How to Photograph Deer

White Tail Deer

If you are thinking of taking pictures of wildlife, there is no better wild animal to practice on than deer. They are basically timid creatures, and their first instinct in encountering humans is to freeze. They almost look as if they're posing for the camera. Deer also look different at different stages of their life and their coats change as the seasons progress. They will be a deep brown during spring and summer and turn to light brown and gray during fall and winter. They do this to blend in more easily with their surroundings and avoid being prey. In this article we will provide a few tips on how to take pictures of these wild, gentle creatures.

Things You'll Need

• A camera
• Telephoto lens
• Patience

Instructions

1. 

   Go where the deer are. I know if you live in New Jersey and other populated areas you may see deer from time to time. You see news articles where they will break into a store or wind up in a swimming pool. However, when you go to get your camera, try and find one. The best thing to do is to head to deer country. I can walk for an hour in the game lands and never see a deer. However, when I leave my house for a walk, I see them everyday. We live adjacent to a State Forest in a gated community that does not permit hunting. If you can gain access to one of these communities you will see deer. They seem to know where the safe havens are. This little fawn wandered into our backyard one day. So find a friend that lives in a rural, no-hunting community and take your camera.

2. 

   Deer look different in different seasons. This is a Four Point Buck taken early in summer. Their horns are covered with a velvet cover early in the year. In the fall during the rut, you will see them banging their horns on a tree to get rid of the velvet to reveal the sharp horns underneath. Bucks will fight each other for the right to mate, and after mating they will lose their horns and grow new ones in the spring. They also change coat color during the year and in the winter will be light brown in color and very bushy like a dog with their winter coats.

3. 

   OK, so here is a little quiz: What time of year was this picture taken? This guy is an immature buck, which you can tell by the little spike horn on his head. Since there is no velvet on his horn and he is still brown, you can tell the picture was taken in early fall.

4. 

   Always try to make your picture tell a story. Look at the deer's ears and position of the head. What did she just hear, a bear, my crazy border collie? Deer are very sensitive to noise and smells. They are also smart. If I am walking my dog on a leash, they will not run. They have learned that he is contained and kind of trust me in controlling him. Here the deer heard my dog and one second later bolted from the hill because my dog was unleashed and the deer didn't know that he was behind a fence. They are not that smart.

5. 

   If you are patient and take your time, you will get the perfect shot. Notice how I used an open f-stop to create a shallow depth of field, making the buck stand out against the background. I like this composition and the framing of the buck by the trees. This is one great-looking Eight Point Buck and is lucky to be inside our community where he might actually get to grow older. This was taken with a zoom telephoto lens.

Tips & Warnings

• Use burst mode on your digital camera to take three images in rapid succession while you hold down the shutter release. This will give you a better chance of getting the perfect shot.

• Use a zoom telephoto lens so that you can be far enough away and zoom in to get the correct composition.

• Remember that deer are wild animals--and although their first instinct is to freeze and then flee--bucks will fight if cornered.

• Do not feed the deer. It is not good for them--and in most communities you can be fined for doing so.

• Avoid state game lands during hunting season--and don't get too close to the deer in fall during mating season when they go into rut and get crazy.