Jamie’s approach to photographing deer

I often use the rule that my shutter speed is at least my focal length; so at 600mm, it would be around 1/600 sec. However if I feel that there is a light wind, I may increase it, as the smallest movement would start to introduce blur. So I may be at 1/720 or 1/800 sec if need be. During the summer this would be even higher due to the high sun, but in the autumn you’ll find more dull skies.

I typically shoot as wide as my lens will allow. The aperture will be f/6.3 at 600mm on most lenses, unless you’re really lucky. If you have a lens that’s worth more than a car and can open it up to f/2.8 at that focal length, then go for it.

For focusing I use single-spot autofocus, which basically means I am focusing on one single spot which would be shown in my viewfinder, but I can move it to help assist in my composition. You can freely move the composition to suit, but make sure you don’t move your camera forwards or backwards to re-compose as you will lose focus.