Any books on wildlife photography?

savethelephant

savethelephant

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Does anyone out in the forum know of any good books on a "how-to" of wildlife/zoo photography as a late birthday present? My Coolpix P900 was my main birthday/graduation gift gift but my mom said she'd get me something small if it was worth it. Anyone?
 
The best guide for digital wildlife photography that I have seen recently is The Wildlife Photography Workshop by Ross Hoddinott and Ben Hall, Ammonite Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-90770-857-2, list price £16.99 (but discounted by Amazon associated sellers).
It scarcely mentions zoos, but it is quite comprehensive on equipment, composition, lighting and post-processing for all types of wildlife photography, and it is well illustrated too.

Alan
 
I only recall ever seeing one book on zoo photography in my life. It was called something like How to Photograph Animals in Captivity. I did a quick Amazon search now and nothing came up, so I am sure it is out of print. (I never owned it, I just saw it somewhere a long time ago).

I have occasionally thought of doing a booklet myself on zoo photo secrets, but the cost of color printing is so high (as I learned from my southwest zoo book) that I do not think I ever will.

As for wildlife photography in general, I do not know of any books specifically but I am sure they are out there. A good resource might be the North American Nature Photographers Association. Just go to their website and I think they have a shopping cart section that may have books.
 
this might be the book Arizona Docent is thinking of - on Amazon from $2 - [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Manual-Captive-Animal-Photography/dp/1584280239"]Amazon.com: The Practical Manual of Captive Animal Photography (9781584280231): Michael Havelin: Books[/ame]
 
John Shaw has published a range of wildlife and nature photography books. Some of the earlier ones are film and thus the gear talk is a bit dated, but methods and process are still much the same only that now a days you're more free with the ISO in a digital camera (ASA - ergo "film speeD").

I would also heartily recommend any books by Joe McDonald. His "The Wildlife Photographer Field Manual" is a very good read, smaller than some but very good,



In general good photography guide books are hard because a LOT are just an excuse for the photographer to post their pictures whilst putting very marginal information down. When starting out they can be helpful, but many are quickly outgrown and offer less information to really build and develop nor even ideas on how to do things differently. So do hunt around.
 
I just went to Amazon and typed in the search "wildlife photography." A handful of books on the topic came up, but I do not know firsthand how helpful they are.
 
Most will cover the basics; the problem is that there are a lot which are basically picture books more than education ones. Furthermore many focus on gear and very general advice about photography.

Typically I see many that cover photography very lightly and field skills not at all - what they do cover is typically the most basic.
 
I saw this one yesterday at the Out Of Africa gift shop in Sedona. (The author leads photo workshops at Out Of Africa). It is more of a booklet than a book, very few pages and just stapled instead of bound (not thick enough to bind). However it is full color on quality paper. I only skimmed through it quickly but from what I saw it would be helpful. The price is very steep for such a thin booklet, but I believe the information would be concise and helpful.
Book - Kathleen Reeder Wildlife Photography
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top