10 things you can shoot this month, from wildlife and landscapes to architecture and portraits

1 | WILDLIFE

Do the foxtrot

Dan Rose explains how to find and photograph foxes in the local woodlands

Wildlife photography is always about perseverance and patience; most of the time you either don’t capture shots you are happy with, or you don’t capture any shots at all. The more you actively return to areas to try to photograph animals, the more likely you are to capture the perfect shots you want to achieve.

From my personal experience, urban foxes in cities are admittedly a lot tamer than rural foxes found in the countryside. However, they are still wild animals and it is crucial to respect their space and boundaries. In these shots, the foxes I photographed were extremely tame, and occasionally they even came right up to me to sniff my scent.

In addition to my DSLR, I needed to use an 85mm lens to capture the foxes. In order to find out where you can find foxes to photograph in your local area, I recommend either asking people where you live or using wildliferelated Facebook groups. Capturing and interacting with these urban foxes was a surreal experience and one that I will always remember! www.danrose.uk

1 Shoot at eye-level

Getting low and placing yourself below an animal’s eye level enables you to angle the lens upwards and emphasise the subject’s size. Thinking carefully about your positioning is particularly important for wildlife photography, as it creates a real connection in your photos between the photographer and subject. When viewing portraits, the subject’s eyes often attract the viewers’ attention to your photo, so this is a good feature to focus on when capturing your shot.

2 Research your subject

Foxes tend to venture out in the early mornings or before the sun sets, but they are mainly nocturnal by nature. In cities, it is possible to spot them wandering around the streets at night, so street lighting can be used to your advantage in these situations. Don’t hesitate to ask people in your local area about regular sightings and then explore those avenues, as those tips are likely to pay off.

3 Take a lot of photos

Use moments when you finally come face-toface with your subject to shoot an abundance of frames, as opportunities like this can be few and far between. It is best to ensure that you give yourself the best possible chance to obtain sharp, in-focus photographs of your subject.

Dan’s tips and advice

Never delete images you may not like at first glance. It is easy to be critical of your shots, but I have looked back on images that I took months and even years ago, when they were originally overlooked, and managed to edit them.

I am a perfectionist and, a lot of the time, I would like my subject to be in the frame with an aesthetically pleasing background and barely any other distractions. However, some images that contain people, cars or everyday things, in addition to – or surrounding – your subject can actually increase the power of your photo.

In all honesty, wildlife photography is completely luck-based on most occasions and can be about being in the right place at the right time. So be prepared for cold climates and waiting around for your subject because, just like wildlife, the weather can be unpredictable.

If you’re interested in pursuing wildlife photography, then I recommend purchasing a telephoto lens. It is not always possible to get within close proximity of animals, so it is useful to have a mixture of lenses in your kit for situations where you are further away from your subject.

Develop your own style

Originality is an important part of being a photographer. On social media, for example, I like to ensure that my wildlife photos stand out by editing them in a style that can be recognisably noticed as my own before the person even realises that it has been taken by me. I don’t like to overdo post-production editing, especially when it comes to wildlife photos. Instead, I like to make the animal’s features stand out and also bestow my photography with a cinematic quality. Typically, I neutralise the environment that the animal is captured in, in order to increase the focus on the subject.