How to use ANY light in Wildlife Photography. Techniques to get creative & fun imagery in poor light

[@robertlawrence7958]

That great grey owl image is gorgeous. It really captures the mood and, for me anyway, portrays the bird in the sort of lighting conditions I would expect to see an owl. Spot on! I find that flat, directionless lighting can often be difficult to work with. However, recently I found myself photographing a kingfisher in such light. The sky was bland and because of the angle I was restricted to shooting at, the background (just water) was also a boring grey. As an experiment I increased the expisure to basically partially burn out the water. Then in post processing I burned out the background even more in order to create an almost pure white 'high key' effect. Not being a very artistic photographer this was a bit of a departure for me but I was actually quite pleased with the result. Certainly if I had shot it with a normal exposure the light at the time would have resulted in a basically forgettable image.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks Robert, I do love that Great Gray Owl image, one of my favorites but the encounter was even better 😊 That sounds awesome, I need to try more stuff like that. I think that's what it's all about, trying new things, experimenting and learning along the way. Great job thinking outside the box when most people wouldn't have even taken a picture 👏

[@cmeluzzi]

Thank you, Jimmy, excellent topic. One thing that I like to play with in difficult light situations is the exposure compensation, in order to get a more interesting or artistic feel. Sometimes blowing the highlights or crunching the shadows in camera lead to a better image than simply working with well exposed images. Cheers!

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks a bunch, Cláudio! That's a really good tip, that something I'll have to play around with a bit more. Thanks so much for the input!

[@AdrianW.Photography]

Great tips and a reminder to work with what nature offers you in the moment. After all, tapping into our creative side is part of photography.

[@brandt_bennett]

Well said!

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Yes, very well said indeed! The creative side of things is what keeps pushing us to improve and try new things!

[@six66red14]

Michel.Luxembourg. Thank you for your videos and tips. Beginner in wildlife photography that for a few months, it is still very difficult for me to make perfect compositions, I am already amazed to have managed to capture a solitary moment with an animal and that’s why I follow your videos, to learn from your knowledge and improve myself. Good luck and thank you for your commitment to nature.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks for looking, I hope the channel continues to helpful in your journey. Wildlife photography is so much fun, keep it up! P.S. I don't think there's such thing as a perfect composition and that's a good thing 😜

[@stephenelderphoto]

Fantastic video Jimmy. Great tips and I loved the sample images you used. I especially loved the highlighted owl and those fox cubs! Thanks so much and I wish more people would find your superb channel.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks so much, I appreciate your comments and kind words! People will find it with time, I hope. I'll just keep doing what I love 😁

[@old4004]

I agree with you, Jimmy, that Pronghorns are beautiful animals, but I think you are not noticing that those you shot were losing their winter coats and looking quite ragged. As the Texas expression goes: "Looks like they was rode hard and put away wet!" Keep up the great videos.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks so much 😊 You're right, they were looking a bit ragged, but I'll take them any way I can! One of them had a bunch of hair hanging off that would blow around in the breeze, kinda fun to video and photograph!

[@KevinNordstrom]

Great advice Jimmy. Sometimes i use a variable ND filter. Especially for video on harsh sunny days.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Yes, very good tip! I used to use a lot more of those when I focused primarily on landscape photography. Now that I'm doing more video, I pulled them out of retirement and they've been a lifesaver!

[@GiuseppeGessa]

Nice video Jimmy. I'm agree with you that we should try more with different kind of light, even though we tend only to look for "the perfect light", so during the early morning, or during the sunset if you are a landscape photographer. Anyway, thanks for this video, see you.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thank you! It can be easy to get into the habit of only shooting during certain times and hard to find creative ways to use tricky light, but it's always worth the effort!

[@GiuseppeGessa]

@@JimmyBreitenstein yes, we have to make a try, always.

[@keithmacdonald4805]

Another excellent video Jimmy, some excellent pointers. Like you I love to get some highlight lighting especially when you can get that catch light in the eye of a bird or animal. I try to stay away from photographing when the light is too harsh, too many shadows to deal with. I try to confine my photography to early morning light or late in the day light when the sun is too bright. The footage of the Fox Kits is amazing, another critter that we don't have and makes me very envious. Have a wonderful week!!!

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thank you my friend 🙏 Those are some good times to photograph, can't go wrong during those hours of the day. If it's overcast, I'll shoot all day long, otherwise I generally stick to those times as well unless I see an opportunity for something interesting. The Fox kits were so much fun, I guess I always just assumed you had them out there, it really surprises me that you don't. Have you ever had any luck with the Wolves in the area?

[@keithmacdonald4805]

@@JimmyBreitenstein No I haven't been lucky enough to get the Wolves, the Coastal Wolves are very elusive and the guys that have had any luck have had to spend several weeks in blinds waiting for them to come to the beach to feed.

[@denischasse3567]

Hey ! thank you my friend always interesting your videos thank you for your advice! 🎥🎥🎥

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks so much for looking!

[@naturallyadriftphotoadvent123]

Many great tips! I have been photographing a Red Tailed Hawk's nest over the course of the last couple of months. Sometimes I am unable to get out for morning light. The afternoon or evening light is very harsh on the white chicks, a bit too much contrast so I switched to black and white and I love those shots! I also use exposure compensation when the light isn't the best.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

That sounds awesome, Red-tailed Hawk nests are so much fun, always worth the time put into them! Great job with the B&W, that's always a great option in situations like that.

[@naturallyadriftphotoadvent123]

@@JimmyBreitenstein my son is also enjoying the first hand science lesson of watching the hawks grow and playing in the stream that I shoot from. They are just starting to "hop" up on some of the branches, lots of fun.

[@ottrebane8269]

Great tips! Thanks for sharing! I try be opportunistic and use every light situation (the subject matters often more than the super photo quality) and select later in my computer. I think really bad light can sometimes still result in okay photos if You step a few steps one way or the other to change the background of the subject to something more agreeable to the eye.

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks for watching, I always appreciate it! I agree, even with harsh light you can generally figure out some way to make the image interesting and appealing. The challenge is what keeps things new and different!

[@samo1234561]

Hi, Jimmy, thnaks for great tips :) especially for highlight :) Im not a natural english speaker, so im sorry for my english :D The thing i like to do is keeping ISO noise in the background when i shooting in rainy or cloudy mornings, when there is no much light :) I think it can really help describe the feel of the rainy weather, especially in non portrait shots of animals in their natural habitat :D Greetings from Slovakia :)

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

Thanks so much for the input and kind words, I really appreciate it! I also love shooting in moody/stormy weather. I think it really adds a lot to the overall "feel" of the photo. A great point, thanks so much!

[@guykerr8111]

I wonder (as I wander) do people get hung up on "the rules"? The only good light is when the light is directly behind them and anything else is "against the rules". May be that following the perceived rules is a hindrance. Thanks for being informative!

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

I totally agree with you. I think people focus too much on the "rules," the do's and don'ts, that they just forget to use their creativity. I've done that so many times, and it's usually not until after that I realize how great of an opportunity I totally missed out on 🥴

[@JimmyBreitenstein]

I always love some good sidelight, adds a little natural contrast to an image!