On the Ethics of Wildlife Photography

February 4, 2026 · 6 min read

Every photograph is a choice.

The choice of how close to get, how long to stay, whether the image is worth the disturbance. These are questions I think about every single day in the field, and questions I wish more photographers would sit with.

I've watched colleagues push too close. I've seen animals stress-flee because someone wanted a tighter frame. I've seen photographers at waterholes who don't notice — or don't care — that the animal they're photographing has been prevented from drinking by the cluster of vehicles around it.

My rule is simple: if the animal changes its behaviour because of me, I've gone too far. That's it. No exceptions.

The images I'm proudest of are the ones where I was invisible. Where the animal went about its life completely unaware of me, and I happened to be there with a long lens.