Becoming A Wide Angle Wildlife Photography Master: Pro Tips

Discover the transformative power of using a wide angle lens in wildlife photography with Shem Compion, co-founder of C4 Photo Safaris and a seasoned professional photographer from Africa. In this detailed guide filmed in the stunning Mashatu Nature Reserve in Botswana, Shem reveals how he evolved from traditional long-lens techniques to capture breathtaking wildlife images with wide angle lenses, offering a fresh perspective and a sense of place.
What You'll Learn in This Video:
🔸 Wide Angle Mastery: Learn why a wide angle lens can be your best tool for wildlife photography and how it can add depth and context to your shots.
🔸 Award-Winning images: Get insights into the techniques that led to some of Shem's most celebrated wildlife photos and apply this to your photography.
🔸 Practical Tips: From aperture settings to compositional techniques, learn how to use a wide angle lens effectively to capture stunning wildlife images.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
02:58 - Advantage of using a telephoto lens for wildlife
04:02 - A landscape of Insects book (the start of Shem's wide journey)
04:24 - The effect of a macro lens on an photograph
05:13 - Using a Fisheye lens for insect photography (and why)
05:53 - A mindset change in wildlife photography
06:30 - The ideal lens for wide angle wildlife photography
07:15 - Why Perspective is key
07:38 - The importance of repetition
08:16 - Photographing in South Sudan
08:26 - Composition
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Who we are
At C4 Photo Safaris, we are passionate experts at what we do: both safaris and photography. When you travel with C4 Photo Safaris, we welcome you to Africa as if into our home.
Revealing Africa to you is what a C4 safari is about. It is empathy, experience and rapture all played out through the medium we love: photography. We are very serious about what we do, and we combine that seriousness with expertise to make safaris, often into remote regions, run seamlessly. With C4 and our team, you can expect some wonderful moments complimented with some brilliant experiences. This stems from an understanding of your needs and delivering on them. As such, we have been listed numerous times as one of the top-ten photo safari companies in the world.
Join us on an unforgettable safari that you've always dreamed of.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Have you ever used a wide angle lens for wildlife? Or do you prefer using a telephoto lens?

[@janetkleyn1887]

My 24-120mm is my favourite lens

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

@@janetkleyn1887 Superb lens choice

[@janetkleyn1887]

Great insight into wide angle photography from Shem!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Happy to hear that thank you!

[@daniellecarstens8287]

Love this video, techniques learnt from many years in the field.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thanks Danielle!

[@johnclarke1319]

Too short! wonderful.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thanks John!

[@ShemCompion]

Loved sharing these thoughts and tips with you all. Thanks for the lovely comments.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thanks Shem!

[@meetree]

Bravo Shem great photography. the best....amazing tips...a ladder ???? Love you mate

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Always innovative 😆 Thanks!

[@lsdustyrhodes]

Beautiful work. And I greatly appreciate your breaking convention to create something special. While I don't do a great deal of wildlife photography, in such cases, I love placing my subjects into a larger environmental context. Wide is the way to go. Greetings from California.

[@ShemCompion]

Subject in the context of the environment is always a good way to get compelling story telling images. Thanks for the compliment. Shem.

[@VinaYard]

Very instructive and gives me a lot to think about. Beautiful images; a joy to view.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thank you, very happy to get that feedback!

[@janetkleyn1887]

Great footage from Mashatu

[@jochenretter]

stunning pictures!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Many thanks!

[@janetkleyn1887]

Great footage from Mashatu!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

It's an amazing place indeed

[@bijanfotografy]

Priceless tips SHEM ... this will help me immensely ... 💐💐💐

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

That's what we like hearing!

[@MarisaRautenbach]

Spectacular! Thanks for the share. Will watch this space!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thanks Marisa!

[@gerhardbotha7336]

Very good points- thank you. Just as I finally bought my new old 500mm f4! I find even taking landscapes with wide angle requires a mind shift. Doing wildlife will be even more fun with wide angle. … thinking….

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Don't sell it! Great lens 😀. But sure, wide angle makes you think out the box. Enjoy!

