6 Tips On Wildlife Photography With National Geographic Photographer Ralph Lee Hopkins

Let's say you're planning on doing some wildlife photography this weekend, and the weather turns bad. I have always given alot back from my own photography since turning professional in October 2009 making my living solely from this industry that has changed so much during that time. This is not overly technical, rather one of those techniques that helps photographers develop their eye.

Whether you're an amateur photographer or a seasoned professional, you're guaranteed to find countless photo opportunities on your Alaskan cruisetour. Jay says that wildlife photographers often bring a wide-angle zoom so they can capture expansive shots with the animals in their environment, plus a long zoom lens so they can capture close-up portraits and details.

Use Center Point AF for Tough-to-Focus Situations: If you're having a hard time getting an AF lock, the center AF point usually has the best sensitivity on most cameras. Be aware of cluttered backgrounds as animals can get lost and viewers might be drawn more towards the clutter than the actual subject.

1. Blue skies look best when you're photographing birds in flight. A great wildlife photography tip is to embrace negative space. While time is of the essence with wildlife photography; taking a split second to think about the layout will help you to create stronger compositions.

Get Out Early, Get Out Late: A couple hours on either side of sunrise or sunset offer prime lighting for wildlife shooting. Ensure that your camera is on ‘one-shot' autofocus mode for portraits and not on ‘AI servo' mode as it can create focussing chaos.

If you've spent time photographing wildlife, you know the difficulty of getting close enough for good images. However those trips are limited to just 8 participants - so we asked Bart to come up with a list of his top wildlife photography tips - techniques that anyone can use.

Using the Sport mode found on entry level and mid-range EOS cameras will help to capture sharp images - whether you're photographing cheetahs or sloths. Take a bird in flight or scampering deer - we sense a feeling of movement then we start to imagine where that animal is going, and we can do that much better by giving it some ‘space' to fly into in the photograph.

Below are just a few tips for the next time you're out and about in the Yorkshire countryside, but most important of all, remember that the wildlife comes first - no picture is ever worth forcing a change in a creature's behaviour or risking its safety.

One thing I love about photography is it is all about problem solving. When photographing animals in motion, the best option is continuous autofocus. RLH: This is the most exciting time in the history of the world to be a photographer, but it's also the most difficult time to make a living with your images.

When it comes to capturing wildlife on film (or memory card) it's often the simplest rules that can make the biggest different to your shots. In my opinion, part of the fun of wildlife photography is the challenge of getting the photo without ‘cheating'. We spoke to Hopkins, just back from the Galapagos Islands, about wildlife and nature photography.

Wild animals are going to do what they're going to do. Unfortunately, you can't ask them to look this way, do something cute, or stand where the light is better. To photograph wild animals in their natural state, you may need to go incognito. For those than don't have the means to get a long lens (since they can cost you an arm and a leg) or those that prefer to shoot on a mobile phone or a point and shoot camera, then the below tips should still be enough to improve the shots you take.

Africa's wide open savannahs are great for wildlife photography, but it is not necessary to book an expensive wildlife safari in Africa to take good wildlife photographs. Digital cameras can compensate for low light by increasing the sensor's light sensitivity, but every time you increase the ASA setting on your camera, you also increase image noise, which affects picture quality.