Everything about photographing bellowing stags during the rut

Autumn is a fantastic time for wildlife photography. Nature is wrapped in autumn colours, on many mornings you can enjoy a sunrise over a misty field, and at the start of autumn it's the deer rut. This is an excellent time to head out with your camera to capture this spectacle.

This is the deer rut

Put simply, the deer rut is the mating season for deer. During this period, stags walk around like real machos to defend their territory and impress the hinds. Sometimes they literally fight for love, and this goes hand in hand with bellowing. This is the roaring of stags to attract hinds. The sound is described as a combination of a cow mooing and a bear roaring.

The rutting period differs per species. We've listed the best-known species for you:

• Rutting season of roe deer: July to August.
• Rutting season of red deer: September to October.
• Rutting season of fallow deer: mid-October to early November.

The red deer rut is the most popular among photographers. The red deer is one of the largest deer in Europe. Red deer also make the loudest bellows and look intimidating during the rut with their large antlers. That makes this animal spectacular to capture as a wildlife photographer!

That's why we want to challenge you to start photographing deer this season. We share six tips for capturing the spectacular deer rut!

6 tips for photographing the deer rut

Tip 1: Always keep your distance

We'll start straight away with an important tip: always keep your distance from the deer. Of course, you should never disturb any wild animal, but we'd like to stress staying on the paths of the nature reserve and absolutely never approaching the deer. During the rut, the deer are full of testosterone and may become aggressive.

We also recommend not wearing perfume or strong deodorant and wearing camouflage colours. If a deer smells or sees you, it will probably walk the other way and you won't be able to photograph it anymore. That would be a shame! You naturally want to keep your distance, but not so much that you can no longer capture the animals.

Tip 2: Think about what images you want to make

Before you set off, you can already think about the images you want to shoot. Do you want to shoot a beautiful portrait with the light falling on the deer from the front, or would you rather capture the silhouette of a bellowing stag? It's important to think about this so you can position yourself in the right place.

For this, it's also handy to know where the sun is. If you roughly know where to find the deer, you can work out the position of the sun. Deer are usually active when the sun rises (in the east) or sets (in the west). Based on this, you can decide whether to walk a bit further or whether you've already found the perfect spot for the image you want to create.

Tip 3: Use a telephoto lens

A good telephoto lens is indispensable for wildlife photography. Even though you keep your distance from the deer, a telephoto lens lets you bring them close. We recommend using a telephoto lens with a focal length of at least 300mm.

Don't have a telephoto lens? Then you can choose to rent one from Budgetcam. You can also extend the focal length of the lens you do have with an extender. Wildlife photographer Casper de Jager used such an extender to capture wildlife in Slovenia. You can read his honest review here.

> The best telephoto lenses right now

> Discover our extenders

Tip 4: Don't forget your tripod and binoculars

You can take fantastic photos with just your camera and a good telephoto lens, but you can also make things even easier for yourself. When you take photos at a long focal length, the risk of motion blur is quite high. That's why it's wise to bring a tripod.

Binoculars can also come in very handy. Sometimes you hear the bellowing stags before you see them. Did the sound come from the right or more from the left? Once you've spotted the deer with your binoculars, you can move closer or search in a targeted way with your camera.

> These are the tripods we recommend

> How to choose the right binoculars

Tip 5: Play with your shutter speed

By playing with your shutter speed, you can create many different images. With a slow shutter speed (for example 1/30 sec.), you can capture a deer's movement well. The slight motion blur gives your image a sense of speed and energy. You can also use it to create an artistic image!

A fast shutter speed (for example 1/1000 sec.), on the other hand, lets you capture every detail razor-sharp. You won't miss a single moment, and even the sand flying up during a fight between two stags will be sharp in your shot.

Tip 6: Experiment with your settings and composition

Wildlife photography lends itself perfectly to experimenting with composition. You don't always have to capture the whole deer: try shooting a portrait, or zoom in on the antlers and capture all the leaves hanging from them. You can also play with your aperture to create depth of field.

Get inspired by other photographers! Look on Pinterest for examples or search for wildlife photographers on Instagram. Our ambassadors also love photographing deer. Take a look at the Instagram pages of Joren de Jager and Anne Lindner! These ambassadors shoot beautiful images you can learn a lot from.

Want to photograph more wildlife besides deer? Then read these tips from wildlife photographer Jan-Joost Snijders or discover our ten tips for photographing foxes.

These are the must-haves for deer photography

In our tips, we already mentioned some handy gear and accessories you can use for photographing deer. We're happy to make it even clearer for you and share the absolute must-haves for deer photography below.

These are the best locations to photograph the deer rut

Are you eager to photograph deer after these tips? We understand! We've listed a number of handy locations where you can find deer in the Netherlands.

Hoge Veluwe National Park

Hoge Veluwe National Park is known for the large number of red deer you can find there! The park also offers a beautiful mix of forests, heathland and sand, so you can create different images. The park has handy observation hides and viewpoints where you can wait and photograph in peace, without disturbing the deer.

Oostvaardersplassen

The Oostvaardersplassen is known as an area where you can capture large grazers, such as Konik horses and red deer. In this area, you'll find several herds of red deer, so you can capture the animals both in
a group and individually! This area also has several viewpoints where you can photograph in peace.

Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen

In the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen, you'll find many different species of wildlife, including fallow deer! The animals living in this area are not shy, so they won't just run away when they spot you. This nature reserve also offers a beautiful variety of dunes, forest and meadow, so you can vary your images wonderfully.

Share your result

Have you taken beautiful photos during the deer rut? Share the result with us on Instagram! Use #KameraExpress or tag Kamera Express in your post. And don't forget to follow us for plenty of inspiration.

> Read all about wildlife photography here