The Wildlife Photography subreddit is a community of 696k netizens interested in wild animal photography. They've got all kinds of animals (we're using the term here loosely, by the way) on there: mountain lions, deer, woodpeckers, eagles, and even beetles! One thing you won't find here is pics of people, that's for sure!

You don't have to be a professional if you want to share your photographs with the community. Folks on the subreddit often discuss their technique, what gear they use, and how they manage to get the beautiful shots. There is one strict rule, though: the photographs people post must be their own. The group is not just for appreciating beautiful pics of wildlife; it's a community of photographers, veterans and beginners alike.

We got in touch with one of the enthusiast photographers from r/WildlifePhotography. He's Taylor Rogers, an amateur photographer for whom shooting animals in the wild is a dear hobby. He's interested in landscapes, macro and wildlife photography, and today, we're chatting with him about the latter.

Taylor tells us that he first got into photography because of all the National Geographic documentaries he used to watch as a kid. So, who said television never taught us anything, huh? When Taylor turned 14, he got his first job and earned some money. After saving up for a bit, he was able to get his first camera.

"I bought a used Nikon D3400 and a Tamron 18-300mm lens and took that on a family trip to Yellowstone National Park and absolutely fell in love with photography!" Taylor tells us via message on Reddit. He says that the r/WildlifePhotography subreddit is a nice place to share your photos because of how many people there are in the community. "To get that much reach on any other platform would take forever to build," he says.

"On r/WildlifePhotography, if you have taken a good photo and people like it, 100k people can see it! That's almost impossible to do on any other platform," Taylor explains. Indeed, although he shares his photographs on the subreddit regularly, one recent photo he took of a bison is currently the 10th most upvoted of all time! "Also, the community is very kind and supportive!" Taylor adds. "Which can be rare on Reddit."

We asked Taylor to share what, in his opinion, are the essentials for photographers if they want to be truly good. "I think what a good photographer needs most is [to] want to actually go take pictures!" the Redditor says. "If you don't ever get out into nature, then you can never get a great picture! Also, the ability to accept constructive criticism and learn from each photo is important too," the photographer notes.

The world is truly the wildlife photographer's oyster, so, we wanted to know in what place in the world Taylor would want to shoot the most at the moment. "A dream location for me anywhere is any sort of African safari," he says. "The diversity of the wildlife and the landscapes is what is [the] most exciting for me."

But even before Taylor makes it to an African safari, be sure to give him some love for his captivating photography on his Instagram page. Also, check out his contributions to other photography subreddits, such as r/AmateurPhotography, r/itookapicture, and others on his Reddit account!

The magic of wildlife photography is not just to inspire awe in us. Wildlife photographers can help conservationists in their efforts to bring awareness to nearly extinct species. It may sound trivial, but when we see the impact that humans have on natural habitats or how mankind mistreats animals, we're more prone to taking action.

There are some risks when amateurs do it, unfortunately. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warns that crowds of enthusiasts sometimes might be doing more harm than good. Folks might be "pressing into refuges, overrunning parks and preserves, trampling habitat, and threatening the very species they are photographing," according to the FWS.

Professional wildlife photographer Canadian Kevin Pepper tells beginners to never do these four things if they want to be respectful of their subjects:

1. Baiting or feeding,
2. Destroying habitat,
3. Crowding wildlife,
4. And provoking animals for movement.

"The long and short of it is to just use common sense. If you think that you are putting wildlife, or its natural habitat in danger, stop what you’re doing and look for an alternative method to acquire the photo," he sums up.

Wildlife photography has many faces – more so here on Bored Panda. Throughout the years, we have covered different genres of wildlife photography. There are the "Oof" wildlife photos that are sometimes so bad they're actually good. Then, there are the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards that we cover every year. Or, if you're just looking for nature's pure magic, take a look at the 2024 winners of the World Nature Photography Awards, and keep an eye out for this year's winners!