outside. Autumn signifies rich warm colour tones which make the perfect backdrop for natural woodland and countryside photography. Dogs and people always look great amongst autumn leaves and these images lend themselves beautifully to large prints and albums bound in tactile natural materials.

My client is from a lovely village near Chichester in West Sussex and loves country walks with her canine companions. My subject for this particular autumn photo shoot was the most adorable 18 month old pedigree Basset hound. Heritage breeds seem to have become less visible in recent years so it was fantastic to meet this gorgeous and very characterful pet. He was every bit as cute and loving as he looks and he thoroughly enjoyed his woodland excursion. We work entirely within your pet’s comfort zone and this is based on their age, health, and mobility. Each location is carefully chosen to suit our subjects and to give us a good variety of images.

Pet photo shoots are always fun, whether we’re photographing a boisterous and wilful youngster or a pet enjoying their senior years. This lovable chap was everything you would expect from someone emerging from puppyhood - bold, curious, and delighted to meet everyone who passed by. By the time we got back to our cars, he’d collected a few dozen admirers.

The aim of the session was to provide a range of photographs perfect for large wall display as well as being suited to one of our handmade heirloom albums. Our range of handmade frames are carefully chosen to complement the style of the photographs I produce. My clients also receive plenty of guidance as to which presentations will work best with their chosen images. Clients are usually looking for one or two large wall pieces for a living room or dining room, and a collection of medium-sized less formal images for display in other areas of the home. All of the photographs from the session will often be put into an album as well.

Another thing I love about autumn is the quality of the light. High summer can be my least favourite time of the year (bar sunrise and sunset) because the air can be full of dust and pollen which can affect the clarity of photographs. Sessions on the coast are an exception to that, where the moisture in the air can add a little more delicacy to the light. In spring and autumn the air will always appear cleaner than in summer. Autumn in particular creates interesting opportunities to work with the mist which is often a feature of early mornings. Mist creates a softness which is wonderful when combined with a woodland backdrop.

Capturing the character and personality of my furry subjects is the aim of each pet photoshoot. I’m always delighted and amazed by the way in which most pets will play up to the camera. They seem to know they’re the centre of attention – and who doesn’t love that!

Whilst our photo shoots can often start at a client’s home (which is perfect for smaller pets) we can work in wide range of environments. A good environment needs to fulfil some key criteria and we’ll always have a good chat about that before your session - our multi award winning photography will take care of the rest.

lucy the kokoni spaniel cross

Lucy is a rescued Kokoni spaniel cross, who looks like a little teddy bear. She has quite a life story and her parents decided she deserved a specially tailored photo shoot. A soft autumnal countryside backdrop is a perfect setting for Lucy’s tan colouration

When I photograph pet dogs outdoors (I always work on location) it’s important to choose the right environment for them. Successful pet photography depends on so many factors. Obvious as it sounds, we need the right kind of setting for the species or breed we’re photographing. Most outdoor settings can be adapted to suit most dog breeds, but an environment which an individual pet is known to enjoy can help us get the best results. This can mean seeking out locations with very few distractions, a safe distance from a road (to reduce leash time) and the kind of background colours and textures which will complement the dog.

I was really looking forward to meeting this adorable little fluff ball - she has a sweet and affectionate temperament to match. Her owner went through quite a complex adoption process given that this dog was adopted from overseas. Many of the pet dogs I meet are rescued, often from different countries. I see the most wonderful array of breeds and crosses, happily enjoying life with their new pet parents.

today’s tip

Photographing dogs on location is physically demanding, particularly as we get older. We’re repeatedly getting down low and standing up again (often hundreds of times across a session) whilst carrying our equipment. We can ease the strain a little by looking for safe elevated areas on which to place the dog

I met up with the family at a beautiful woodland which would give us plenty of choices, both for natural relaxed photographs and the more formal portraits. My clients were hoping for impactful wall pieces and a collection of images for one of our bespoke handmade albums. This particular client has fabulous taste and chose two large dramatic pieces of wall art in our rustic frames. One of these was printed edge-to-edge with no glazing, and protected with a textured semi matte heat seal. From capture to final output the image was designed to resemble a painting. This is a careful process involving at least two rounds of test printing and liaison with our expert printers, who we think are the best in the business.

Another of the images was printed to a textured fine art paper and classically presented with a double mount and acrylic glazing. I rejected traditional glass over a decade ago in favour of the clarity, impact resistance and lightweight properties of art acrylic. We use only the finest archival pigments and substrates, so you wall art will remain vivid for a generation and beyond.

A 20 x 16” trio was also selected, with narrow grey stained natural wood frames. Our trios are a fantastic option because they’re large enough to split up if you don’t have the space to hang them together on one wall. Lastly an 8 x 6” desk frame of my client’s favourite image was chosen for her office.

A stunning 12 inch hand printed bespoke album with a plush vintage leather cover contains all of the images from the shoot. A matching six-inch album is perfect for carrying and showing to friends. Our albums are the last word in luxury and sustainability, and are designed to become much loved heirlooms. We use natural materials from local sources and the finest printers and binders in the business.

This gorgeous little spaniel-cross is enjoying the later stages of her life. Don’t ever think that your pet has to be a bouncy youngster in order to have their photograph taken. I photograph pets and dogs of all shapes and sizes, and all ages. Every photography session is adapted to your pet, we work entirely at their pace. I work with clients from a range of backgrounds and lifestyles which is one of the aspects of my job I enjoy the most. We’ve provided pet photography for environments ranging from bijou country cottages and city apartments, to large country estates.

If you feel your pet deserves their own special photoshoot, give us a call for an informal no obligation chat. We’ll talk you through the process and the prices of our most popular products and sizes.

Squirrels aside for a moment, this is perhaps a more personal blog post than most. I think the reasons for that will be familiar to so many of you. We’ve been embroiled in a global pandemic for the last 11 months. We started this year on a grim note and we face considerable uncertainty going forward. I’m not going to say what I think here (a science degree and a prior career in the pharmaceutical industry will make me more vocal than most) but it’s fair to say that the vast majority of us are having a rotten time.

As someone accustomed to working on her own (running a photography business is a lonesome occupation) I must admit that I almost enjoyed the first few months of lockdown. I was able to shut myself away and tackle a vast admin backlog which had been weighing on my mind for a couple of years. No area of the business escaped scrutiny - it was a fantastic feeling to finally clear most of my ‘to do’ list. And in September 2020 I was finally able to present a second successful Fellowship panel to the British Institute of Professional Photography. Amidst the strain of almost no income and fearing for friends and loved ones, there were at least some good things.

In the autumn of 2020 the easing of lockdown restrictions enabled non-essential businesses like mine to reopen, albeit briefly. It was an amazing feeling to take my first client for several months, before once again being forced to close as infection rates again escalated. Like millions of small businesses (particularly in the arts) we don’t benefit from government support. It was November 2020 when I started to feel pangs of stress giving way to misery. Whilst many rely on it, I’ve never enjoyed social media (believing that far from encouraging valuable human interaction it simply magnifies the negatives). Nor am I a fan of the festive season - rather than bringing people together I think it highlights too many of our irreconcilable differences. I entered the New Year feeling thoroughly depressed and thoroughly disappointed in human nature.

As faith in humans has dipped to an all-time low, I think it’s true to say that the value of animals has never been more apparent. In the last year there has been a huge reliance on the extraordinary and wonderful relationships people have with creatures both domestic and wild. There has been an upsurge in pet ownership and indeed pets have become very much more involved in their owners’ everyday lives. Due to homeworking or more time in the garden, birds and squirrels have grown more accustomed to humans and many have bonded with us. This is known to boost our mental well-being. And if you happen to be a photographer as well, there is the additional benefit of photo opportunities!

I’m very aware that not everybody has a garden or patio - or pets. Over the years I’ve met some very sociable birds and squirrels in local parks. Assuming we don’t pause for too long, the current lockdown rules shouldn’t restrict us from taking a few snaps on our daily walk. If animals don’t materialize, then trees are terrific natural photographic subjects (I’ll write a blog post on those soon).

Our big bold female squirrel (who was already quite tame) produced three healthy babies. Because of their regular curiosity visits to the doorway or the windowsill, I took to leaving a camera on the dining room table. One of us could then grab it if a photo materialised. In fact all of the pictures you’re seeing here have been taken from the dining room, through my slightly grubby window. The babies from last summer are now fully grown and looking fabulous.

