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Photographing Wild Deer: A Field Guide

The objective of this field guide is to equip the budding deer photographer with the necessary knowledge to be successful when working with this elusive mammal with highly tuned senses.

The book has been structured so that you can learn how to watch deer before you try to shoot them with your camera of choice.

The key to successfully photographing any wild animal is to understand your subject. So I will cover the relevant aspects of biology and behaviour as well as the field skills necessary to take great shots without harming the welfare of the subject.

The species I focus on primarily in this book is the Roe deer – they are arguably the most elusive of the native wild deer in the British Isles and notoriously difficult to photograph.

The skills necessary to photograph these secretive deer will stand you in good stead for photographing any other member of the deer family as well as many other wild animals.

Roe Deer, Norfolk by Tim Plowden
Companions. Adult Roe buck in velvet and doe in winter coats.
A female Roe deer feeding in a heathland copse in winter.
Moulting Roe deer doe
A mature roe buck selectively browsing in a pasture during the summer rut

In order to be successful photographing deer in the wild it helps to be able to understand how they perceive the world around them. It should be added, it is a world with which they are intimately familiar – as anyone would be with their own home. They know what sounds, smells and sights are normal there. Anything which is abnormal will raise suspicion and will likely result in the deer bolting and end your photographic efforts for that individual.

Photographing Wild Deer: A Field Guide by Tim Plowden

Book Details

Publisher: Apple, Kindle

Format: iBook (enhanced edition), ePub

Themes: Wildlife Photography, Wildlife Behaviour

Location: England

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