Photo portraits of predators are a fairly common beginner topic, since it’s easy to get up close to a tamed predator. And meanwhile despite this they still have a certain exoticness. This time around we’ll show you how to do a typical predator portrait, using a photo on Zonerama as our example.

Predatory birds have caught peoples’ eyes since the beginning of time, and so it’s no wonder that we can see them at various social events and in various clubs. For photographers who don’t yet have experience with “wildlife” photography, this is a fairly attractive opportunity. These animals aren’t stuck in a cage, and you can get up fairly close to them.

Flawless Technical Quality and a Green Background

We won’t lie here. There’s not much room to maneuver in this kind of photo. You can’t interest anyone with a story or a special composition. The only things that you can draw interest with here are superb sharpness and an unbroken green background. There are many photos like this out there. And when you, too, take one, people will look at it and say it’s great. That’s because pictures like these feel exotic. But that’s all. They’ve seen a lot of others like it.

Your photo’s only advantage will be that you’re the one who took it. But let’s admit it, it was easy to take. You just needed to take a telephoto lens, sit down somewhere, find an appropriate shot angle, and press the trigger a few times. And that’s all. That’s all the photographic effort you needed.

It’s Good Training

But don’t get the impression that we consider this kind of photo to be something that’s beneath you. Not at all! In fact, it’s quite a noble act, because if you want to do wildlife photography, you can be sure that without basic knowledge of the animals you’re photographing, you won’t get far. So read a little about them. But also watch and learn their motions and habits. Taking photos like these is a good way to do that watching. When you succeed at taking a great photo of a predator that isn’t living in captivity, you’ll be rightfully proud of it, and you’ll appreciate it a lot more.

There’s nothing wrong with taking pictures of animals at zoos or breeding grounds. If you want to photograph animals living in the wild, this can be a great opportunity to train and improve your photographic skill.