I’m always thankful for the Pana Leica 100-400 lens, mounted on my Panasonic GX8. As many of you will know the GX8 is a Micro 4/3 body, and despite being a few years old it remains highly desirable for both its looks and performance. The lens affords an incredible 800 mm field of view in 35mm terms. We could sit in the warmth and comfort of the dining room and snap away, often aiming the lens high into the trees. Because winters tend to be so dark here in the UK, these photographs were all taken at around ISO 1600.

today’s tip:

Think like a portrait photographer. My job involves creating natural images of humans and pets on location. This means capturing the personalities of my subjects, and a variety of photographs for them to choose. I’ll take head shots, full body shots, sitting down shots, and activity shots. We can create story boards and lots of fun memories by shooting in this way

I used my run and gun poor light technique of setting my exposure manually and letting auto ISO do the heavy lifting. Had I tried to take these photographs in Aperture priority mode it’s likely I would have lost most of them to slow shutter speeds. Incidentally I use back button focus for my animal and wildlife photography because it takes so much of the exertion out of constantly refocusing every time my subject moves.

The squirrels have been great company at times and their antics never fail to make me smile. If you have a garden, and if you have the time, you might be surprised at how easily you can make friends with the inhabitants. If you happen to be a photographer, the benefits of doing this are obvious. Whilst we’ve been restricted from client work for many months, we still need to get a bit of practice. You would think my squirrels had been trained to pose, and in fact they do have a fantastic repertoire of body positions. They’re photogenic from pretty much any angle, which helps. As they explore the garden compositional opportunities will then unfold. All of this is fantastic for honing your spatial awareness and your use of background. Give it a go, set yourself a garden or local park project - you might be surprised by what you can achieve.

You don’t need a lens with the magnification of the Pana Leica 100-400 to take photographs like these. In fact a 300 mm lens on any sensor format would be quite adequate, assuming your subjects aren’t more than 30 feet away. If you want to photograph your small garden birds then you’ll certainly need as much magnification as you can get. But for squirrels, no. You won’t need an expensive fast aperture lens either. Instead, don’t be scared to crank up your ISO values. There’s nothing worse than being precious about that kind of thing - if you want to photograph wildlife then high sensitivities are a fact of life much of the time. There are some really good ways of minimising the effects of noise during postproduction, which I teach as part of my Adobe Lightroom courses - I should hopefully be resuming these in the next few months (as online training).

This particular photo shoot took place just before we went into England’s second lockdown. Having lost the spring and summer it was fantastic to feel almost normal again, albeit for a short time. The loss of client contact across the first lockdown (and the company, banter, and laughter it brings) made me look forward to each post-lockdown photo session all the more.

My companions for the morning were four lovely girls (three of which have four legs). It’s so nice when I meet mature dogs like this, whose personalities are well developed and whose relationships with their owner and other pets have been firmly established. Much as I love photographing very young dogs, those shoots can be a challenge usually requiring much more flexibility and a more open set of expectations. For this particular pet photoshoot my furry subjects comprised a border collie, a springer spaniel cross labrador, and a black labrador cross. These are working breeds which look fantastic in an arboreal setting.

As any pet photographer will tell you (and as any multiple-pet owner will know very well) getting an all-important ‘group shot’ takes a bit of manoeuvring and a patient approach to the task. These obedient girls have the most fantastic relationship with their mum, and were able to sit still and focus on her with ease. There are of course times in a photo shoot when as a photographer I’ll need the dogs to focus on me as well. There are various tools and tricks I can employ to make that happen. My camera bag is home to a couple of different squeakers and if these don’t work I have an extremely loud and normally very effective quacker (the kind often employed when training gundogs). The quacker is loud enough to get anybody’s attention, even at a distance – or so I had thought up until now. It had absolutely no effect on my new friends, which was a first, and something my client and I have laughed about ever since. The only similar experience I’ve had was a few years ago with a chocolate Labrador (who would only respond if I rattled a crisp packet). There may be many times when you might struggle to gain the attention of your furry subjects, and more extreme measures will need to be taken during the retouching phase!

A photo shoot can really bring out our pets’ quirks – in fact that’s what we aim to do. As a photographer it’s lovely for me to see all the little traits and habits which make up a much loved pet’s personality. This can include favourite toys (which often accompany them everywhere), the way they stand, or the way they interact with their friends. I get to appreciate this right through the editing and production phase and I feel as though I’ve really got to know everyone by the time I show my client the pictures.

today’s tip

When the sun is still low in the sky, get down low and angle your lens towards the light. Introducing a bit of lens flare can add warmth and atmosphere to a morning or early evening portrait

We can never tell our clients how many photographs will make the final cut. This depends on the type of location we have, the obedience levels of our subjects, the weather, and the kind of concepts we might attempt. But overall the aim is to come away with photographs suitable for wall presentations, and a collection of more relaxed photographs suitable for a storybook album. My client chose wall pieces from our fine art canvas range. Our fine art canvases are precision made with sharp tailored edges and a deep modern profile. One of the benefits of working with a professional photographer is access to beautifully made products which are not available to the general public. The substrate we use on our canvasses is quite textured and lends itself very well to natural outdoor photography, particularly animals. Canvases are a little more relaxed than mounted and framed photographs and are perfect for a kitchen, office, hallway, playroom, or den. Or, we can combine both styles in the form of a framed canvas.

As most pet photographers will tell you, dogs are typical photoshoot subjects. The fantastic thing about dogs is that they come in every shape and size, and they often have quite different personalities. This is one of the things which makes dog photography interesting, and of course so much fun. This particular furry client is from a beautiful village not far from Chichester in West Sussex. This photography session was special because it was her first visit to the beach. And being approximately ten months old at the time, she had the perfect environment to work off all that excess energy.

I’ve been told the most popular dog breeds in the UK are Cockerpoos and Staffies. I can certainly back that up just from the dogs I encounter most days when I go for a walk. Cockerpoos are a wonderful choice for any family or those new to owning a dog. They have lovely temperaments, lots of natural energy, they tend to be a manageable size, and they normally enjoy very good health. Their maintenance is fairly low, aside from regular clipping. They also come in a fantastic range of colours and sizes and it’s rare to see any two Cockerpoos who look the same.

Anybody who has owned a dog from a very young age will relate well to the puppy and ‘teenage’ phases, which are marked by amazing energy levels. Watching young dogs enjoying life can be hugely entertaining. But it is fair to say that those early months (or even years) can also be uniquely challenging when it comes to photographing them! As a professional dog photographer I always explain the limitations we might face in photographing the more controlled concepts. Owners are good at understanding this, simply because they’ve probably taken plenty of photos of their pet themselves. A young and boisterous pet can make some of the ideas we might have in our mind harder to get. Instead, we’ll concentrate more on the more characterful, dynamic, and candid pictures. I really enjoy doing these because they show the character of the pet so well. It’s also lovely to capture photographs of the pet and owner together. The bonds we form with our pets are special beyond measure. This session generated around 45 proofs across the morning.

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My new furry friend arrived at the beach bright and early with her owner, as dawn was breaking. Clients who are happy to brave the depths of winter are often rewarded with lovely light. Winter light is clear because it doesn’t contain the dust and pollen we often see in summertime. In winter we may be battling the elements and that may mean reschedule the session once or twice as we watch the forecast. But when we do get a good day, it’s well worth it. On a bright winter’s day the light is crisp. And if we start early, it’s warm and directional. This helps to bring out colour and shape. We got a bit blustered but the miles we walked trying to keep up with our very enthusiastic furry model helped to keep us nice and warm.

I always try to get a classic portrait - a vintage gilt frame proved to be the perfect choice for this (below middle). The image was printed to traditional cotton canvas with an invisible protective laminate, and no glazing. Additionally, a panoramic montage was chosen with a wide hand-painted wooden frame - a great way of showcasing the more relaxed pictures. A collection of mounted prints is the perfect way to round off the order.

Maybe I’m biased, but I do think meerkats represent the best zoo photography opportunities. I think these gorgeous little creatures tick all of the animal photography boxes. Meerkats are accessible and can be found in most zoos and wildlife parks. They’re sociable, curious, cute, animated, and they have wonderful facial expressions. It’s unsurprising that wildlife and pet photographers will almost always gravitate to the meerkat enclosures. If you’re new to animal photography meerkats are fantastic subjects to start with because they’re so easy to photograph. They’ll happily pose for you for as long as necessary, which means they make excellent subjects for animal portraits.

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But what exactly is a meerkat? A meerkat is a kind of mongoose. Their natural habitat is the deserts and scrubs of southern Africa. They live in family groups and there is a very distinct social system and pecking order. There can be as many as 50 members in the group and the group will be ruled by a dominant pair (with the female member of the pair in charge of the entire clan). As we should expect in the wild, it’s a ruthless system based on survival of the fittest - or rather the feistiest.

a matriarchal society

A meerkat clan is ruled by a dominant female. She maintains her position
and ensures the survival of her young by killing the pups of subordinate females

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The dominant female will usually kill pups produced by subordinate females. This ensures the survival of the dominant pair’s offspring and it also ensures that there are plenty of lactating females around to help nurse them. In other words, she’s the only female in the group who breeds productively. As the dominant female’s daughters mature they’ll then be ousted if they show any signs of insubordination. This is to make way for newer offspring arising from the dominant pair. Other females will be allowed to remain as helpers, assuming they don’t step out of line. Occasionally dominant females are overthrown in which case they’ll be evicted.

