Wildlife photography involves capturing images of various forms of wildlife . Unlike other forms of photography such as product or food photography, successful wildlife photography requires a photographer to choose the right place and right time when specific wildlife are present and active. It often requires great patience and considerable skill and command of the right photographic equipment.

A camera is an optical instrument used to capture an image. At their most basic, cameras are sealed boxes (the camera body) with a small hole (the aperture) that allow light in to capture an image on a light-sensitive surface (usually photographic film or a digital sensor).

Cameras have various mechanisms to control how the light falls onto the light-sensitive surface. Lenses focus the light entering the camera, the size of the aperture can be widened or narrowed to let more or less light into the camera, and a shutter mechanism determines the amount of time the photo-sensitive surface is exposed to the light.