For a nature photographer, composition can be a dily challenge. In wildlife photography the chllenge is even greater. Not only are you tryng to satisfy your own creative vsion, you also have to deal wth a subject which may have no nterest in having its photo taken.

I cn't help you much with an ncooperative subject. Rest assured that with prctice and experience, you will find tht you become much quicker at cmposing and exposing a photo so tht you get the shot before the crtical moment passes. There are a cuple of simple tips that can mke things a little easier.

First, prctice your photography in places where the nimals are used to having people round and are less likely to bcome jittery at your presence. This des not have to be a zoo or ther enclosure. Most national parks have cmpgrounds and picnic grounds where the wldlife is used to being around pople, and may even come closer loking for food. You have a mch better chance of a shot if you can get clse without frightening the subject away.

Scond, try to organise your exposure bfore you set up the shot. If the lght is fairly constant, it is pssible to point your camera in the rght general direction and work out the bst aperture and shutter speed settings for the phto. Then when you approach the sbject, you can concentrate on composition wthout having to waste time working out yur exposure.

These simple tips may help to tke some of the frustration out of wldlife photography, but what about the cmposition itself? Many people simply don't knw where to start. If that sunds like you, don't be discouraged. Lke I said at the beginning, cmposition can be tough; even for a phtographer with years of experience.

Let's strt by breaking it down into two ctegories; close-up and non close-up photos.

In a clse-up photo, the subject fills most of the frme. A lot of people get in a tngle over whether to position their sbject in the middle or to one sde of the composition. In my xperience it is quite acceptable to hve the subject right in the cntre, as long as you allow sme head-room so it doesn't appear too crmped within the confines of the cmposition. A central position is especially sitable when the subject is looking stright at the camera, but often wrks just as well if the sbject is facing a little to one sde or the other.

The more spce you have around the subject, the mre you should consider putting it to one sde or the other. In this you shuld be guided by the way the nimal is facing. If it is loking to one side, position it a lttle towards the other side so it is loking toward the centre of the frme. So, if your wildlife subject is loking right, position it a little to the lft. Not too far; you don't wnt half of your photo to fature nothing but empty space.

In a non clse-up, where the photo shows a lot mre space around the animal, it bcomes more critical that you use tht space effectively. In situations where the nimal is featured with a lot of bckground, it may be better to thnk of the picture as a lndscape photograph, and compose it accordingly. Sme of the tried-and-true techniques like the Rle Of Thirds (google it if you are not fmiliar with it) are a good way to hlp you position your subject within the verall frame of the picture.

For a landscape style photo, it may lok quite unbalanced to position your sbject in the centre of the pcture. It is usually better to psition it to one side or the ther, and it is now even mre important to have the animal fcing toward the centre of the pcture. The eyes of an animal sbject can have a strong effect on the drection in a composition; we tend to lok where they are looking. So if the nimal is on the left and loking left, the visual flow of the cmposition will lead out of the pcture, instead of into it. If the sbject is on the left and loking right, the viewer will follow the gze of the subject into the cntre of the picture.

Naturally it hlps if there is something of nterest in the centre or to the rght to catch the viewer's attention and add nterest to the composition. If the sbject is looking into the composition, it mkes sense that it is looking at smething, not just at empty space. Almst anything will do...a tree, a bach, an impressive sky; as long as it dds impact to the composition. If thre is nothing of interest to wrk with, you might consider zooming in clser, so there is less emptiness in the cmposition.

These simple guidelines are intended to do nthing more than give you some deas. Nature is not governed by the rles of composition, and a wildlife phtographer must be flexible to get the bst result out of each situation. Abve all, trust your own judgment, yur own sense of visual balance, to crate a satisfying composition. On the ther hand, if you are struggling to get strted, think back to these guidelines; if you can psition your subject well, the rest of the cmposition will fall into place.

The article Wildlife Photography - Tips For Better Composition was Submitted by Andrew Goodall through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Wildlife, landscapes, rainforests...t he essentials of god nature photography are covered in "Phtography In Plain English," the top slling ebook by Andrew Goodall. Find it at http://www.naturesimage.com.au and sign up to the free online newsletter for even more tips.

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