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Maturing males tend to leave the group voluntarily to roam and join or form another group. It all sounds quite feudal but it does help to prevent territories from becoming saturated. Numbers are kept in check in the group thanks to the dominant female killing the pups of subordinate females, and subordinate females killing the pups of other subordinate females in the hope their own will survive. I think it’s fair to say that these little animals probably aren’t quite how many of us have envisaged them! Who in their right mind would want to be a meerkat?!

On the physical side, they live for around 12 to 15 years. Meerkats are quite small with average heights being somewhere between 10 and 14 inches. They enjoy perching and will happily climb trees. Their diet mostly consists of insects, grubs, and small vertebrates. If you’ve ever seen documentaries about these fascinating creatures you may have noticed that while the group forages for food one of them will perform ‘sentry duty’, acting as a lookout. Communication takes the form of a range of calls.

There are reasons why animals like meerkats live in large groups, and that is safety. There are plenty of predators to worry about, with eagles and snakes being the most prominent threats.

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I’m quite curious to know if the strict social protocols I’ve just described are exhibited in captivity. Next time I visit a meerkat enclosure I’ll be sure to ask the keepers about what goes on. Since a zoo enclosure is a contained territory, and since numbers will be controlled by humans, it will be interesting to find out if some of the meerkats still exhibit dominance over the others.

If you’re reading this then you’ll understand that photography is vital as a documentary medium. Without it we’d have no newspapers, no magazines, and very little learning material. We rely on photography for so many things in our day-to-day lives. Without it we wouldn’t know about the many animal species which are declining and in some cases facing extinction. Without dedicated breeding programmes many species would be gone forever.

Red Pandas are endangered and it’s thought there are less than 10,000 in the wild. Their numbers have fallen due to poaching and loss of habitat resulting from deforestation, which is a primary cause of species endangerment. Humans have a great deal to answer for. The vast majority of us will only ever see these animals in reserves and specialist zoos.

These beautiful little creatures grow up to 25 inches in length, with their tails adding another 20 inches or so to their size. They can weigh up to 20 pounds. To give you an idea of overall size, they would be broadly similar to a large raccoon. Their thick reddish-brown lustrous pelts are prized - particularly so in China. Many have been captured and sold to zoos and in some parts of the world they’ve even been taken as pets. Natively, these creatures are found in China, Tibet, Nepal and Burma. They’re mostly nocturnal and their preferred food is bamboo - specifically the shoots. In terms of their social behaviour they mostly exist alone and they live for around 10 years.

Despite being rare and endangered, they’re fairly common in zoos. Most Red Panda breeding programmes appear to be successful. But is the red Panda an actual panda? When we think of pandas we usually think of the Giant Panda, however the Red Panda isn’t closely related to these animals. Although it has physical similarities, it isn’t a raccoon either, although it is related to them. It belongs to the family Musteloidia. Despite searching I found it pretty much impossible to find clarity on Red Pandas, which may explain why they were given their own unique classification of Ailuridae.

Although these gorgeous animals aren’t hard to find in zoos, they’re not particularly easy to photograph. They’re not very big, they don’t move much, and they hide in trees (often high up). They tend to rest during the day and are more active at night. All of that makes it quite challenging to get pictures of them. This is definitely one scenario where a long telephoto lens is your friend. And luck, of course.

I’ve learnt a lot about animals simply from being a photographer. How? Well, in a zoo we may not be particularly close to the creatures and it can be hard to appreciate the details which make each animal so important and distinct. The great thing about photography is that when you come home and load the pictures up to the computer you can start to look at the animal’s morphology and physical characteristics. When I looked closely at my Red Panda photos I was able to see the kind of teeth they have and how dexterous they are, despite having such large paws. Their fingernails are also very impressive - they are climbers after all. In a photograph the markings on their coats also become more distinct.

When I looked at the close-up photograph above, I was reminded that from my vantage point (with just my eyes) I would only have seen a small and fairly distant silhouette. However we can use our telephoto lenses like telescopes. We can zoom in, and in this case increase the exposure compensation to make up for the backlighting. We then have a really good view of the animal - poles apart from the view we would have had otherwise.

A little while ago I wrote an article where I’ve shared some hints and tips on photographing captive animals: how to photograph animals in a zoo

I’m often asked about the cameras and lenses I’ve chosen for my pet and wildlife photography. It’s easy enough to talk about my own equipment, but it’s really important to make it clear that what’s right for me may not be right for the next person. That’s because different photographers simply have different preferences and different types of subjects. More importantly different photographers have very different photography styles. For that reason it can be difficult to offer specific recommendations.

It’s important to make a distinction between pet photography and wildlife photography. They really are very different when it comes to equipment, especially lens choices. Pet photography is mostly about creating portraits. Those portraits might be static (if we’re lucky) or they might be very dynamic. In the latter case the animals may move beyond our normal working distances, but they’re not going to be as far away as a small bird, a deer, or most wild animals. For that reason my pet photography lens lineup is broadly the same as that for human portraits. My wildlife lenses however will need to offer much longer reach.

Key for me (thanks to joint issues which can be limiting at times) is size and weight. My equipment is based around minimizing physical strain. My wildlife setup of a micro four thirds camera and the Leica 100-400 is notable in that respect. This arrangement gives me a whopping 200-800mm ‘equivalent’ field of view which would be hugely heavy and expensive in full frame or even APS-C terms. For portraits I’ll normally use a Sony mirrorless camera with a 70-200 e-mount lens. By choosing a Sony f4 version of that lens I’m saving a bit of weight (and expense) but the recently released Tamron e-mount 70-180 f2.8 lens is a similar weight. The same argument will apply is you’re opting for one of the newer ‘micro-DSLRs’ and a similar lens such as the Canon 70-200 f4.

The Importance of Fast Autofocus for Pet and Wildlife Photography

Because animals (both pets and wildlife) often move about quickly we need to choose cameras with fast and accurate autofocus. Autofocus speed and accuracy is also partly dependent on the lens - some lenses will focus faster than others. Micro 4/3 cameras and lenses are a fantastic choice because the performance is blazingly quick. At this point you might feel an urge to query the continuous autofocus performance of most mirrorless cameras, which in general still falls behind that of the top specified DSLR cameras. The best question to ask yourself is ‘do I need accurate continuous autofocus and if so how often?’

Continuous autofocus isn’t a magic bullet nor is it necessarily the right choice in many situations. I tend to use it when I’m photographing subjects which are moving in a predictable way. That might be horseracing, motor racing, catwalk fashion photography, cycling and so forth. An erratically moving animal isn’t a particularly good contender for continuous autofocus or focus tracking. Even the best camera and lens combination will struggle in those conditions. Therefore you may be better off using zone focus, or even single shot autofocus.

I’m often photographing pets indoors in less than ideal light, so fast and accurate autofocus is a must. I have to be able to grab my shots in an instant, before the animal moves. This is where my Micro 4/3 cameras shine – I can’t think of any instances where my Panasonic GX8 has missed focus. Obviously this assumes good technique on the photographer’s part. In these situations I normally have the Leica 25mm f1.4 Summilux on board.

Aside from autofocus – wildlife photography involves being outdoors, often for long periods of time. It makes sense to choose cameras and lenses with some degree of weather sealing, to help guard against moisture and dust ingress. This doesn’t apply quite so stringently to pet photography, since pets and their owners aren’t always amenable to a rainy photo shoot.

Lens Focal Lengths for Pet and Wildlife Photography

As a general rule wildlife photography demands long focal lengths. For near wildlife focal lengths of around 300 mm (in FX/35mm terms) would be the shortest I would recommend. For small birds we’ll be hankering after at least a 600 mm field of view. This is partly why cameras with a ‘crop sensor’ are popular with wildlife photographers. A smaller sensor format will increase the apparent reach of the lens. An ideal example would be the camera and lens I grab the most in my wildlife photography. That’s my Panasonic GX8 teamed with the Leica 100-400mm lens. Because a 4/3 sensor has a x2 crop factor, I’m able to gain magnification equivalent to 200-800mm when I use that particular optic. To achieve the same field of view using a full frame camera the lens would be absolutely huge and extremely heavy. The same stands for most APS-C lenses.

