Mastering Winter Wildlife Photography: Settings & Gear

Dec 17

Winter offers a unique, serene beauty to the natural world, making it an ideal time for wildlife photography. However, the cold temperatures, low light, and stark snowy landscapes present challenges that require careful attention to camera settings. Whether you're using a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, understanding the right settings is key to capturing breathtaking images of animals in their winter habitats. In this article I will discuss settings and gear tips to help you have create stunning winter wildlife imagery.

Key Challenges in Winter Wildlife Photography

Low Light: Winter days are shorter, and overcast skies often dominate. This results in lower natural light, demanding adjustments to camera settings.
White Snow: Snow can confuse your camera’s exposure system, causing it to underexpose images. Proper settings will help preserve details in both highlights (snow) and shadows (animals).
Cold Weather: Extremely cold conditions can impact your camera's battery life and performance. Ensure that you take measures to protect your gear.
Motion: Many wildlife subjects are active, requiring fast shutter speeds to freeze motion.

Camera Settings for Winter Wildlife Photography

1. Exposure Settings

Aperture (f-stop): To achieve a sharp focus in low light or high shutter speed situations, use the lowest number aperture that your lens can do. This is often called “wide open.” This will ensure enough depth of field to keep both the wildlife and surrounding winter scenery in focus. Your photos will have a soft blurred background, excellent for portrait-style shots of animals.
Shutter Speed: In wildlife photography, especially with animals in motion, shutter speed is critical. A fast shutter speed of 1/1000s or faster will freeze most animal movements. However, slower speeds (e.g., 1/500s) can still be effective for slightly slower-moving subjects or for capturing motion blur. When photographing very fast movement like birds in flight I recommend 1/3200 if you have good light and 1/2000 if you are in medium light.
ISO Settings: With modern cameras and noise reduction software so effortless and effective, I prefer to photograph in Auto ISO. My camera allows me to set a max ISO and I have it at 10k. If you prefer, you can use a static ISO. However in low-light winter conditions, you may need to raise your ISO to maintain a fast enough shutter speed. In poor light start at ISO 800 and increase it if the lighting conditions demand it. Modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras perform well at higher ISOs, so don't hesitate to go up to ISO 1600 or 3200 when necessary. Just be mindful of the grain that may appear at higher ISOs. You can always use software for noise reduction later in post processing.
Exposure Compensation: Snow often fools your camera’s metering system into underexposing the image, making it look dull and gray. To compensate for this, you can use your Exposure Compensation Dial or internal setting (look for this in your manual or search online for a how to if you can’t find it) to increase the exposure by +1 to +2 stops to ensure the snow appears bright and white without losing details in highlights. Take test images often especially if you change locations or backgrounds.

2. Focus Settings

Autofocus & Burst Drive Combo: Use Continuous Autofocus (AI Servo for Canon, AF-C for Nikon and others) for moving subjects, as this setting will continuously adjust focus while tracking wildlife in motion. Then, with animals in motion you will want to use a high speed burst drive mode to take a rapid series of photos every time you press the shutter. Most cameras call this High-Speed Continuous. As a combo these two settings will track your focus on the subject and then take the maximum frames per second when you press the shutter button.
Focus Points: When tracking animals, you may want to select multiple autofocus points or use a wide-area setting to increase your chances of keeping the subject in focus. Some wildlife photographers prefer spot focus to achieve precise accuracy, especially when working with a larger depth of field in snow-covered scenes. I am very comfortable with my gear and so for me the single point autofocus is my preference. In tricky situations (such as multiple birds in flight together, a herd of horses running, etc) I sometimes change to zone, with the center area selected. I prefer to photograph a bit wider and then crop for my desired composition if needed, rather than miss a photo!

3. White Balance

Winter light can be tricky, with snow reflecting cold blue tones. To compensate for this, you can use a custom white balance to avoid overly blue or cool images. Alternatively, you can set the white balance to daylight or cloudy depending on the conditions. If you're shooting in RAW, you can easily adjust the white balance during post-processing. Different cameras handle the snow light in different ways, so taking test photos is always helpful, then adjust as needed.

4. Metering Mode

When photographing winter wildlife, evaluative metering or matrix metering (the default on most cameras) will evaluate the scene and set a proper exposure. However, snow may trick the meter, causing an underexposed image. In such cases, spot metering can be more reliable, as it measures light only at the center of the frame. If the snow is bright, you may want to meter off the subject and adjust accordingly.

5. Drive Mode

Winter wildlife often involves unpredictable movement. As mentioned earlier, Burst mode (or continuous shooting) is invaluable in this case, as it allows you to capture a series of shots in quick succession. Set your camera to high-speed continuous mode to maximize your chances of getting a sharp shot.

6. Lens Selection

The choice of lens is essential when shooting wildlife in winter. A telephoto lens (like a 100-400mm or 70-200mm) or super telephoto (such as a 150-600mm or 500mm prime) allows you to capture animals from a distance without disturbing them. If you’re photographing small wildlife, a lens with more reach will help. For capturing wider scenic shots with wildlife in the foreground, consider a wide-angle lens. Pro tip: Many serious wildlife photographers have two cameras, one camera has a super telephoto lens on it and another has a wide-angle or standard telephoto. This way you have whatever tool ready in an instant to not miss any of the action.

7. Other Considerations for Winter Conditions

Protection for Gear: Winter temperatures can cause condensation and moisture buildup inside your camera. Consider using weather-sealed gear or a camera rain cover to protect against snow and moisture. It's also helpful to have extra batteries, as cold weather can deplete battery life quickly. I have an entire section on my Amazon Storefront with helpful gear for wildlife photography.
Tripod or Monopod Use: If you're photographing static wildlife or landscapes, use a tripod or monopod to maintain steady shots and avoid camera shake in lower light conditions. A tripod or monopod will also help reduce the risk of blurry shots at slower shutter speeds.
Keep an Eye on the Background: Snow and bright winter landscapes can overwhelm your subject if the background is too busy. Look for neutral or contrasting backgrounds that allow your subject to stand out.

8. Post-Processing Tips

After capturing your images, post-processing is essential for enhancing your shots:

Exposure Adjustment: Brighten the snow if it appears too dark, but be careful not to overexpose.
Sharpening: Apply a bit of sharpening to highlight the animal’s details and the textures in the winter landscape. In Lightroom I prefer the Clarity Slider for this.
White Balance Tuning: Fine-tune the white balance to correct any cool or warm color casts.

Conclusion

Winter wildlife photography demands careful attention to camera settings, as well as an understanding of how weather and light conditions affect your gear and the shots you capture. With the right DSLR or mirrorless camera settings—focusing on exposure, autofocus, white balance, and proper metering—you can take full advantage of the unique beauty that winter brings to wildlife scenes. Whether you're capturing a majestic bird in flight or a deer stepping delicately through snow, these tips will help you produce stunning, high-quality winter wildlife photos.

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Kate Garibaldi