I have a few questions about the nature/wildlife photography field...

[blackrose89]

I'm a photography student, I really love photographing flowers, trees, animals, insects ( Oh man do I love photographing insects lol), etc. I spend a lot of hours looking at professional photos for inspiration and guidelines.

I'm no where near good enough yet, I just have some general questions about this type of photography from people who may know more on a personal level

1. Getting noticed, are there particular places I should submit my photos?
2. What are the type/aspects of a photo do people who are judging submitted photos look for?
3. Is it possible to become "employed" as a nature/wildlife photographer, or is all about marketing yourself? Is there any possibility to have stability in this field?
4. Are there any particular photos you recommend trying to capture to practice with or that might grab more attention?

Any added tips/advice would be great!

 

[fjrabon]

a good place to start would be istockphoto.com. Not necessarily submitting your images to it (though you can do that as well), but their guidelines for submitting images really taught me a lot about what professional buyers look for in a photograph.

 

[dxqcanada]

It's not as easy to be a professional with Wildlife/Nature images ... vs. Portrait/Wedding or Sports photography ... smaller market ... there are not as many people willing to pay for it.

I see many Wildlife/Nature photographers at flea markets or other such retail festivals.

Take a look at some images here in our forum: Nature & Wildlife
especially EricD

Or here
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/45
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/41

 

[dxqcanada]

Was just googling ...

Business | Pro Nature Photographer

Photography Article: Going Pro

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Protip #4865 The better you are at doing something can be directly proportional to the amount of money you can make doing it.

 

[Infinite_Day]

I would also say you have to be pretty dedicated to get good nature shots. I saw a special once of pro photographer who does a lot of work in Yellowstone. He was shooting in winter and was actually backpacking the interior of Yellowstone in winter with a relatively light pack of non-photography gear (i.e. the stuff that keeps you alive) just so he was able to carry his photography equipment as well. A very stark and hard way to spend a couple of weeks in Yellowstone but the photos he got were beyond amazing. I'm not saying you have to go that far but the Nat Geo photographers will spend weeks waiting in some of the most inhospitable places on the planet just to get that "one perfect shot" for an assignment. It doesn't hurt to have $20,000 worth of lenses either :thumbup: Mostly, though, it's all about patience and timing.