I know pet photographers who undertake most of their shoots using just two prime lenses. These will probably be a 50mm f1.8 lens and an 85mm f1.8 lens, on a full frame camera. This amounts to a close working style as well as a preference for wider scenes. Alternatively a 24-70mm f2.8 zoom lens could be a one lens solution (albeit without the more creative wider apertures). Other photographers who work exclusively outdoors will often be able to conduct the entire session with a classic portrait zoom lens such as a 70-200 f2.8 or f4 lens on a full frame camera.

The Importance of Backups and ‘the Quick Swap’

I photograph a huge range of animals. I also work in all sorts of environments such as my subject’s home, garden, or large outdoor spaces. For that reason I tend to take three cameras to a shoot. This means I can swap between different focal lengths in an instant. It also means I’ve always got two levels of backup. Because I favour small mirrorless cameras and lenses I can carry several items comfortably without being weighed down. In general I’ll work between two bodies, each with a very different lens. For indoors in an average sized room I can do virtually everything with a 50mm field of view. Outside (depending on the animal) I’ll opt for either an 85mm FOV or I’ll use my 70-200 lens on an APS-C body, so I can leverage the x1.5 crop factor. The latter is useful for lively pets running around in a park or wood. If I know the pet owner is looking for a particularly large print I’ll probably take my Sony full frame camera (42MP).

Lighting for Pet and Animal Photography

Because I like to shoot a range of scenes on location I’m not in the habit of rigging up studio lights. My work is dynamic so I’m normally moving around a great deal. The light isn’t always particularly good in England in the colder months, meaning that if I’m working indoors the light can be dismal. In line with my policy of carrying low weight equipment, I’ll use speed lights whenever I need to lift the room light a notch. When used in this way the lights aren’t pointed directly at the animal - instead I’ll bounce them in the opposite direction into a light-coloured wall (sometimes with a snoot if I want the light to be more directional). That way the animal doesn’t even see the flash.

My Pet (& Human) Portrait Photography Kit

• Panasonic GX8 camera

• Sony A7C camera

• Sony A7Riii camera

• Metz 44 AF-2 speedlight

• Godox TT350S speedlight

• Olympus 17mm f1.7 lens

• Sony E mount 85mm f1.8 lens

• Tamron for Sony e-mount 28-75 f2.8 Di III RXD

• Tamron for Sony e-mount 70-180 f2.8 Di III VDX lens

My Wildlife Photography Kit

• Panasonic GX8 camera

• Canon 200D camera

• Sony A7Riii camera

• Leica 100-400 f4-6.3 Lens (for distant subjects)

• Canon 55-250 f4-5.6 STM lens (backup, or for intermediate subjects)

• Tamron 70-180 f2.8 Di III VDX lens (for near subjects and animal portraits)

Equipment to Consider if you’re Starting out in Pet and Wildlife Photography

I’m often asked what would be a good starter kit for somebody wanting to have a go at wildlife and nature photography. This largely depends on how much weight you’re prepared to carry and how much you want to spend. But assuming the person asking the question doesn’t want to be weighed down either financially or physically (very sensible when you’re starting out) there are some great options.

In my view the best balance of performance, outlay, and weight lies with either a micro 4/3 system or a Canon micro-DSLR setup. Any of the Panasonic or Olympus Micro 4/3 bodies can be teamed with the excellent Olympus 40-150R lens. This lens is small, very lightweight, cheap to buy, and it’s very sharp. It will afford you an equivalent field of view of 80-300mm. Alternatively if you want to stick with a DSLR then the Canon 200D and the Canon 55-250 STM lens is a good choice (offering up a FOV of 88-400). If you were to ask me which of those two suggestions I would personally lean with, it would be micro 4/3 in a heartbeat. That’s because the affordable micro 4/3 lenses are fantastic quality, the u43 sensor IQ is about the same as the current latest generation of Canon APS-C sensors, and the overall size and weight is smaller. The Micro 4/3 cameras (although more expensive than the Canon 200D are packed with an amazing array of features, which will help the photographer grow into their hobby).

For closer pet portraits and low light work add in the affordable and excellent Olympus 45mm f1.8 prime lens or the Canon ‘nifty fifty’ 50mm f1.8 STM.

In all the years I’ve been photographing wildlife and birds (and coastal landscapes) I’ve never talked about seagulls. In particular Herring Gulls, which are the sea birds I come into contact with most often. I regularly visit the seaside towns of Worthing and Littlehampton in West Sussex, so these birds are incredibly familiar. It’s high time I said a few words about them.

Some Facts about Herring Gulls

There are many varieties of seagulls here in the UK, but the Herring Gull is the largest. It’s a big strong bird, around 60 cm in length. It’s also a long-lived bird and can exist for several decades. It spends much of its time at sea, often following fishing boats, but it’s happy inland given that it’s a scavenger. This bird is easy to identify because there is a reddish blob on its bill, and it has pink legs. That distinguishes it from the Common Gull, which has a plain bill and a yellowish green legs (and a milder disposition). Juveniles remain speckled until after their second winter.

Herring Gulls have gained something of a bad reputation, at least amongst many residents of the seaside towns where these birds are commonplace. They’re noisy, particularly the juveniles. In fact young Herring Gulls have a very persistent high-pitched cry, so persistent in fact that the parents will often give in to them (long after the juveniles are weaned) simply for a quiet life. Being scavengers, if you’re hoping to enjoy a quiet lunch by the sea, it’s very likely you’ll have company. In some coastal towns these birds are extremely bold and they won’t hesitate to swoop down and steal the food out of your hands. Given their size, this can be quite intimidating. But remember these birds are only doing what comes naturally to them. The only way to avoid that behaviour is to avoid tempting them, inconvenient as that sounds.

Having lived in Brighton when I was at university, I can distinctly remember the noise when these birds would drop mollusks from a great height onto the roof of the house I lived in. This makes more sense than dropping the mollusks onto the road or pavement, where it might be dangerous for the bird to land. Dropping the shellfish onto a roof means that the broken shell is likely to end up somewhere which is safely accessible.

They also nest in chimney stacks, bringing not only noise to the occupants but also the possibility of nesting materials blocking a flue. There have also been stories of these birds getting into altercations with household pets. Dogs are curious and many will chase even a large bird or try to play with one – a Herring Gull is unlikely to back down. This tends to occur when the gulls have young, particularly if the chick has fallen out of the nest onto the ground. In which case the adult bird will (understandably) swoop on anything which gets too close.

In some of our busiest tourist spots the birds have become pests, mostly because there is so much accessible food at certain times of the year. There has even been the odd cull. Here in the UK wild birds are protected by legislation so any cull or in fact any measures designed to reduce the numbers must be approved by the local council. That doesn’t mean that householders can’t try to deter these birds however. There are ways of doing that, such as removing old nests at the end of the season.

Removing nests in itself won’t prevent them from coming back, since gulls can quickly and efficiently rebuild them. So further measures such as installing spikes or wires to prevent the birds from landing will be required. And it really isn’t much of a help if you’re the only person in the street doing that - your neighbours will need to be on board as well. Always check that you’re allowed to remove the old nests, and what the laws are in your area. More information on that can be obtained from DEFRA and Natural England. Make sure you don’t inadvertently destroy the nest of protected seabirds whilst you’re doing it – a qualified contractor is the way to go.

What equipment did I use to take these sea bird photographs?

Nothing fancy, I can assure you. All of these pictures were taken on casual daytrips, with whatever camera I had in my handbag. That will include my little Canon G5X, Sony RX100ii, Sony a6300 with e-mount 18-105 or 18-135 lenses, Panasonic GH1 (we’re going back a few years!) and lastly my LX100ii. In fact a Panasonic LX100 (and then the Mkii version) has lived in my handbag permanently for the last few years.

Why I left WordPress for Squarespace

When I first started blogging WordPress provided a fantastic solution. Back in the day was fairly easy to use, it was stable and reliable. As the years have rolled on the popularity of WordPress increased hugely, with the platform powering something like 35% of the world’s website. Including some very big names. Because of that, and because of the way WordPress is structured, it’s become a magnet for hackers.

WordPress also relies on plug-ins for its features and functionality. Plug-ins have to be kept up-to-date for a number of reasons. If they’re not correctly maintained, hackers are able to find a way in. Another problem with plug-ins is that they can conflict with each other. Sometimes something as simple as a plug-in upgrade can break your site. A few years ago we were updating plug-ins every few months. Now it’s every day or two (and I only have five plug-ins installed). Not every plug-in will play nicely with any other plug-in. Not every plug-in will play nicely with your WordPress theme. When you carry out a PHP upgrade you may find that some of your plug-ins don’t support that version of PHP. The result is a hot mess - leading to one technical meltdown after another. This means you have to stop whatever you’re doing for however many hours it takes to get your website up and running again. The vast majority of sole traders have to have those skills - finding a developer, waiting for them to do the work, and then paying their fees simply is not an option.

