HOW TO SHOOT WONDERFUL WILDLIFE ALL-YEAR

If you have a passion for animals and the great outdoors, why not combine the two and take amazing wildlife pictures all year round? Dan Mold shows you how...

- Dan Mold

Wildlife photography is an incredibly rewarding genre that allows you to get out into the great outdoors with your camera and take fantastic images of the animals you love. While some species can be trickier to photograph than others, in this feature we've set out some expert tips and tricks that will make it easier to take amazing shots of fantastic wild animals in the UK all year round, from rabbits and hares in the spring, seabirds including puffins, gannets or razorbills in the summer, deer fighting for dominance in autumn's rutting season, or even snow-covered British red squirrels and foxes in the middle of the winter.

Finding a location where you can see the animals you wish to photograph is a key first step, but thanks to local wildlife Facebook groups, blogs or forums it is easier than ever to find habitat hotspots. You'll need to get permission to shoot on private property such as a farmer's field, but it's worth putting in the hard yards now to discover some good locations, as you're likely to be returning for years to come. But you don't even have to travel - to hone your wildlife photography skills you can always set up a makeshift hide in your garden near a bird feeder. You'll learn about all this, plus find out which gear you need to get started and more besides, so without further ado let's get down to it!

f/2.8 1/2,500sec ISO 800

Follow our expert tips and techniques and you'll soon be able to capture great shots like this one of a puffin on Skomer Island, Wales, taken using a 300mm f/2.8 lens

1 GET THE RIGHT GEAR

Kit yourself out with the right equipment for bagging amazing wildlife photos all year round