How To Plan A Wildlife Photography Trip
- Apr 20, 2018
- 7 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
I’ve been reflecting on how much good wildlife photography comes down to preparation.
While chance encounters are part of the magic, the images that truly stand out usually come from careful planning, research of subject and place, and anticipating its photographic potential.
Whether you’re planning a wildlife photography trip abroad or exploring a local nature reserve, good preparation dramatically increases your chances of capturing memorable wildlife images.
So here are a few tips for planning a successful wildlife photography trip, and for discovering new photo opportunities, so I can be focussed on the moment when it finally happens.
Quick Tips For Planning A Wildlife Photography Trip
Before your next trip, ask yourself:
Which wildlife species or spectacle am I photographing?
What is the best season or time of year to observe it?
Where are the key photography locations?
What light and weather conditions will I encounter?
Do I need a guide or photography tour?
Do I understand my equipment and how to use it to my creative advantage?
Where is the Best Place for Wildlife Photography?
Some might say this is a specific location, but the best places to photograph wildlife are where nature is at its wildest and most diverse, or where your target animals are most likely to be seen.
Not every wildlife destination offers the same photographic potential. When researching locations, I look for three key ingredients: reliable wildlife activity, beautiful natural settings, and interesting light.
Some might say this is a specific location, but the best places to photograph wildlife are where nature is at its wildest and most diverse, or where your target animals are most likely to be seen.
To enable screen reader support, press ⌘+Option+Z To learn about keyboard shortcuts, press ⌘slash
When those three elements come together, the chances of capturing memorable and distinctive wildlife photographs increase enormously.
Like many photographers with wanderlust, I keep a mental list of scenes I’d love to photograph one day. Sometimes that spark is enough to shape an entire journey.
| If you’re looking for inspiration, I previously wrote about my favourite wildlife spectacles around the world, which often spark ideas for future photography trips.
For example, the vision of a bear moving silently through a dappled forest was the spark that led me to Slovenia’s Karst region. On another occasion, the challenge of photographing giant yucca flowers beneath a star-filled sky prompted a spontaneous road trip across New Mexico with a friend from Texas.
These subjects may be worlds apart, but they share the same foundation: understanding the subject, the location, and the light.
The more you know about a place before you arrive, the more you can focus on photography when the moment comes.
Plan Around a Wildlife Spectacle
With the huge growth in ecotourism and wildlife travel, photographers now have an overwhelming choice of destinations. One of the easiest ways to choose a wildlife photography destination is to focus on a specific wildlife spectacle.
Many natural events have a peak season. Timing your trip correctly can dramatically increase your chances of seeing extraordinary behaviour.
For example, brown bears fishing for salmon in Alaska peak during the late summer salmon run. Wild tigers in India are best observed during the cooler late winter months when they are more active.
Plan around one key wildlife spectacle, research seasonal conditions and study location reports. Consider joining a specialist photography tour to maximise access, safety and time in the field.
By focusing on one subject during its "finest hour", you maximise your time, your wildlife encounters, and your photographic opportunities.
Even small timing adjustment, a week or two either side, can make a difference.
For example, by postponing a trip to the Netherlands by a couple of weeks, I arrived just in time for the peak of the famous tulip blooms - allowing me to photograph vibrant rows of flowers stretching toward the sky. If I'd stuck to my original dates, there'd have been nothing to see but empty fields.
| Some wildlife events are so special that they deserve dedicated photography trips. On my wildlife photography tours, I often build itineraries around these seasonal spectacles to maximise photographic opportunities.
Consider A Wildlife Photography Tour
Planning wildlife trips independently can be rewarding, but it can also be challenging, particularly in remote areas.
Joining a specialist wildlife photo tour or workshop can remove much of the logistical challenge.
Experienced tour leaders know the best wildlife locations, the best times of day for photography, and the behaviour and seasonal movements of local wildlife. Their knowledge can place you in the right spot at the right moment, often without the trial and error you’d face on your own.
In some cases, tours are the only practical option. Photographing seabird colonies, for example, often requires specialist boats and experienced skippers. On one trip, joining an organised seabird boat tour allowed me to photograph an albatross far out on rough seas - something that simply wouldn’t have been possible without local expertise.