[@flemmingmorgan1929]

Hi Shem, Flemming here! This is a great video. Really incredible insights and your photos are wonderful! I also enjoyed Danielle’s video and have subscribed! Hope we can do a safari together at Mashatu!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Hi Flemming, Thank you we are planning a lot more videos for you. Would love to have you at Mashatu - its a wildlife photographers ideal location. Plus we have some exciting news coming up very soon - will share with you when it is 'live'. Shem

[@joemisika]

Love it and very straight forward information to help me be a better photographer.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thank you Joe!

[@itiswhatitis8179]

Very good ideas. I primarily photograph birds of all sizes. This could work well for the large ones and maybe the small ones if I can get really close. Wide angle would set my images apart from my peers. Thank you for the radical idea. I already have a 24 to 105 lens. I just have to try it - nothing else.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thank you. Greg du Toit's image of a buff streaked chat in the Drakensberg mountains remains one of the best examples of using a wide angle lens for birds. Because most birds are very small- its tough to make them large in the frame by getting closer - that is the main challenge. digitalphotographycourses.co.za/featuring-award-winning-wildlife-photographer-greg-du-toit/

[@dPico-digitaldurda]

yes agree. so correct. i still working on this myself. am on urban landscape at the moment

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Lovely - an interesting photography genre. Enjoy!

[@joncothranphotography9375]

Thanks for that perspective! I will try to practice that this week!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Let us know how it goes 😀

[@iShootWild]

All pro wildlife photographers always say, get lower and here you say get higher. Very radical idea, but the photos speak for themselves (meaning amazing shots). The wide angle lens would not work for my type of wildlife photography (the real wild wild animals and small birds) since either I will get killed or the birds will fly away trying to get closer to them but I can see this working for insects. Or need a remote control camera/lens, which I think you touched on. Great content!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thank you - Its in those very special moments, when you can say- aha, let me get a bit higher in order to get some depth in the image whilst still being safe. In Africa we mostly use safari vehicles and so we can position these on top of a rise to get some height. The main thing is to keep the though possibility in the back of your mind and tae action when that possibility presents itself. My best, Shem

[@capturingnaturewithsandip]

Amazing video with lovely tips

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

This is lovely to hear, thank you!

[@TheSafariExpert]

Great tips from a great photographer 🙌🏻

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Thank you Villiers!

[@kapilbhallafoto]

Interesting perspective

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Tried and tested, for sure.

[@StevenFinlay]

Great video and gives me some things to think about. Also, what hat are you wearing?

[@ShemCompion]

Thanks Steven. Tilley hats are perfect for protecting me from the African sun.

[@ramondelgado05]

Thanks for the great advice

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

You're welcome! Stay tuned for more 🙂

[@earleholmes5456]

Very insightful

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Glad it was helpful!

[@markwalker8374]

I accidentally discovered using wider lens photography with my mobile phone when I went to Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire to photograph gannets and other seabirds. I didn't have a car so walked the 8km from the nearest station lugging my 100-400, camera and other kit only to discover I had left the memory card in the hotel. Photographing nesting seabirds with a phone is quite a challenge not to mention the 2 sec lag between pressing the shutter and the whenever the phone decided to take the shot. After persisting for a couple of hours I came away 5 ok shots when birds drifted close to my cliff line vantage.

[@markwalker8374]

...and two nights ago used the wide angle and turned the phone upside down and rested it on the tiles to get a close up of a Painted Bullfrog hopping around my feet in a cafe in Thailand.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Now that's dedication!

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Accidents are important when photographing - if you can get safely close to birds (both for you and them), them the possibilities are immense - as often sea birds live in dramatic landscapes and if you can show that landscape, you can create incredibly dramatic images. My best, Shem.

[@Bagorra]

My wide angle lens is a 10-20mm in a DX Nikon camera. For middle distance I use a 18-140mm

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Sounds like you also enjoy wide-angle photography! Happy to hear that.

[@ShemCompion]

Thanks fine if it’s a dx lens. The important thing is to get in close and go wide.

[@puffingtonsmythe8690]

What makes it so difficult is that you have to get really close

[@ShemCompion]

In the private reserves of Africa- like in Mashatu, the animals are relaxed enough to get close without any danger to either of you. Of course a photo hide also makes it easier too. Thanks you. Shem.

[@C4PhotoSafaris]

Hope you get to experience it in Africa!