Finding Your Place Behind the Lens

White-bellied sunbird | (c) Elanie Snyman

When you first pick up a camera, it is easy to think that becoming a wildlife photographer is simply about taking good photographs.

You learn how to use your camera. You explore different types of cameras and lenses. You learn about shutter speed, aperture and ISO. You practise getting sharp images. You watch other photographers and try to understand how they captured that incredible photograph of a leopard, an owl in flight or a tiny frog hidden among the leaves.

But somewhere along the way, something else starts to happen.

You start asking yourself:

What kind of photographer am I?

And honestly, that can be a difficult question to answer.

Maybe you haven't found your style yet. Maybe you photograph everything you can. Maybe you look at other young photographers and wonder why your photographs don't look like theirs. Maybe you feel like everyone else has already found their place while you are still trying to figure out where you fit.

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone.

You don't have to have it figured out

One of the biggest things we can forget as young photographers is that we are still learning.

Your photography is allowed to change.

The things you photograph this year might not be the things you photograph five years from now. You might start out photographing every large animal you see and eventually become fascinated by birds. You might discover that you love photographing behaviour more than portraits. You might find yourself drawn to conservation stories, landscapes, insects, or the tiny details most people overlook.

And that's okay.

In fact, that's part of the journey.

You don't need to choose your photographic identity overnight.

Sometimes you find it simply by paying attention to what makes you excited to pick up your camera.

Think about what makes you stop

Think about the last time you were outside with your camera.

• What made you stop?

• Was it an animal looking directly at you?

• A mother interacting with her young?

• A bird behaving in a way you had never seen before?

• The way morning light fell across a landscape?

• A tiny insect sitting on a flower?

  
  

Southern masked weaver | (c) Elanie Snyman

Or maybe it wasn't even the animal itself. Maybe you were fascinated by the tracks it left behind, the habitat it lived in, or the story surrounding its existence.

Those moments matter.

Because your photography is not only about what you photograph.

It is also about what you notice.

Every photographer sees the world slightly differently. The things that catch your attention, the moments you choose to wait for and the stories you choose to tell all become part of your photographic voice.

Don't let social media decide what your photography should look like

This one can be hard.

You scroll through social media and see incredible wildlife photographs everywhere. Perfect lighting. Perfect compositions. Rare species. Extraordinary moments.

And suddenly your own photographs don't feel quite as special.

But remember something:

You are seeing someone's highlight reel, not their entire journey.

• You don't see the thousands of photographs that didn't work.

• You don't see the mornings when nothing happened.

• You don't see the missed focus, the bad light, the awkward compositions or the photographs that were almost right but not quite.

• And you definitely don't see the years of learning that happened before that one photograph appeared on your screen.

Your photography doesn't need to look like somebody else's photography to be valuable.

You are allowed to photograph differently.

Your equipment does not define your place

Female African Stonechat | (c) Elanie Snyman

It is easy to believe that you need the newest camera, the biggest lens or the most expensive equipment before you can call yourself a wildlife photographer.

You don't.

Of course, good equipment can help. But equipment cannot teach you patience. It cannot make you understand animal behaviour. It cannot make you notice the tiny details around you.

A camera is a tool.

The photographer decides what story that tool tells.

Some of the most meaningful photographs you take might come from the equipment you already have.

Don't wait for the "perfect" camera to start becoming the photographer you want to be.

Your photographs don't have to be perfect

Some of your favourite photographs may technically be imperfect.

• Maybe the animal is slightly out of focus.

• Maybe the composition isn't textbook.

• Maybe the light wasn't ideal.

• Maybe there is motion blur.

But perhaps that photograph captured something that another, technically perfect photograph couldn't.

A moment.

A behaviour.

A feeling.

A memory.

Wildlife doesn't pose for us. We work with unpredictable animals, changing light, difficult conditions and moments that can disappear in a fraction of a second.

Sometimes, capturing the moment matters more than capturing perfection.

Find what makes you care

"Your reason for photographing wildlife will often matter far more than the number of likes your photograph receives" | (c) Elanie Snyman

Photography becomes much more meaningful when you know why you're doing it.

• Maybe you photograph because you love being outside.

• Maybe you want people to notice species they normally overlook.

• Maybe you want to document wildlife before it disappears.

• Maybe you want to educate people.

• Maybe photography connects you to the natural world.

Whatever your reason is, hold onto it.

Because your reason for photographing wildlife will often matter far more than the number of likes your photograph receives.

A photograph can reach thousands of people and still mean very little to you.

Another photograph might be seen by ten people and mean absolutely everything.

Don't measure the value of your photography only by how many people see it.

You are allowed to grow into your photography

There is no deadline for finding your style.

There is no age at which you are supposed to suddenly become an expert.

And there is no single definition of what a wildlife photographer should be.

You might be the person who waits three hours for one photograph.

You might be the person who photographs tiny creatures.

You might be the person who loves dramatic predator images.

You might be the person who photographs conservation stories.

You might be the person who is happiest sitting quietly with a camera and simply watching.

Or you might still be figuring it out.

That's perfectly okay.

Your place behind the lens isn't something someone else can give you.

You find it through experience.

Through failed photographs.

Through early mornings.

Through unexpected encounters.

Through learning to understand the animals you photograph.

Through discovering what makes you stop, look closer and press the shutter.

So don't worry if your photography doesn't look like everyone else's.

Don't worry if you haven't found your "style" yet.

Don't worry if your journey looks different.

Keep photographing.

Keep learning.

Keep being curious.

And keep paying attention to the moments that make you think, I need to capture this.

Because somewhere along the way, without even realising it, you will start to recognise your own voice behind the camera.

And that is where you'll begin to find your place behind the lens.