Clothing

Just a question on what clothing you wear when shooting wildlife, does anyone buy the ex army cammo gear?

Im thinking of getting some to photo some deer in local woods but just wanted to know what the norm is.

thanks

Ive seen people using camo wear that is intended for hunters. Things that you could buy at Cabela's or an outfitters store. Some people also use ground blinds (like a camo tent) to shoot from. You then sacrifice mobility and go into stake-out mode and try to set it up where you know something might come along.

I think the most important thing is dressing for the weather!

I use camo gear, it has either come from Flea Bay or local ex army surplus store, I have different types form wet/dry & cold weather.

IMHO, I prefer to move around pending my photographic objectives for the day and use a chameleon ghillie suit for stealth.

Don't forget to wear some blaze orange if it's hunting season....I'd rather miss the shot than be the shot!

While camo can help you blend in the main thing is to move very slowly and quietly. Animals are hypersensitive to motion and sound. Find you a good comfortable spot and sit down, relax, and don't make any noise. After a few minutes of being still the animals will go back to their routines and will not notice you. If you are in an unproductive spot then quietly move to another spot and wait.

Most animals don't see in color but they do notice shapes that are not normal but if you sit quietly against a tree or bush regardless of what you are wearing you will be less noticeable. Camo will help break up your outline and will help make you blend into the background but it is not necessary. Some people say that wearing plaid or patterned clothing is as good as camo. I don't know about that but I do know if you walk through the woods making lots of noise you won't see many animals.

I try not to go out looking for deer in deer hunting season. Not only are they more wary, you are more likely to get shot. Truth is, I rarely look for specific game. I like to hike in wilderness places, and shoot whatever happens to come along. Sometimes it's a deer, or moose, or bear, or fox, or nothing. I still have a good hike. By going to great places, my hikes have been very productive for wildlife.

This thread, a sticky at the top of the forum has a wealth of info directly related to your question: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=584262

One of things mentioned in that thread is that chasing certain species during the hunting season for that species is often a waste of time.

Deer and Elk hunting is now active in most of North America, trying to get images of these animals in areas where hunting is allowed can be very difficult not to mention hazardous.

If one can find areas like national parks (wildlife refuges are not the same< in most cases hunting is an integral part of their operations) where hunting is not allowed the animals maybe a bit easier to capture although because of external pressures of hunting these animals may well still be very skittish and only found very early or late.

A great thing about hunting with a camera is one is not limited to hunting seasons which means the animals are less pressured and more often found in better lighting or open conditions.

I have two camo shirts but I dont believe they're any better than a plain neutral green shirt, I just avoid colors that pop

Sparky98 wrote in post #8915740
While camo can help you blend in the main thing is to move very slowly and quietly. Animals are hypersensitive to motion and sound. Find you a good comfortable spot and sit down, relax, and don't make any noise. After a few minutes of being still the animals will go back to their routines and will not notice you. If you are in an unproductive spot then quietly move to another spot and wait.

Most animals don't see in color but they do notice shapes that are not normal but if you sit quietly against a tree or bush regardless of what you are wearing you will be less noticeable. Camo will help break up your outline and will help make you blend into the background but it is not necessary. Some people say that wearing plaid or patterned clothing is as good as camo. I don't know about that but I do know if you walk through the woods making lots of noise you won't see many animals.

+1 Though camo is fantastic, plaid does work. Used it in hunting for years when I was a kid. MOVEMENT is always the number one issue. Even in camo, most animals will pick up your movement from quite a distance. By the way, I have done a lot of bow hunting and I can tell you this, if you are caucasion, your bright white face is very noticable at great distances. I always wear a face covering of netting or now they make some very nice face masks. Rick

I agree completely about needing a face mask.