Wildlife Videography Techniques

[Reyed Mia (Apprentice, DIU)]

Wildlife Videography Techniques

The light level was in the basement, and the wolves were very active. While the D3S was connected to the 600mm, raising the ISO to make a click in horrible light never made sense to me, so I just enjoyed the show. Then I remembered the D3S shoots video! I had been shooting video for a while by this time, but never with my DSLR, so I thought I would push the button to see what would happen. The popularity of that simple two-minute clip was so overwhelming that it caused me to think more about creating videos with my DSLR when I was out shooting stills.

What You Need In A Camera Body

While the body is important in this process, the good thing is, nearly all bodies for the last few years are great video cameras out of the box. That's why, of course, I'm encouraging you to push the button. The basic standard is what's called 1080p, also called by some full HD, a term that assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9 or a resolution of 1920x1080; 1080p is an HDTV high-definition video mode. Like a number of technical aspects of digital capture, the bottom line is that you can scale the file down, but you can't rez it up. Start at 1080p to capture the most, knowing you can rez it down.

Lens Settings

The lens is what really makes HDSLRs just so darn cool and the final results cinematic! The range of lenses we can easily use to shoot video is vast. This is key in wildlife videography since we can, with the switch of a lever, change back and forth. But there are a couple of "gotchas" in this process that you take for granted shooting stills that you can't when shooting video.

More On Keeping It Steady

The tripod you use for shooting stills should work perfectly for your HD video. The same may not be true for your head. While not a game-killer when shooting stills, if the panning movements in your head aren't smooth, you'll see it in your video, and it's a game-changer.

Sound Is So Important

Sound is really difficult to do well while photographing wildlife. Sound is everything, and capturing the sound we experience when watching a documentary requires an auxiliary mic. The one that's built into your DSLR is useful, but for wildlife work, you'll want an audio-recording system that gives you more range while eliminating a lot of the off-axis ambient noise. You could use a shotgun mic like the RØDE VideoMic Pro, but even that may not work for wildlife. Other options? I go with a handheld digital recorder like the Olympus LS-10S, Zoom H4n from Samson Technologies or Tascam DR-40 that records stereo. These recorders can do an incredible job, and many of them allow you to connect a separate mic, like a shotgun, for even greater control. You'll find that experimenting with audio, while challenging, can make a big difference in the final clip or film.

Shooting Strategies

There are many, and it really comes down to you. I do have some suggestions that may help you get started. Unless you're shooting a documentary, you don't need long segments. Since we're coming from the perspective of shooting stills, we only need short clips. I tend to start the video right after I've captured the stills I want. A minimum clip length of 90 seconds and a max of about five minutes is the norm. If you're after producing just a three- to five-minute YouTube clip, this will serve you really well.

https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/wildlife-techniques/wildlife-videography/