Smaller tours or private guides can be more expensive, but the benefits are significant: more flexibility, more time with your subject, and often better photographic opportunities.
| If you’d like to experience some of these locations with expert guidance, you can also join one of my small-group wildlife photography tours, designed to maximise time in the field and photographic opportunities.
Research Locations Like A Detective
If you prefer to organise trips independently, good research becomes essential.
Before visiting a new location, I spend months reading blogs, trip reports, and photography forums to understand what a place offers throughout the year.
For more precise information, especially regarding sensitive wildlife sites, I contact local nature guides, researchers, or conservationists. Their local knowledge can be invaluable.
I also use wildlife recording platforms such as eBird and regional sightings databases to track recent observations of rarer species.
This kind of preparation helps you avoid wasting valuable time once you arrive, and plan where it might be worth focusing your time.
Learn from Other Photographers
Another important part of my research is studying the work of photographers who have already explored a location.
For my upcoming Arctic trip, I’ve been looking closely at images by Daisy Gilardini, Paul Nicklen and Vincent Munier - three photographers who capture the spirit of the Arctic beautifully.
The aim isn’t to copy their images. Instead, their work helps me understand how wildlife interacts with the land, how light shapes that specific environment, and which compositions might work best in that setting.
Their work can spark ideas and challenge you to see familiar subjects in fresh ways.
Sometimes inspiration even comes from your own past work. Careful planning allowed me to photograph this great bustard on Salisbury Plain using a wide-angle lens, capturing both the rare bird and its sweeping landscape. It gave me ideas about how I might incorporate landscapes into my future Arctic wildlife images.
Practise With Your Gear Before You Leave
Before every photography trip, I make a point of 'dusting off' my camera gear - both to check it’s working and to reacquaint myself with it.
You don’t want to be fumbling with unfamiliar dials and controls when the perfect moment appears.
For my upcoming Arctic trip, I plan to use a wide-angle lens (10–20mm) to photograph wildlife such as Arctic foxes within their environment. Since I usually shoot with a 400mm telephoto lens, I've been testing the wide-angle setup at home.
These experiments are a kind of dress rehearsal before the real opportunity arrives.
Put Your Locations On The Map
As my research grows, I start building what I think of as a photographic scrapbook.
My Google Drive quickly fills with notes, reference images, and location ideas. One of the most useful tools is Google Maps, which allows me to pin potential photo locations directly onto a map.
Each pin can include notes, photos, and travel routes between locations - almost like previewing the adventure before it begins.
Even when I arrive at my destination, I continue referring to these maps. They help reveal important details such as terrain contours, potential wildlife habitats, and vantage points.
Plan Around Light & Weather
Light is everything in photography.
Understanding how light interacts with the landscape can make the difference between an average image and a striking one.
Tools like The Photographer’s Ephemeris allow you to visualise the sun’s path across a landscape at any time of year. They can show whether a hillside will be in sunlight or in shadow.
Using these tools, I planned a shot of a chamois standing in warm sunlight against a darker hillside - a contrast that helped emphasise the animal within the landscape.
| Many of the techniques I’ve learned while planning trips like these now shape the wildlife photography tours I run across Europe and beyond — helping photographers find extraordinary encounters while developing their own creative vision.
Leave Room For Surprise
By the time I arrive at a destination, I often feel as though I already somewhat know the place.
Modern technology makes it possible to research landscapes, wildlife patterns, and light conditions in remarkable detail before even setting foot there.
But maps and research can only take you so far. And don't try answering all questions before you go.
Some of the most memorable wildlife photographs still come from unexpected moments - those small surprises that happen when you’re simply present in nature.
Preparation helps you recognise the opportunity and how unique it is when it happens.
Thanks for reading, and good luck on your own wildlife photography travels. If you'd like to experience some of these locations with expert guidance, I also run small-group wildlife photography tours that focus on finding extraordinary encounters while helping photographers develop their creative approach in the field.
And if you have your own trip-planning tips, please do leave a comment below.
Paul Alistair Collins
Comments