Using Hunting Blinds for Wildlife Photography

If you enjoy getting out with your camera and looking for nature or wildlife shots you know how hard it can be to get those ‘great’ wildlife photos. A person can spend a lot of time in the woods but never have the luck or be prepared enough to get those awesome photos of a buck deer or wild wolf in the wild.

You’ve seen the stunning pro photos of wildlife and thought to yourself, “I wish I was lucky enough to get a shot like that”. Well, here’s the secret: The pros aren’t lucky and it takes a little work and time.

Most, if not all, great natural wildlife photos are taken from blinds or ‘hides’. If you are an experienced outdoorsman or hunter, you will understand how this works. And hunters even have an advantage over us wildlife photographers. A gun shoots a lot farther than a camera. No matter how much expensive gear you have, or how long your lens is, you still have to get close. Usually, real close.

Knowing this little secret is an advantage for anyone who wants to get some great wildlife shots. If you set up a blind and spend a little time there, you will see wildlife. And you learn where you need to be and how near you have to be to get a good shot. Then it’s just a matter of being a little crafty and skillful to determine how to best set up your blind to be set up in the right place at the right time.

And if you want a place to learn how to take wildlife pictures, don’t spend a lot of time in the library reading photography books. Instead, read anything you can lay your hands on about hunting and wild animal behaviour. You have to really understand the mind of a hunter that carries a camera rather than a gun.

One of the easiest and least expensive ways of taking photos from blinds is to use a portable ground blind. They are small one man units and are low in weight. Made like a small hut, they are usually fully-enclosed with two or more windows. They can be put up where you choose on the ground and come with stakes and tie-downs for a quick set up.

It is like toting a small little very light weight house around with you. You’ll probably be surprised to know that these blinds usually weigh less than 7 to 10 pounds and come with their own backpack making them a light load to carry. And the cost is not prohibitive, usually in the range of $50 to $100.

And if you don’t want to spend the cash, you can use some camouflage burlap cloth or netting and some ropes and stakes to create a home made blind anywhere. While they may not be as handy, the net effect is the same.

Another technique is to use any natural material you can find nearby to add to your blind to help disguise it and have it blend in with the area. Use dead branches, leaves and other material you find to really disguise your blind.

Many of the portable stands that hunters use are very nice options for being able to locate yourself up in the air above ground level and will allow you to get some very nice pictures. Climbing tree stands are extremely light weight portable units that you can carry with you and allow you to climb a tree using the stand and then have a place to sit while you wait.

Ladder treestands and tripod treestands are two other type of stands that are also good options. These are also portable and are somewhat heavier and take a little more time to set up than a climber, but they offer better stability and a more solid platform to shoot from.

Try your hand at this. Even if you don’t get that ‘wall hanger’ shot on your first venture, I guarantee you’ll be surprised at all you’ll learn if you spend a quiet hour or two hidden in the woods with your camera.

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