Clothing (color) recommendations for nature photography

Hello! This is my first post as I am new to Nature Photography and just starting out. I will start with guide tours of Churchill for the Polar Bears and then Yellowstone for wolves and such. Can you advise if there are certain colors which I should not wear (parka) that may distract the animals? I won't be doing this on my own and won't be getting too close but want to do the best I can on these guided tours and in the future on my own.

Gail, for places like Churchill and Yellowstone you probably don't need to be too concerned. The animals there are pretty much accustomed to the presence of humans. Also note that most large predators, which you indicate interest you, will likely recognize your smell or hear you coming long before they'll see you.

Guy

I'm not an expert in the area you'll be visiting, but here are some thoughts. Many animals (not all) are less sensitive to color than humans. They will react to movement (especially jerky movement) more than the color of your clothes, and also to flashes of light off shiny parts of your clothes or equipment. The birds I photograph in familiar environments are used to me sitting out in plain sight, wearing my usual shirt or jacket, and hat..but if I move suddenly, they're gone. Animals that have been hunted or had rocks thrown at them react to a human with a tripod or walking stick as if it were a gun, or to the "bend and reach" movement of picking up a rock.

Animals and birds used to a person in familiar clothes may "shy" at first if the familiar person changes to a different outfit (either outline or color, for species that can detect color easily.) But in areas where they're not chased or hunted, and used to groups of people with cameras, color doesn't seem to affect them negatively. Some are even attracted by color (I've had hummingbirds circling my head when I wore a red hat in spring). I'm sure this varies by species, and people experienced in photographing the animals you're most interested in will have better advice.

If you're out with a group, animals will spot you no matter what color you have on. Movement, sound, and scent are more important to many animals than sight. (So if you're shooting from a blind, being quiet and still and not smelling like you ate their kind for breakfast is a big help.) If you're off on your own, stalking a good picture, "natural" colors can be better...but if you're off on your own, you also need some very visible colors in case you want to be noticed by humans (if you get hurt, for instance....) The more critical thing is that your clothes be right for the climate and weather, and with plenty of useful pockets (pockets you can get into easily for the stuff you'll be putting in and taking out.)

If you ever have the luxury of visiting a specific site day after day, so the wildlife becomes habituated to you and your camera, keep in mind that drastically changing your appearance will probably spook them for a little while.

Elizabeth Moon
Texas

Most mammals seem to be color blind. Note that deer and even antelope hunters wear blaze orange. Color still plays a part in my own selection of clothes though. In really buggy places like Churchill I like to wear yellow or light colors. In summer heat I wear white a lot, mostly hi tech clothes with built in UV protection. In winter I generally wear black or very dark green, the idea being the dark colors soak up more heat from the sun. If you are in the wilderness or kayaking in water with larger boats present, bright orange, yellow, or red are good choices to increase your visibility. For your particular situation, I would wear yellow bug proof clothing at Churchill (you will be stunned at how thick the mosquitos can be) and maybe a camo or or brown shirt/jacket in Yellowstone. BIrds are much more sensitive to color and to photo wild birds I always wear my camo that best matches the conditions. There are other qualities to clothing that are generally more important to me, such as water or windproof, breathable, warm or cool, and ease of cleaning etc. For extended outdoor stays, I've come to think that the single most important piece of clothes are the socks. Bad socks will ruin a trip! Next come boots.

About the only place color might be a bad thing is in mountain lion territory. Wearing red might attract their attention and have them think, "Well hey, there's one that already has ketchup on it!"


Kent in SD

Gail, I try to wear drab clothing and some camo but not for the usual reasons. The reason I wear drab clothing and camo is not so that the critters won't see me but so that other people wont. I don't want to have someone walking out to a area, after I've spent an hour trying to inch myself unobtrusively closer to the critter in question. Just to ask what I'm doin with that big lens. Usually by the time they get there I can usually answer "carrying it back to the car". It happens. I wear camo to hide from people.

We use two general strategies. For wildlife in areas with lots of people, I generally wear camo simply to hide from the people. Drag out a long lens within sight of the road in a national park or refuge, and you will have lots of company, most of which has little regard for you or the wildlife. I had the supreme joy of watching one idiot dash in front of me for a "closeup" of a rutting moose with his disposable camera. For his size and physical condition, that guy could really move with an moose inches from his butt! I only scored him 3.6 on style points for his dive into the pond. His his feet weren't together and his arms were kind of flapping. He got a 9.2 on volume though, for his blood curdling screams.

Most of the rest of the time my wife and I wear fairly bright colors, simply because bright colors on people make more interesting subjects in photos. "Stock" nature shots usually sell much better if there are people in the photos, especially in bright colors. We model for each other in the extra shots we take along with the landscapes without people. In our market anyway, shots with people outsell plain landscapes about 10:1.

Here's a useful side note. Any time photographers work together they should trade model releases specifically for that reason. I also get model releases from willing friends and companions any time we recreate. You simply never know when a good shot is going to come along. Go on a shoot with me, and you should bring your model releases along so you can reciprocate when I ask you to sign mine.

Hank raises a good point. I often pose my family in our vacation shots and bright red really works well in most photos. Like Richard and Hank I too will wear camo in crowded places like parks mainly to hide from the park rangers and other people. If you are in a group like you are talking about, the warmth/waterproofness/comfort of the clothing becomes more important. Camo might help with the wolves not so much to hide you from them, but so you attract less attention to what I call the "alarm birds," such as bluejays.


Kent in SD

I thought natural photography meant no clothes?

Pete D.

I used the same stratigy as Hank. On my National Parksworkshops I like my clients to wear bright colors so they pop a little better in the photos that contain people. During bird photo workshops were we work from blinds I think drab colors help.

I know some 'famous' wildlife photographers who wear camo everywhere, for wildlife shoots, for formal dinner parties, to weddings, I am sure they will be buried in camo! For them, it is more for statement than function. It is weird to see someone in green camo doing a polar bear shoot in the snow (boy do they stand out!).

I agree that body posture, speed of movement, amount of eye contact, smell etc have more to do with success or lack of success in wildlife photography than the type of clothes you wear (although noisy clothing like gortex, or ski pants will do more to scare away critters than bright colours). I say dress for function in the field, keep colours earthy, and use quiet fabrics - but mostly learn about the critters and their biology, that will help more than an extensive ward-drobe of camo fashion.

From my experience, any muted colour seems to be OK as far as it isn`t significantly brighter/darker than your surroundings. If possible, avoid shiny/glossy materials or nylon stuff that squeaks when rubbed together.

Most mammals rely more on hearing and smelling than eyesight so if you are not quiet and downwind, no camo is going to do you much good.

Another point - wear clothes that are weatherproof, warm enough and comfortable. If your outfit makes you feel awkward for some reason, you`ll be likely to lose patience or attention and miss some action. I know I would if I went to an evening party in green camo - not cause everybody would run screaming away from me but because I`d feel too darn weird to enjoy myself.