In Wildlife Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots, author and wildlife photographer Laurie Excell shows you how to get the best shots of birds, bears, and bugs–whether you’re on safari, on vacation, or on a nature walk around your own backyard.

Starting with the basics of equipment, camera settings, and exposure, Laurie covers the fundamentals of lighting and composition in capturing (in-camera!) a menagerie’s worth of animals, with a particular focus on mammals and birds. The book is packed with details on what seasons are best for photographing different animals, tips on the best locations to photograph them, and techniques for how to approach even the wiliest subjects.

Beautifully illustrated with large, vibrant photos, this book teaches you how to take control of your photography to get the wildlife photo you want every time you pick up the camera.

Follow along with your friendly and knowledgeable guide, photographer and author Laurie Excell, and you will:

Use your camera’s settings to gain full control over the look and feel of your imagesMaster the photographic basics of composition, focus, depth of field, and much moreGet tips on research, including field ethics and the best locations for photographing your subjectsLearn key techniques for photographing various animals, such as how to approach your subject without disturbing it and how to interpret behavior so that you can anticipate actionFully grasp all the concepts and techniques as you go, with assignments at the end of every chapter

And once you’ve got the shot, show it off! Join the book’s Flickr group to share your photos, recipes, and tips at flickr.com/groups/wildlifephotographyfromsnapshotstogreatshots.