Environmental Wildlife Photography: Powerful Wildlife Portraits

Young lioness in tree, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x. Exposure: 1/1600 sec., f/4, ISO 800.

During a typical wildlife encounter, the initial impulse of most beginning photographers is to grab the longest lens in the bag and capture a full-frame reproduction of the subject, revealing the finest details in every feather or fiber of fur. The assumption is simple: the closer, the better. The tighter the frame, the richer the details — giving viewers the feeling of an intimate encounter with a bear, lion or any other potentially dangerous predator they could never safely experience in person.

While this approach has some aesthetic and documentary value, it tends to be overly simplistic and compositionally one-dimensional. Tight, conventional wildlife portraits offer little in the way of context or environment, delivering as much drama or storytelling as a snapshot from the city zoo.

Environmental wildlife portraits, however, present the animal in its natural habitat and surroundings — such as the frozen sea ice under Arctic skies, the steamy rainforest or the wide-open savanna grasslands — helping tell the story of the animal’s life, habits and behaviors. They provide rich context and can lead to more dynamic and complex compositions. The light on the landscape in the early morning and the moody skies of an impending storm can inject a variety of emotions into the image while giving the viewer the sensation of being there.

Let’s look at some helpful approaches to environmental wildlife portraits.

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Giraffe silhouettes reflected in water hole with the last glow of sunset light, Etosha National Park, Namibia. Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM. Exposure: 1/800 sec., f/4, ISO 2500.

Compose Wildlife Photos Like Landscapes

When you approach a sweeping landscape, particularly from a wide-angle perspective, you are often looking for balance, visual movement, depth and layers — a foreground, subject and an epic backdrop so viewers can take in the entire visual experience. You can view a wildlife image in the same way.

In an environmental wildlife portrait, your subject does not necessarily need to be the primary visual element of the image, any more than a single tree or mountain needs to be the primary subject of a landscape photo. A lone wildlife figure nested in a mountain landscape will always be the focal point for the viewer, but it is just one of many visual elements that come together to make a unified photograph.

By widening the frame, you bring more compositional working materials into play: potential leading lines that move the viewer’s eye through the frame, a counterbalance to your wildlife subject, and layers that add depth and multidimensionality. All of this leads to compositional complexity. Aesthetically, it is true that simplicity often speaks with a clearer voice — but it can also be incomplete and ordinary. Yes, sometimes less is more. Yet sometimes less is merely less, and more is more.

The following are some compositional concepts to consider.

Elephants walking in a single file, Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Canon EOS R5, Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM. Exposure: 1/1250 sec., f/10, ISO 800.

1. Balance

By juxtaposing the primary wildlife subject with one or more strong visual elements — such as trees, the sun or secondary animals — you can create asymmetrical balance by positioning them on a diagonal in the frame. As the eye moves from one subject to another, it creates virtual lines, movement and visual tension.

Working near water can reveal reflections of your subject, which is a good time to zoom out and create a compelling wildlife image with symmetrical balance. A rhino taking a drink from a waterhole at sunset with a perfect mirror reflection is much more compelling than just the rhino itself. When balance is employed, in either form, the viewer can engage the photo with an instinctive feeling of stability and harmony.

2. Movement

Movement refers to how the viewer’s eye travels through the image frame. Including literal or implied lines — such as S-curves, rivers, streams or trails — helps move the viewer’s eye through the frame and adds dynamism.

Tighter portraits or headshots are usually static; you are drawn to the animal’s eye, but there is nowhere else to go. Yes, an animal’s eyes create a strong focal point for the viewer to gravitate toward, but without movement, the image is static and dull. Movement is particularly powerful when it leads the viewer’s eye toward the primary wildlife subject.

3. Layers and Depth

Layers also create movement, usually from the image’s bottom foreground to the top background, and they add depth. Depth is not just about distance; it’s also about story. Foreground elements in a scene invite curiosity, the middle layers provide context and the background creates a sense of place. The animal, inserted into this landscape, then becomes the photo’s primary focal point.

