Puffin Photography Tours: Tips To Successfully Photograph Puffins

Puffin photography tours can offer amateur and professional photographers a wonderful way to capture these beautiful, photogenic creatures within their natural habitats. But there are some tips that any photographer should be aware of before embarking on such a trip to ensure that their photographs are as perfect as they can be.

Firstly, as with other wildlife photography, light can be a problem when it comes to snapping puffins. Whilst other animals may have a uniform color which makes the process easier, puffins are both black and white. This can cause exposure difficulties if there is bright sunlight present during wildlife photography tours. Do check your exposures for any indication of blown out highlights. If you know how, test your light meter against a nearby patch of grass. This ability to work manually can be extremely important when capturing puffins during flight. Any background changes can play with your camera's meter – causing the shot to be overexposed. One way to help with this is to shoot in RAW. That way, you can play around with the image highlights and shadows using post-production software. It's also worth noting that if you've never seriously snapped birds during photography tours or otherwise, continuous AF will be required when photographing birds in-flight. Whilst single-shot AF is fine when the bird is on land, it's a good idea to switch to continuous when the birds are in the sky. These small tips could be the difference between returning with good and great photos.

Before you go on any puffin photography tours, it can be a good idea to practice with local birds in your garden or local park. You can find even more tips on how to photograph birds and wildlife at Apogee Photo Magazine's website – http://www.apogeephoto.com/. Here you'll find great how-to guides and expert advice for both amateur and professional photographers.