Guest Author: Joe Desjardins
Out in the wild with Sony? Good. Now let’s make every frame count because wildlife doesn’t wait, and neither should your camera.
Frame With Intention
It’s easy to get addicted to tight portraits, especially when the autofocus is this good. But wildlife photography isn’t just about feathers and fur, context matters. An animal in its environment tells a stronger story than a tight subject ever will. Think foreground, background, and space to move. Compose like you mean it.
Let Auto ISO Do Its Job
This isn’t 2005. We don’t need to babysit ISO anymore. Lock in the shutter speed, choose the aperture that gives you the depth of field you want, and let Auto ISO handle the rest. Light changes fast, and Sony sensors handle high ISO like a champ. Trust the tools and keep shooting.
Use Real-Time Tracking and Don’t Fight It
Sony’s Real-Time Tracking is one of those features that quietly changes how you shoot. Once it’s locked on, you can stop chasing focus and start paying attention to behaviour, timing, and expression. You worry about when to press the shutter, and the camera handles what to focus on.
Stay Steady While Everything Else Moves
Wildlife moves. A lot. You shouldn’t. Sony’s in-body image stabilization, paired with stabilized lenses, takes a huge amount of stress out of handheld shooting. Sharp images become the expectation, not the exception, especially when things get fast and unpredictable.
Get Low. Lower Than That.
Eye-level changes everything. Drop to the animal’s perspective, and suddenly the image feels intimate instead of observational. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. Yes, your knees will complain. Do it anyway. That’s where the magic lives.
Make the Background Behave
A great subject with a bad background is still a bad photo. Watch your angles, wait for clean lines, and let distractions move out of the frame. Tracking keeps your subject sharp, but patience is what turns a good moment into a great image.
Preparation Beats Luck
Every time.
Luck helps, but preparation matters more. Knowing your camera, understanding the light, and anticipating animal behaviour puts you in the right place at the right time.
That’s how I approach wildlife photography with Sony: simple, consistent, and built around being ready when the moment happens.