4. Scale

The photo at the bottom of this story of a waddle of penguins dwarfed by the snow-capped mountains of South Georgia Island gives viewers a visceral grasp of size, altitude and geographic isolation. These are emotions a tightly cropped portrait simply cannot convey.

Black Rhino coming to drink in late evening light, Okaukuejo Camp, Etosha National Park, Namibia. Canon EOS R5, Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM. Exposure: 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 1600.

Use Environmental Wildlife Photography to Tell a Story

Storytelling is the oldest of all art forms and one of the most powerful. Stories resonate because they connect the “what,” “where” and “why.” A conventional full-frame portrait or headshot nails the “what,” much like a guidebook photo that helps identify a species. What’s missing in these images is the “where” and the “why.”

You’ve certainly heard the phrase that a photograph is worth a thousand words. That’s absolutely true — if you give it a chance. Widening the frame can reveal stories that hint at a species’ ecological pressures, migratory journeys or symbiotic relationships with other animals or the environment. A polar bear navigating the edge of an ice sheet in the Arctic can articulate the perils of climate change better than a thousand — or even ten thousand — words.

By giving the “where” and the “why” equal billing with the “what,” you remind viewers of the interconnectedness among all three. Using the example of the polar bear image (below), a photo can feature the bear in its environment and the environment in the bear — showing why both are worth saving, all without stepping onto a soapbox. The photo itself explains why this place matters and why the beautiful, wild creature you see is dependent upon it.

Polar bear on fast ice, Svalbard, Norway. Canon EOS R5, Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM. Exposure: 1/1250 sec., f/11, ISO 1000.

Capture the Drama of Weather and Light

Light is often called the lifeblood of photography, and in wildlife photography that’s mostly true regarding how the light illuminates the subject — whether front light, back light or diffused light. Because a telephoto lens has a narrow angle of view, the light on the landscape, clouds and sky is often ignored.

Weather of every kind can inject emotional content into an image. From soft pink pastels in the predawn sky to ominous storm clouds on the horizon, the drama and feeling that weather and light create in a wildlife image can be captured only by expanding the frame and including those elements.

Oryx at rest in the sands of the Namib Desert, Namibia. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. Exposure: 1/1250 sec., f/5, ISO 1000.

Choose the Right Lenses for Environmental Wildlife Photos

I will never leave for a wildlife photography trip without at least one telephoto lens, and that will never change. It’s absolutely essential for many reasons, including the tight portrait when it’s the only real option. But I also keep a midrange zoom mounted on one of my cameras — such as the Canon RF 24-105mm — for the inevitable moment when the surrounding environment is every bit as important as the primary wildlife subject.

I also find that telephoto zoom lenses such as the 100-400mm, 100-500mm or 200-600mm offer far more compositional versatility, allowing me to zoom out quickly to include striking foreground elements, mountains in the background or a perfectly placed tree that counterbalances the subject — without having to switch lenses or camera bodies.

: Gray langur monkeys, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. Exposure: 1/1600 sec., f/6.3, ISO 2500.

Give Environmental Wildlife Portraits a Chance

As mentioned, most wildlife photographers reach for the longest lens first. If you’ve spent $10,000 on a super-telephoto, you might feel pressure to get the greatest return by using it whenever possible.

My initial impulse, however, is to look at the scene in its entirety and attempt to tell a story. The environmental wildlife photo is always my first look. If the surrounding environment does not tell much of a story, distracts or fails to provide compositional complexity that yields movement or balance, then I will zoom in for the tighter shot.

I’m not suggesting that you do exactly the same. You should create the images that inspire you as a photographer. All I ask is that you give the environmental portrait a chance.

When your eye is locked onto your subject through the barrel of your big 600mm lens, lift your head from the camera and take in the wider view for just a moment. Study the surrounding environment. Search for layers. Scan the sky for drama and atmosphere. Expand your wildlife photography portfolio with environmental perspectives that tell stories and fully engage your viewers.

See more of Richard Bernabe’s work at richardbernabe.com.

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Sunrise glow and penguins at Cuverville Island Antarctica. Canon EOS R5, Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM. Exposure: 1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400.

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