MPB Meets: Wildlife Photographer Richard Peters

In this video, award-winning photographer Richard Peters shares his advice for aspiring wildlife photographers and talks about his journey from Nikon DSLR to mirrorless. Whether you’re looking to improve your wildlife photography or just starting out capturing animal imagery, watch the video below or read on to check out Richard’s images.

My latest acquisition is the Nikon Z9. It's my first mirrorless camera, and it's brilliant. It has already enabled me to get photos that I couldn't take with any other camera. It was an upgrade because I could see the value and the worth of it. And that's the best time to change a camera kit.

My first-ever DSLR was the mighty Nikon D100. At the time, it was one of the only DSLRs available, and it was phenomenal. I was using a Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED variable-aperture lens, so nothing fancy whatsoever. But I loved it because it was my first proper camera and I just enjoyed playing around with it and just experimenting. And that's what it's all about. The beginning is just having a camera, having fun and seeing where you go with that.

My first-ever full big-body camera was the Nikon D2X, and the thing that was special about this is it had a high-speed crop mode that allowed you to take a smaller images. So it went from 12 megapixels down to six megapixels, but that increased the frame rate. And I used this camera to take my first ever kind of successful photo, which was called Spring Lamb, not technically a wild animal, more of a farmyard animal, but it was the first picture I ever took that had some recognition. So I owe quite a lot to this camera for that photo.

The first real big leap for me was the Nikon D3. Now, this was a phenomenal camera because this took low-level light shooting and high ISOs to a whole new level that the industry hadn't seen before. Back in the day, this camera really did change the industry and it really forced everybody to up their game. So really fond memories of this camera and even holding it now. It's just it's got such a nice feel to it. It's just one of those cameras that when you pick it up, everything feels right.

After the D3, the camera that really stands out for me is the Nikon D850. So, I used those big-body cameras up until the Nikon D800. The D800 came out with its huge megapixel sensor. Although it was a lot slower, and the big-body cameras were fast, I really liked the image quality and the dynamic range of those big sensors. And so I switched over and didn’t look back. The Nikon D800 was great and the Nikon D810 was phenomenal, but the Nikon D850 just combined high megapixels and high speed all in one amazing package. And so this was the camera that I used the five years, really. It was absolutely phenomenal—I loved this camera.

For almost every shoot, the two lenses I used are the Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR and the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR. The 400mm is my favourite lens of all time, I absolutely love it. If I was going to only take one lens anywhere, it would without a doubt be this one. I made the journey to it in small steps, I started with the Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6G, which was a very small fixed variable aperture lens. I made a big upgrade to the Nikon AF-S 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED VR, then eventually was an upgrade to a Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4G IF-ED VR. I went from 600mm back down, focal length-wise, to a 400mm. And the reason I went back down is because it's just a smaller lens and a lighter lens. It's easy to get into a bag for hand luggage when you're on a flight.

Richard’s advice for wildlife photographers

1. Dedicate your time

You don't have to travel the world to take photos of animals and unique images. Just a little bit of thought, a little bit of perseverance. Dedicate some time to photographing something over and over. The more you photograph it, the better your pictures are going to become.

2. Start in any location

You can take great wildlife photos almost anywhere. I like pictures taken in the garden because it's just so important to realise you don't have to hop on a plane, you don't have to travel the world. You really can take good photos anywhere there's wildlife and with any kit as well. So you don't get bogged down and see all these amazing portfolios of photographers everywhere. Don't compare yourself to them. Pick a subject, something local—even a squirrel or a pigeon—and just concentrate on trying to get a good collection of images of that subject. And you really will get there in the end.

3. Change things up

For me, I think the more you photograph the same subject, the less you photograph the subject but the better the pictures become because you know what you've taken before. And so you don't just want to keep repeating the same photos over and over. So whenever I go to photograph puffins, I'm always looking at what the light's doing, because that really is the thing that's going to change the photo for me.

4. Avoid comparing yourself to others

Don't compare yourself to other people, that's a huge mistake to make. Everyone is on their own journey. You're going to be better than someone, someone's going to be better than you. So comparing yourself to others is quite a slippery slope. Just go at your own pace—with time, you'll get better and you'll progress.

5. Examine your own photography

Another bit of advice is to really look at your photos. So, you go on a photo shoot and you take 500 pictures. Try and find the best five, because they're going to be in there somewhere. Compare all those images together, and you’ll start really looking at the small details. There might be a distraction in the background of one, but not the other. The photo without the distraction is generally the better one. Next time you're out in the field, you'll notice the differences instinctively—and you’ll shoot fewer photos, but better.

Looking for more wildlife content?

This article is part of the MPB Guide to Wildlife Photography and Videography, our comprehensive look at how to create wildlife imagery, with camera recommendations, advice and interviews with experts.