How to photograph……….Fallow Deer

Fallow Deer must surely be one of the easiest large mammals to photograph, but just how do you go about getting images that you would be proud of?

First a bit about Fallow Deer: 

Fallow Deer are not native to the UK, but were introduced in the 1st century by the Romans, as a source of food and as a hunting quarry.  During the intervening thousands of years Fallow Deer have become well established in the UK, although their population is much more patchy in Scotland than in England and Wales and you are more likely to see them in Southern England than the North.

Fallow Deer are originally a Eurasian species, but have now spread (either naturally or with help from man) to most of Western Europe and lower ranges of Scandinavia.  Populations can also be found in Australia, New Zealand, North America, South Africa and South America – where, unless they chartered an aircraft themselves, they were definitely introduced!

Although Fallow Deer can be seen across large parts of the UK, make life easy for yourself and visit one of the many deer parks where they can be seen in large herds.

Essentially they come in colour 4 varieties – ‘common’ which is the Disney version of brown with white spots; ‘menil’ which is darker; ‘melanistic’ which can be almost black; and ‘white’ which should more accurately be described as ‘cream’.  There are also records of black Fallow Deer and a population in Wales seem to have developed long coats and ear tufts (a new sub-species perhaps?)

Fallow Deer are quite large animals, the males can grow up to 100cm at the shoulder and their impressive palmate antlers add to their stature. 

Fallow Deer are closely associated with deciduous woodland (in the US they have a reputation for damaging habitat) and will usually form large herds of females with young. 

One of the highlights of the year for me is observing the autumn rut.  Not only do the males come together with the females to mate, but also there is a tremendous amount of vocalisation (a deep guttural groan) and clashes between rival males.

What you need to get the image you want:

This really is an animal that you can photograph with anything from a cheap point and shoot right up to a 600mm lens.  However, the mistake most people fall into is to try and get a frame-filling image and for me they rarely work well, try and get the animal in its environment or look for an unusual angle.

A portrait photographer once gave me a great tip.  He told me that when photographic children make sure you get down to their eye level so your images don’t look as if you were peering down at them.  The same is true for large mammals like Fallow Deer- get at their eye level so it the images look like you are part of the herd.  You can try getting lower, by lying down, but you have to be confident that you won’t be in harms way.

As Fallow Deer spend a lot of time in woodland you can use that to your advantage, either for environment shots, or to use the trees as cover.  I often spot a deer moving through the woods and move to intersect its path, using the trees as a hide.  Be aware thought that their sense of smell is amazing and the wind can blow your smell to them and alert them of your presence.

The technical bit:

You are unlikely to need any great stalking skills in order to get good images of Fallow Deer, but in order to get better images do follow a couple of rules.

Don’t get too close.  Filling the frame may seem like the Holy Grail, but it really isn’t – it is much better to get a great image of a Fallow Deer in a woodland setting than being able to count its eyelashes.

The colours matter.  The four main colour types can range immensely from snow white to black; so don’t forget to adjust your exposure settings according to which you are focussed on.  If you get two different colour individuals in the frame, expose for the lighter coloured one. 

Think differently.  Most of the images I see of Fallow Deer were taken from close in and ‘top down’.  Try using a wide-angle camera to get something different.  Lie down and get dirty!

You are likely to find the Deer moving from light to shady areas, time your action carefully, but remember that it can be just as hard to photograph in bright conditions as dark ones.

Unless Fallow Deer are running at full tilt you are unlikely to need a fast shutter speed.  Remember though, if you want to get a shot of the Deer on location in woodlands, you will need to select an aperture that gives you a decent depth of field.

Finally, keep checking your composition.  If you are going for the close in shot an image is ruined by cutting off the antler with the frame edge.

Conclusion

I love to photograph Fallow Deer, not only do they make a refreshing change from chasing a small brown bird all over the place, but they are statuesque animals that make excellent subjects.

Locating Fallow Deer shouldn’t be hard, but do be sensible about safety.

Always remember that the animal’s welfare is the most important thing – never do anything that could place it in danger.

I’m always happy to answer questions by email or on twitter.

If you have any species that you are interested in and you’d like me to write a “how to” (and I have images of it) let me know and I’ll do my best to oblige.