Last year I was spending several hours a week just trying to maintain and manage my WordPress installations. It became stressful, tiring, miserable in fact. I then suffered a major website hack - one of the dreaded pharma hacks. I couldn’t see the problem at my end, but my users were seeing unpleasant links inserted into my posts and pages. This is a difficult hack to clean up and I had to call in an expert in the USA. My site was cleaned and restored, but it had a profound effect on how I felt about my website. I felt that I had maintained my site diligently, and we never fully got to the bottom of how the hacker found a way in. I can only think that I’d been a little slow (perhaps by only a few days) in upgrading a plug-in, or it could have been previous theme files which I had kept as backups on my server.

Another problem (and this is a big one) was the fact that both my WordPress installations were running very slowly and were returning regular 500 Internal Server Errors. I kept raising this with my then host (TSO) who would blame some aspect of my sites’ configuration. They would say the problem had been solved when it hadn’t. I started to lose my page ranking, the number of website hits per day began to fall, and business in general slowed down. I was at my wits end trying to figure out why these problems kept happening - particularly as my host kept telling me it was nothing to do with them. I subsequently discovered it was in fact problems at the hosting end - old and overcrowded servers and not enough staff to deal with the volume of customers. This is a really important feature of WordPress - your site’s performance utterly depends upon the quality of your hosting.

In other words, if you run a WordPress site there’s no ‘support department’ to turn to. You are it. Think your WordPress site will never get hacked? Think again. Do you expect you’ll never have to learn any code? Wrong. Believe you’ll never have to spend good money on a developer? In your dreams.

Given the glitches and problems I just described, surely it was just a case of finding another host? Well even that wasn’t simple. By this time my websites had been running for a lot of years and the blogs were big. In fact I think my site (including the two WordPress installations) was close to 12 Gig in size. Most web hosts will limit your size allocation, at which point you’ll have to jump up to the next level of hosting which can be costly. My site often received a large number of page visits per day - and I discovered that a lot of web hosts allocate a limited number of visits per month. And if you exceeded that number due to a spike in traffic, your website would become unavailable until the next calendar month. In fact that was the reason I didn’t run with an otherwise well-regarded WordPress host called Siteground.

Eventually I did find an excellent host here in the UK, called Guru. They really are fantastic. But I still felt uneasy about staying with WordPress simply because my experience had been soured. What if my new host was taken over by another company and the service declined (as with TSO)? What if I had some unexpected problems with my site and had to spend another chunk of cash getting it sorted? What if I was away from my office for a few days and the site needed some urgent maintenance? In short, it all became too horrible.

“today’s webmasters are encouraged to build sites which will look good on every device, from a large 4k display to a smartphone”

My last site (right) was built on Wordpress using the Prophoto 5 theme. It looked great but had a constrained width. Photographs can’t be more than 900px wide. In a responsive theme images can be up to 2500px wide (but they’ll need careful compression)

Another thing worth mentioning is that the theme I was using to power my WordPress site was Prophoto 5 (which I’ve had for about 6 years). This is an excellent theme and the people over at Prophoto are a fantastic bunch. But these days Google is favouring responsive designs which expand to cover all devices, from large high-resolution displays down to smart phones. A website which looks good on a smart phone is going to do better than one which doesn’t. Looking at my website visitor statistics, a very high proportion of my audience are browsing on a small device. So even if I had stayed with WordPress I would need to install a new and very different theme (such as Prophoto 7) and then get it to work with my content. This would mean a full redesign, I would also have to replace all of my images with larger versions. Given the amount of work involved, switching to a new platform made more sense.

There is something liberating about a fresh start. Old content can be trimmed away. Existing content can be rewritten or improved. Sloppy SEO can be re-addressed on each page as it’s being built on the new platform. You can even rebrand in the process - something everyone should consider every few years in my view.

a responsive design adapts to different screen sizes:

What are the steps in choosing a new website platform?

My next dilemma involved deciding where to go from WordPress. There are so many choices, such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Zenfolio, Smugmug. How on earth do you figure out which one to choose?

This is where you absolutely have to understand your present and future needs, because that will dictate which platform is right for you. I knew immediately that Zenfolio and Smugmug wouldn’t be the right choice - the customisation was limited and I don’t sell digital downloads, so I’d be paying for functionality I wouldn’t need.

You may have noticed something which these providers all have in common. They’re fully contained all in one platforms, unlike WordPress. That means that your site software provider deals with your hosting, server maintenance, security, software upgrades, and they sort out any associated problems. All you have to do is design and build your site and concentrate on your content. Sounds good to me.

I took a look at Wix because I’ve seen some really nice sites on that platform. After playing around with the backend, I thought it was easy and fun to use, but I couldn’t quite get the layouts to be as slick as I wanted. And since my website is very big, the better stocked Wix blogs I researched felt quite slow to load. Page loading speeds are important in terms of page ranking - Google doesn’t like slow websites.

Weebly looked pretty good as well, but didn’t give me the design clout or growth factor I would probably need.

This brought me to Squarespace. At first their templates appeared clinical and overly minimal. Beautiful, but a bit standoffish. I felt scruffy just looking at them. That isn’t a problem though, because if you’re building a great looking site you’re not going to be slinging your content into a ready-made template. You’re going to design your site to do what you want, rather than try to shoehorn it into something else. And that’s the route I went down - I stripped out the template and built my Squarespace site from the ground up.

Changing platforms is a big undertaking and there are a number of steps you need to think about before you start. Preparation is everything:

• Evaluate your present and future needs. Choose your platform based on that, rather than simply looks

• Get real world feedback from friends and colleagues in the same line of business. Some platforms may work perfectly for a small commercial website but they may not be particularly good for ventures which rely very much on blogging, high traffic, and images

• Read reviews of your chosen platform, it’s particularly useful to Google the ‘cons’ of any prospective website provider

• Gather inspiration and ideas for your design. This is going to depend on your target audience. Make sure all of your page layouts have been sketched and determined before you even think about building your site. Choose your site colours, and fonts. Put a mood board together. Have all of your text ready and saved on your computer to be pasted in. Get all of your images ready (it’s very likely you’ll need to re-optimise these for any new platform - responsive designs require large images and these need to be properly compressed to keep them to a manageable size)

• Start learning how your new platform works. Make notes on how to create pages, blogs, headers, galleries, how the SEO works and everything else you’ll need to do

• Create a spreadsheet of all of the pages and posts on your old site which are worth redirecting, with another column relating to their replacements on the new site. Insert the new URLs as you build them - you’re going to need to refer to this spreadsheet when you set up your 301 redirects

• Take out a trial version of your chosen platform and make the most of that free fortnight or month to start building your new site in earnest - this is much better than just playing around with the software over the test period

• Keep your new site locked until you’re ready to launch it. This simply means that you’re preventing it from being visible to the public and from Google. As you go along, keep testing it in various browsers and various devices to check it’s working properly and loading quickly

• You’ll need to take down your old site before the new one is active. Why? Because Google doesn’t like duplicate content and you don’t want to confuse your audience. Once the old site has been removed you can invoke your 301 redirects

• Assuming your new site slugs will be structured differently to the old one, you’ll need to update whatever links you have around the web

• Register your new site with Google Webmaster Tools, submit a site map and have Google crawl your site

• If you’re moving to a brand-new domain, remember to update your business cards and other marketing literature

• Tell the world about your new site and get some incoming links. It may take a little while to recover your Google ranking after a move

Cons of Squarespace vs Wordpress

Squarespace is known for powering some of the slickest, trendiest, celebrity infused websites on the Internet. That’s a pretty good recommendation. But it isn’t without some caveats.

So what are the cons of using a fully contained website system such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace etc? The fact that you aren’t in control of everything is the obvious difference to WordPress. You can’t simply migrate to another host if you don’t like something, or if the service declines. Nor can you make your own backups or export content in a coherent state - that’s because you’re using proprietary software instead of open source software. Nor can you roll back to an earlier state if you make a complete hash of some design changes. In other words you have to give up a lot of control. But that was in fact the whole point of choosing a self-contained system in the first place - to avoid all that horrible endless maintenance and the misery of trying to sort out problems when they arise.

A key feature of WordPress is that you can add all kinds of functionality with plug-ins. For example, I could create a subscriber list in WordPress so that my readers always got a notification when I created a new blog post. In Squarespace I would have to upgrade to a higher plan in order to get that functionality. Likewise if I wanted e-commerce capability. Wix is similar (but nowhere near as comprehensive or polished) in that you can purchase additional functions (via the ‘app market’). But as I said earlier, WordPress plug-ins require constant maintenance and they can be a pain at times.

When adding content to my WordPress website, it automatically saves my changes as I go along. In Squarespace the software sometimes has the odd glitch and whatever work you’ve done since you last manually saved is lost. Manually saving also brings you out of the SS editor, then you have to go back in to continue working.

