Photographing Wildlife in Your Own Yard

I have only been a wildlife photographer for the past three years and a half, but my love for the natural world has been there for much longer. As a child growing up in Claromecó, Argentina, I observed the tails of Southern Right Whales from the top of a lighthouse and got lost in the trails of my town’s forest. When I moved to the Florida suburbs at the age of eleven, I had to adapt: I was no longer in a lovely natural town of only two-thousand people, no longer away from most cities and urban centers. Fortunately, I learned that wildlife is not only found in those remote places. Animals coexist with humans way more often than we imagine. As nature enthusiasts, we dream of visiting the far-away destinations we grew up watching on screen. We dream of seeing savanna elephants bathing in the Chobe River and dusting themselves afterwards and of hearing the cries of howler monkeys in the early mornings of the Colombian rainforest. I have been fortunate enough to experience both of these, and yet some of the most wonderful and memorable nature moments have happened right outside my house. Because the truth is that wildlife can be found anywhere, and photographing these local animals is not only what will improve your craft as an artist, but also what will make you and those looking at your photos fall in love with nature even more.

A male Red-Winged Blackbird sings as it rests on top of a dried-up reed in my backyard

Finding Wildlife

Society continues to urbanize, paving over nature reserves and transforming a once green landscape into one decorated with cement. Unless you live in a remote natural area, you probably see way more houses and cars than bears or foxes in your day-to-day. This makes the work of wildlife photographers a bit more difficult: We must now put more effort into finding wildlife than we did even just a few years ago. So how do we find wildlife in these conditions? Although that depends on where you live, animals can be found almost anywhere. I live in the suburbs in Central Florida and have counted over thirteen species of birds in my backyard. This may not compare to the biodiversity found in a tropical rainforest, but it is enough to help me practice my craft without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on plane tickets and lodges. I have seen red-winged blackbirds singing in the early morning light, mockingbirds building nests and feeding their young, and much more.

But what if you live in an area that is even more urbanized than mine? You may live in New York City, where birdlife is not necessarily abundant (although I would argue that pigeons provide ample opportunities for photography!). Fortunately, there are animals out there that I guarantee live in even the most crowded cities: insects, rodents, and arachnids are some examples. Some of the best photos that I have taken have been of insects living in my front or back yards. To increase your chances of seeing insects (or other tiny critters), you can plant native flowers, bushes, or weeds on the ground or even in plant pots. It might be hard to find these animals at first, especially if you’re used to photographing larger wildlife, but you will eventually become an expert at it. This will not only provide chances to take photos but will also make you a much better animal tracker. And if you live in places like NYC, where growing plants on a balcony might still be difficult, go for a walk and challenge yourself to photograph those less-loved creatures that are still part of our natural world, like rats and cockroaches!

An Eastern Lubber Grasshopper's colors stand out against the plants growing at the front of my house

Thinking Creatively

Once you learn to find wildlife where you live, you then have to come up with creative ways to photograph it. If you photograph these animals the same way every single day, then your photos will start to look similar and eventually uninteresting to both you and your audience. There are many ways to photograph creatively. The most evident one is to use light in your favor. Wake up early and photograph those birds, insects, and rodents in the golden hour, or perhaps go out at night and use the light from streetlamps and other man-made objects to illuminate your subjects. You can also experiment with how the light hits your subject. I personally like photographing animals that are illuminated on one side and in shadow on the other.

If you want to be even more creative, you can practice taking high-key and low-key images. High-key photos are overexposed, with the background typically completely white. Low-key photos, on the other hand, are underexposed, with the background typically completely black. Both of these styles can give your images a rather artistic feel that can enhance your portfolio and show wildlife in a different light. There are many other ways to photograph wildlife creatively, such as by capturing silhouettes, focusing on reflections, or even showing the interaction of animals with man-made objects or environments. This means that, even if you only find pigeons or cockroaches to photograph, you can photograph them in hundreds of different ways.

A Cuban Tree Frog uses the light from a streetlamp to catch its dinner

Using Your Photos for Conservation

People often think of conservation in large-scale terms, such as protecting hundreds of

kilometers of marine or terrestrial habitat. This is absolutely necessary, but conservation can also take place in smaller ways. Think of all the insects we could help by planting native flowers in our backyards, or all the opossums and racoons we could save if we created safe ways for them to cross the road. The wonderful thing about photographing in your own yard or neighborhood is that you can use these images to promote local conservation efforts like these ones. For example, I have milkweed plants growing in my backyard, which attract monarch butterflies that are ready to lay eggs. I have taken photographs of monarchs in all their stages (e.g., caterpillars, chrysalises, and butterflies) and have used these images to talk about the struggles that these insects are facing and about how we can help them by growing just a few milkweed plants. If you live in an urban or suburban environment, you can also take photos that show the reality of animals and humans having to coexist. These can show wildlife’s resilience and ability to adapt to this environment or its struggle to do so. Regardless of the approach you take, these types of images can be the most impactful and influential in the conversation about protecting nature. And most importantly, photographing locally can inspire people to step outside of their homes and explore the nature that surrounds them every day. This is the best way to foster a deeper connection with and love for our planet, which is exactly what we need right now: The more people we have exploring and caring for our planet, the easier it will be to protect it. So, get your camera ready and step outside your house. You will be surprised to find out how much wildlife is waiting right there for you to discover it.

A baby Yellow-Bellied Slider turtle takes its first steps after being born in my yard