Taking photos

Listen to a conversation between two photography students about taking photos of animals and complete the sentences in Part B.

F: I loved that talk about photographing endangered animals, didn’t you?

M: Yeah, those images were stunning.

F: I know – and now we’ve got to take a wildlife photo for our end-of-term project. We’ll never do anything as good as Joel Sartore’s pictures!

M: Well, even he had to start somewhere. I’ve found a website which should help us, actually. It gives great advice.

F: Mm … go on.

M: Well, obviously, you can’t ask an animal to pose in a certain position while you line up your shot. Patience is what it’s all about for wildlife photographers. If you aren’t prepared to wait, you won’t even get a half-decent shot, never mind a great one – even with all the skill in the world.

F: That’s my weekends sorted out, then! I guess it gives you the chance to observe the character of the animal while you’re sitting there.

M: Exactly! You might be familiar with its behaviour already if it’s an animal you’re used to seeing in your garden – but you get to see how individual it is and start to anticipate its next move, and then … you’ve got your photo!
F: You make it sound easy.

M: I’m sure it’s much more difficult than that! Animals tend to run away when they see me coming! Imagine trying to get a photo of a bird – they just fly away as soon as you approach them.

F: Mm … they’re so shy around humans, unlike bigger animals like dogs – they’re much more confident. But then they’re pretty fast when they’re running around – the solution’s to get them to sit first. Much easier.

M: Right.

F: Anyway, what else did the website say?

M: Oh … err … It mentioned how to avoid movement, especially when you’ve got a bigger camera, which is harder to hold still.

F: Like what – using a tree trunk for support, that kind of thing?

M: Not that specifically, but I’m sure you could. The professional photographer who wrote the article suggested using folded clothing.

F: Oh, like your jacket or something? That’s if you’re lying on the ground I suppose.

M: They didn’t say what, exactly … Anyway, there was one more thing that I think might be useful advice.

F: Yeah?

M: Mm, giving viewers a sense of where an animal lives – so not just doing close-ups of its physical features.

F: Oh … widen the shot out, show its natural habitat, that kind of thing?

M: Yep.

F: Mm … interesting! Well, I guess we’d better get on with it then!