Squarespace seems fairly fast, but it isn’t as fast as the most powerful Wordpress hosts. I’ve noticed that on some days my SS site is very fast indeed and on other occasions the images (although nicely optimised and sized) take a few seconds to load. On a couple of occasions they haven’t loaded at all and there has simply been white space - this is likely to be a browser issue and so far that problem has been confined to Edge. Aside from the response times from their support desk which are not within the two hours stated on the review sites. The last couple of times I’ve made contact with Squarespace Support the response has been better - within a day. The replies have been helpful, which is reassuring. Overall, I’m pleased so far.

Another thing which became obvious to me when I started building my Squarespace site is the fact that the stunning SS sites I’ve been admiring had been custom-built by expert designers. And they were stuffed with custom code. As I’m not much of a coder, I had to build my site from the base framework. It’s also worth pointing out that if you change the code, or have anyone else do it for you, then Squarespace support won’t help you if you have a problem with that part of your site (understandably). You’ll be reliant on whoever built your site or supplied the code.

I think it’s fair to say that all website platforms have their own benefits and disadvantages. It’s a question of weighing up your own needs and if the disadvantages will be in any way problematic to you. These things are never perfect, websites are sent to tax us (often to the point of distraction). Sometimes we have to just bite the bullet and try something. I have fellow photographer friends who have gone back and forth between platforms with regularity, before determining which one was the lesser of two or three evils. This is easy enough if your site is fairly small, but it’s a huge undertaking if your blog has more than a few dozen posts. It’s taken me over three months to put this site together, given all of the steps I’ve listed in this post. And that’s putting in a lot of hours each day (and night) mostly on the preparation.

One thing I really must commend Squarespace for is the quality of their support documentation. The help pages cover absolutely every aspect of building and designing your website. These are incredibly well written and so easy to understand. There is a user forum as well, but this tends to be quiet. There are however a lot of very experienced Squarespace users out there. A Google search will generally yield some very good answers. One site I found to be particularly helpful is that of web designer Paige Brunton. I was struggling to decide which Squarespace template would give me the functionality I needed and Paige has a fantastic guide on her blog (along with a lot of other very helpful stuff).

My next (and bigger) challenge lies with moving my portrait site from its current WordPress framework. There are nearly 600 blog posts on that one. Another ‘con’ of changing platforms is whether you can import your content to your new website. This really isn’t a simple as it may seem. Between Wordpress and SS you can import the first 200MB, but you’ll still have to re-format it and sort out your images which probably won’t copy over. That’s equivalent to about 20 blog posts. Hardly worth bothering. The long and short of it is that you’re mostly faced with importing your content manually. This isn’t a problem with Squarespace, it applies to virtually any change of provider. To make this task easier it’s worth trimming down any blog posts which are old and have no value. I cut this site down to around a third of its original content. The posts I removed received very little traffic and have very few links around the web, so it won’t do me any harm to get rid of them. This is a good thing to do in fact if you have old posts which are similar to other newer blog posts. Google likes unique content, so it can make sense to get rid of some old blog entries and redirect them to a more valuable, up to date and concise version.

Panasonic GX8 Wildlife Field Tests High ISO

Today’s outing was really about continuing to familiarise myself with the feel of the camera, particularly when used with the Leica 100-400 lens. Prior to purchasing the GX8 I’d been using that lens on my Olympus EM1 with battery grip, and I have to say the balance is nicer on the EM1. As far as I’m aware Panasonic don’t make a grip for the GX8 and consequently the 100-400 feels a little front heavy as you would expect. This means that at low shutter speeds my images are a little crisper on the EM1. But aside from that, the Leica 100-400 is one serious piece of glass.

Unfortunately the light today was horrible – non-existent actually. Very often this time of year the UK can be grim, dark and cold. Today was no different and it didn’t really get light at all. As a result I was shooting at ISO values from 1600 right up to 6400. Yes, I do crank the ISO on my ‘small sensor’ cameras. And why not? Because frankly I have to – it’s that or lose the shot, or get a shot spoiled by motion blur or hand holding shakiness. Assuming your focusing is bang on and your exposure is where it should be, you won’t notice much in the way of noise at Web resolution. The same goes for small to moderate prints.

I only get into noise reduction (and sharpening) when the output gets much larger than that. When you have so much detail in your images applying a bit of noise reduction is no hardship. Not that I routinely make 30 inch prints from ISO 6400 photographs, because I don’t. But I do frequently print that size from ISO 2500 images. I don’t have much choice a lot of the time, given the conditions I have to shoot in. I don’t get to pick and choose which day I’m in the field or which day I’m seeing my clients or students. Unlike many of today’s newer photographers who’ve been raised on a diet of digital cameras and heated forum debates about noise, I am not addicted to pixel peeping. And neither are my customers.

Your processing software will influence how noise appears in your photographs. The bedrock of processing for me has always been Adobe Lightroom. Lightroom is good at getting rid of noise but at the expense of smoothing out details in the image. By way of an update (it's 19 September 2018 as I add this sentence) ON1 Photo RAW has gained some traction as an alternative to Lightroom (which is now subscription-based because the stand-alone version which I’ve been using will no longer be updated). ON1 still feels like it's in the beta stage, but it has potential. As far as noise goes I think images imported into ON1 Photo RAW show slightly less noise than they do in Lightroom, but the noise reduction sliders in the main Develop panel aren't particularly effective. If you're printing at a decent size then third-party noise reduction software packages are your best bet.

Up until fairly recently I was using a WordPress website. The site was a set width, 900 pixels as I recall. I've now moved to a much more up-to-date platform with a responsive design. That means the site will adapt to any screen size, from a large high-resolution display down to a smart phone. Therefore the images I upload have to be quite large, in order to accommodate a large display. I can no longer upload pictures which are a mere 700 pixels wide - they now have to be not less than 1500 pixels wide - grrrrrr. This means that noise will be much more evident in the photographs and I either have to upload photographs taken at a lower ISO value (and clearly I have not done that here) or I have to spend a little bit of time getting rid of the worst of the noise (to be honest I don't have time for that when it comes to blogging - other than a very quick swoosh over with an adjustment brush).

Panasonic GX8 and Pana Leica 100-400 Lens

The Leica 100-400 is a very sharp lens – but you need to show it some respect. With magnifications reaching 800 mm in FX terms, technique is incredibly important. Whilst the lenses own OIS is superb, it won’t counteract sloppy handling, so don’t get complacent. You’ll still need to watch your breathing and brace the camera against your face before squeezing the button. And how wonderful to be able to do that – the photographers we saw today with enormous DSLR bodies and lenses don’t always have that luxury and most of them resorted to tripods. The chances of me being able to carry a tripod (let alone a heavy set up) for several hours at a time, and several miles at a time, is non-existent.

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I’ve often dreamed about exotic excursions to fabulous parts of the world. I think about the grandeur of photographing statuesque African animals. Or I wonder what it would be like to photograph wild mustangs, or wild bears. The fact is that not many of us can find the time or outlay for overseas trips. Therefore if we want to photograph wildlife we need to put the effort into finding our own.

We do have some lovely wild creatures in the British Isles, but whether they’re accessible not is going to depend on where we live. I live in the south-east of England, near to the West Sussex coast. Therefore like most people my wildlife photography will take place in my garden, on walks, and at wildlife centres, managed lakes and sanctuaries. All of these things have their own pros and cons. But overall the kind of creatures we’ll be photographing will include garden birds, raptors, waterfowl, foxes, squirrels, and if we’re lucky otters and badgers. Then of course we have non-native species which we can see in zoos and safari parks (although the habitat may not be ideal for taking pictures).

With some thought it is possible to attract wildlife into your back garden. We should all do our bit to encourage garden birds and to learn how to help individual species. Foxes are commonplace and I’ve had several over the years who’ve been very happy to hang out with me. Many of the photographs I’ve taken have depended on my reaction time, having a camera nearby and a measure of luck. In fact at the time of writing this, all of the wildlife photographs you’ll see in my gallery have been taken within about an hour and a half of my home. The photographs shown below have been taken within about half an hour of home, and some were captured in my back garden.

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Before I say anything further I should point out that this is couched in the context of the equipment I use currently and have used in the past. Therefore my commentary is based on real-world experience of the items I talk about. For that reason the discussion won't include brands such as Nikon, Fuji, or Pentax.

I started my photographic life using small Olympus cameras, graduating to Canon as my professional repertoire broadened 15 years ago. As my joints went downhill I downscaled to Micro 4/3, and more recently I added some Sony bodies and lenses. This year the latest small Canon offerings have provided a camera and set of lenses for general ‘friends and family’ use. We have choices now which a few short years ago we could only dream of!

What do I look for in a good quality wildlife lens? Focal length is of course important (as is sharpness, contrast, focus speed and accuracy). In general a lens becomes useful for nature and wildlife if it can achieve at least 300mm of reach (in FX full frame terms). In other words, that would be like mounting my late Canon 70-300 lenses on a full frame camera, or placing a 70-200 lens on an APS-C body. Or by putting a 40-150 lens on a micro four thirds camera. When size and weight became critical to my ability to carry on working as a photographer I became a full-time Micro 4/3 user. My first Micro 4/3 wildlife lens was the excellent Olympus 40-150R.

The Lightweight Olympus 40-150R for Wildlife Photography

The Olympus 40-140R is very sharp and it holds its own against some of the professional zoom lenses I’ve used. It's tiny, cheap, and weighs hardly anything. There really are no glaring downsides, other than an absence of full weather sealing and the plastic build. However the level of reach in the lenses I’ve just mentioned above isn't always enough for more dedicated wildlife photographers (particularly those who enjoy photographing small birds). Can we get more reach in a small and manageable size? We can indeed as this article shows, where I pit an Olympus OMD EM5 against a Canon 5Diii: Choosing the Right Cameras and Lenses for Wildlife Photography

Sony E Mount 70-200 f4 Lens for Nature Photography

I own a Sony APS-C camera (a6300) and the venerable full frame Sony A7rII. I’ll occasionally pair these bodies with the Sony 70-200 f4G because it’s a fantastic combination for portraiture. For wildlife and nature this will give me 300mm equivalent reach in APS-C mode, and the benefit of f4 which is useful when the light falls: Sony E Mount 70-400 f4 G Lens for Nature Photography. The Sony 70-200 f4 is not a particularly small or light lens, but it isn't massive either - but the Sony cameras in question are small and light.

There is a caveat which comes into play when sensor size increases - if you're fairly close to an animal or bird a wide aperture can make life difficult - the depth of field is so shallow. This is one area where a Micro 4/3 setup can be advantageous, since at any given aperture value and focal length it will offer more (deeper) depth of field than a camera with a larger sensor. I find that when I use my APS-C cameras in the field the requirement to stop down a little does mean boosting the ISO in many situations in order to maintain a workable shutter speed. When it comes to Canon APSC bodies this invariably means the image quality will not be as good as the same photograph taken with a Micro 4/3 arrangement. However with my Sony a6300 stopping down doesn't compromise me, because the image quality of this particular camera sensor is around a stop better than Canon’s latest APSC offerings. Here are some examples of the Sony 70-200 f4G in the field:

Canon 55-250 STM Lens for Bird Photography

My next pick, and one which offers a little more length, would be the Canon 55-250 STM. This APSC lens will give you 400mm equivalent at the long end. The lens is affordable, and very small and lightweight. It isn't as sharp as the lenses I’ve already mentioned (bar the Canon 70-300 IS USM non-L, which it beats). But it is the best pick if you’re a Canon user and have size and weight as your priority. Don't expect it to compete with your professional lenses in terms of its optics or overall performance, but it’s nonetheless very good. Unfortunately the light here in the UK at certain times of year is absolutely terrible and on a recent outing I was having to shoot at ISO values between 800 and 2500. The 200D is pretty good in this regard, showing similar noise levels as my very good Panasonic GX8. However the 200D doesn't preserve details at higher ISO values quite as well in the RAW files as recent Micro 4/3 bodies. Some Robins photographed using this lens here: Bird Photography with the Canon 55-250 STM Lens. Taken with the Canon 55-250 STM lens at a favourite bird sanctuary:

Panasonic Lumix 100-300 Lens MkI

Back to Micro 4/3 (after all, this discussion is about size and weight). Another lens I’ve enjoyed greatly over the years was the Panasonic 100-300 (version I). This lens gives you a whopping 600mm equivalent reach in a very small and lightweight package. Optically it's good through most of the zoom range, but softens in the last 25 mm or so. It has no notable problems with chromatic aberration or autofocus. It isn't quite as sharp as the Olympus 40-150R, but it does offer twice the reach. There are lots of examples around my website including a field review here: Panasonic Lumix 100-300 Lens for Wildlife as well as these images:

Panasonic Leica 100-400 Lens for Bird and Wildlife Photography

Lastly, for those of you who are extremely serious about your bird photography - and if you want minimum size and weight and maximum focal length - then the Pana Leica 100-400 is peerless. This is a Micro 4/3 lens and therefore it will offer you the equivalent of 800mm of reach. It’s optically marvellous, built like a tank, weather sealed, and remarkably small for the range covers. It isn't cheap, as you would expect. On my Panasonic GX8 it’s a joy. Teamed with a recent Panasonic camera you’ll also benefit from Panasonic's dual Image Stabilisation giving the ability to shoot at quite slow shutter speeds (assuming your subject is fairly static and your hand holding technique is polished). The beauty of that is that I can keep ISO values low much of the time - something I simply cannot do in the same circumstances when shooting with my Canon 200D for example (where I rely on whatever stabilization is offered by the lens). There are tons of photographs around this website which have been taken with the PL 100-400 including: Panasonic Leica 100-400 Lens Field Review

Note that most of the lenses I've mentioned so far are variable aperture lenses, starting at either f3.5 or f4, quickly closing down to f5.6 or f6.3 as you zoom. This helps to keep the lens small, light, and fairly affordable. If you need that wide aperture for low light work then the Olympus 40-150 f2.8 Pro is a hard act to beat, particularly when paired with its dedicated x1.4 teleconverter. This is a Micro 4/3 lens so you’ll benefit from the x2 crop factor, and a manageable size and weight. Optically it is out of this world, and that’s reflected in its pricetag. This is a lens I used for a considerable period of time, selling it to fund the switch to the Pana Leica 100-400 (which I’ve never regretted).

As you can see, it is possible to undertake quality wildlife and nature photography either as an amateur or professional, whilst downscaling to cameras and lenses of a comfortable size and weight. These days mirrorless equipment has largely closed the gap between its DSLR rivals both in terms of performance and lens ecosystem. What matters is that the equipment you choose is well-suited for the task you have in mind. That aside, personal preference is a big part of it. Many photographers prefer the balance and heft of a large camera and heavy lens. But if you have any aches and pains whatsoever don't make the mistake of aggravating that - it's all too easy to suddenly reach a tipping point when a niggling injury becomes a permanent limiting factor.

There are various birds in the world which are referred to as ‘Robins’, although they bear no genetic or behavioural resemblance to British Robins.

Robins are members of the Thrush family (as are Blackbirds). Both male and female Robins have their own territories during the winter, and both sing. They tend to pair up in December. They don't live very long unfortunately, although that’s apparently due to cats and fights with other Robins thanks to their very territorial nature.

Robins tend to produce around three broods per year, sometimes more. Their diet is quite varied ranging from worms, berries, and insects. Apparently their favourite treat is mealworms, although my Robin won't eat these for some reason and prefers small piece of cake or crumbs of unsalted cheese.

One of the features of Robins which has made them so popular here in the UK is the fact that they are so easy to tame. All you need to do is take some appropriate food out with you, at a predictable time of the day. Start by placing the food a few feet away from you in a place where your Robin normally hangs out. Then gradually move the food closer to you and the bird will soon become accustomed to your presence. The next step is to place the food on an open palm resting your hand at a distance. With only a small amount of practice, your Robin will soon greet you and will happily keep you company. My Robin feeds from my hand without any of those intermediary steps which just goes to show how confident they can be.

A few years ago I had a Robin which showed absolutely no interest in hand feeding, but was fascinated by my every movement. Every time I stepped out of my back door the Robin would appear and would follow me around at very close proximity. This included entering the garden shed, the garage, and at times the house. I can tell you from experience that getting a curious Robin to leave is easier said than done, especially if it manages to make its way upstairs. This same Robin got to know my daily routine and as soon as it saw my bedroom blind twitch first thing in the morning it would land on the windowsill and burst into song. Then it would appear on the bathroom windowsill as soon as I entered the room. Likewise the kitchen windowsill by the time I'd made my way downstairs. This was a little disconcerting but it does prove just how nosy these little characters can be. Food wasn't the motivation because I would wave treats two inches from its beak only to be ignored.

The Robin in the photographs below was snapped a couple of days ago on one of my favourite walks. Unfortunately the food I had with me that day was suited to larger birds and the Robin didn't hesitate to tell us that by staring pointedly at the seeds and then glaring at the face of the human offering his hand. This resulted in the Robin staying firmly in situ until we could gently encourage it back onto a fence post. The Robin then kept as company for most of the morning.

Male and female Robins look exactly the same to my eyes, there appears to be no difference in size or plumage. But apparently females have a slightly V-shaped red brow and males have a U-shape. The markings on this particular Robin appear to be something in between, so I'm none the wiser as to its gender. During the mating season males can be seen feeding females, but if you see the Robin on its own you still won’t know who is who.

So if you have a Robin in your back yard, now is a good time to make friends with him or her. Hand feeding a small wild animal feels lovely and is so relaxing - give it a go (unless you have cats who regularly visit your garden). It's also nice to know that over the years the descendants of your Robin are very likely to remain in their existing territory, they rarely move far from where they hatched.

Because these little birds are easy to tame they’re also fairly easy to photograph. You can get very close to them which is half the battle. But like most small birds they’re prone to constant micro-movements, particularly their heads. So even though they may be standing in one place you'll still need a reasonably high shutter speed both for handholding a telephoto lens and for freezing movement of your Robin.

For the photographs below I was working between 100mm and 160mm. In Canon APS-C terms that is ‘equivalent’ to 160mm to 256mm. My shutter speeds varied from 1/200 to 1/500 which was enough for sharp photographs given that the lens I was using (the Canon 55-250mm STM) has a degree of stabilization. This was mounted on a tiny DSLR, the Canon 200D making for an extremely lightweight but well performing setup.

Animals, especially youngsters, can be quite challenging to photograph. They’re lively and when they’re young they’re not ready for any significant obedience training. But this in itself can make the photo shoot great fun and these sessions are always filled with laughter. This is why I enjoy animal photography so much – every outing is totally different to the last with its own unique aspirations. Key to success is an owner who understands that! A relaxed and flexible attitude is vital to this kind of work.

And then there is the weather. It just isn’t possible here in the UK to have ideal weather for every shoot. In fact the right weather and light is a rarity these days. It doesn’t need to be a limiting factor unless it’s pouring down and blowing a gale. One constraint is that very often we’ll find that we don’t have enough light to freeze action. On our next shoot we may find that the light is very harsh and contrasty which can introduce a new set of compromises. But there are almost always ways to adapt to this and the ability to change tack on the run is vital.

When photographing animals I’m concentrating on lots of different things at once. Animals can move around a lot so I’m constantly adjusting my composition to accommodate that. I need to be ready to capture bursts of action without having to stop and fiddle with my settings while the moment is lost. Timing is everything, since we may only have a split second to capture an interesting or characterful moment. If our subject is very small we’ll need to get down to their level. Getting up and down becomes more painful with age and switching to lightweight mirrorless cameras can really help you out.

Indoors I’m usually using prime lenses such as a 50mm and an 85mm f1.8. I’ll need to stop down a little to get enough of my subject’s face in focus, depending on distance. Outside a telephoto zoom is almost always my first choice. Something which covers the classic 70-200 range. As with any moving target your shutter speed is a very important consideration and this may mean increasing the ISO quite substantially at times.

Here are some of the wall pieces we created:

Bird and Nature Photography with the Sony a7rii and Sony 70-200 f4 G Lens

I haven’t had much of a chance to keep tabs on the comings and goings at my local reserve this year, so it was great to get down there for a couple of hours last week. As well as enjoying the lovely surroundings at Arundel Wetlands Centre I also wanted to try out a new lens – the Sony 70-200 f4. On a full frame camera this is a classic length for portraiture and indeed this is a go to category of lens for most portrait and event photographers. All the major manufacturers have their own variants. Fast zoom lenses like this tend to be large and heavy, which is why I chose the f4 version – it’s a similar size and weight to the micro four thirds Olympus 40-150 f2.8. But is it good for nature photography? Yes and no. It’s not the sort of lens I would turn to when photographing small shy animals or small birds – but on a crop sensor APS-C camera it’s very useful for near wildlife. In which case it affords a respectable 300mm maximum reach.

300mm is about the minimum for wildlife photography and actually it’s a focal length I became quite used to in my Canon full frame days, when I used the 70-300L. My copy of the Sony lens is sharp wide open at f4 (and indeed throughout the focal range) but at f5.6 it becomes superlatively sharp. Overall the Pana Leica 100-400 is slightly sharper wide open (as are most micro four thirds pro grade zooms) albeit a little slower.

It’s a nicely colourful lens, with neutral rendering and good well-balanced contrast, with very little edge softening throughout its range. There just isn’t anything to complain about. You’ll get a bit more subject separation with its bigger f2.8 brother, but with a considerable weight and cost penalty.

The Sony lens was mounted to my Sony A7rii, in super-35 mode. This means that with the flick of a button I can turn my full frame camera into an APS-C body. And I can use Sony APS-C E mount dedicated lenses on a full frame Sony E mount camera, which is great for convenience and redundancy. The light was bright on this particular outing, however high ISO values are the norm in the UK when photographing wildlife or indeed anything which is likely to move. Often our subjects will favour shade on a hot day.

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You can keep more than one giant millipede together and they’ll be quite happy. In fact if you have a male and female it’s very likely they’ll breed. I’m not sure why they’re called millipedes because they don’t have anything like that number of legs - I think 200 to 400 legs is probably the norm. How you care for your giant millipede depends to an extent on which species it is, but they are herbivores. They love fruit and veg, particularly cucumber. To be specific, these creatures are ‘detritivores’ since they prefer decaying vegetation. They are not currently endangered and their native habitat is the African rain forest.

Fine Art Pet Dog Photographer Brighton East Sussex

Photographing two young and very boisterous German Shorthair Pointers has got to top any workout I’ve ever done. Young dogs like these are balls of energy and they’re hugely entertaining. Pet photo shoots are certainly challenging at times but that’s what makes them fun and interesting. With lively animals the mantra ‘keep shooting’ is good advice indeed – there can be little advance warning of when the best opportunities will present themselves. We can try to craft the shot as much as possible by choosing the right location, the right background, and the right framing. But animals are dynamic so moving with your subject is a prerequisite.

Fine art studies lend themselves well to either very minimal presentation or fairly bold framing. I often go against the grain and place low key studies like this in very bright, light, and perhaps white rooms. This can have real impact particularly in a pared down or minimalist environment. A low-key photograph will also work beautifully in rooms painted in rich deep colours with more ornate mouldings. This style is also ideal for formal areas such as living and dining areas. As a rule, more relaxed photography works best in kitchens and dens. All of those considerations point towards fine art imagery if the pet owner occupies a spacious and perhaps grand country house, as was the case with this particular customer.

Although this picture appears to have been taken in a studio, I work entirely on location. I don’t set up props or backdrops – we can usually find areas with sufficient light falloff in order to create a dark background. Getting our furry subjects to stay in place is another matter entirely though, as anyone who has photographed their pets will tell you. Put simply, you can’t be both photographer and pet wrangler.

Many photographers are inclined to remove collars but I think there are times when these should be left in place. They can add colour, texture and structure. They can also create a more personal portrait and can prevent a formal study from appearing staid.

When my students have been through a process of learning or refining the areas they need to improve on, we’ll often head out to somewhere scenic. Practice locations don’t have to be anything fancy like an African safari or a trip to the mountains of Scotland. Wild animals and birds can be found in a variety of locations and habitats, and pretty much all of my animal photographs have been gathered within an hour of my home. If you’ve equipped yourself with the necessary skills then there is no reason at all why you can’t gain strong images absolutely anywhere.

Very often the places I suggest are the same places I like to go to if I have a couple of hours to myself. One of my favourite spots for some much needed downtime is the Wetlands Centre at Arundel in West Sussex. I’ve been a member for years and it’s a fantastic place for recreational bird and wildlife photography. By recommending familiar places a student can see the kind of photographs I’ve taken there. And best of all, I won’t need to listen to the old mantra which goes along like this ‘I went but there was nothing to photograph’. We’ve all had that feeling. It happens mostly when we’re struggling to think straight because we feel that there are so many different things to consider for each picture. We end up in gridlock, coming away frustrated with our efforts. But if you can learn a simple technical and creative system, then everything will start to fall into place.

Like a lot of people with aches and pains, my outings are made so much easier by using smaller cameras and lenses. For this outing I paired an Olympus EM5 MkII with the venerable Panasonic Leica 100-400. Or I could have used the Olympus 40-150 f2.8 and teleconverter MC14. If you’re on a budget the other option is the excellent little Oly 40-150 f4-f5.6R lens – dirt cheap and optically fantastic. A lightweight option for Canon APS-C users is the small, light and cheap Canon EF-S 55-250 STM (the latest one).

It’s the breeding season at the moment for many kinds of waterfowl, which means there are plenty of gorgeous chicks to admire. At this stage the chicks are fearless and curious, and will often run towards you. Just be aware there may be a parent nearby so it’s best to keep any noise and distractions to a minimum to avoid disturbing nesting birds. And watch where you’re treading!

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