Urban nature photography tips: Capture animals on your doorstep

3. Get close or use a long lens

"If you want to get really close, you usually have to let the animals see you," Ossi explains. "The key is to spend a lot of time with the animal so that it gets used to your presence. You have to act very calmly – don't make any sudden movements. You can learn how they behave and react to your movements, and how close you can get before they'll run away."

For urban nature photography, Ossi likes to use zoom lenses "because the situation changes all the time – the animal can be very close, but then it might move suddenly. With my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens I can get photos very close up or at a distance with the full 200mm focal length. Particularly when you're beginning to get into nature photography, it's difficult to get close to animals. For that reason it's best to start with a long lens such as a 300mm or 400mm." The Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III lens is a popular compact lens with a lot of reach, while for an even more compact and budget-friendly solution, the Canon PowerShot SX740 HS camera's powerful 40x optical zoom also gives you the ability to zoom in and out easily and quickly.

4. Increase the ISO and shoot wide open

Nature is often at its most spectacular in the early morning or late evening, when daylight fades. Therefore, the ability to photograph in low light is one of the reasons Ossi prefers using a camera such as the full-frame Canon EOS 6D for urban nature photography. It has a large ISO range with an 11-point autofocus system that’s sensitive enough to operate under moonlight, increasing your chances of a sharp shot. The camera's successor, the Canon EOS 6D Mark II, takes this even further, with 45 cross-type autofocus points and an ever greater ISO range.

But his method works with cropped-frame cameras, too: he recommends increasing the ISO and shooting wide-open to get the shot. "If I have to, I set the ISO very high – it's better to get a slightly noisy photo than no shot at all." he says. Ossi adds that he likes to stay below an ISO of 10,000 with his camera, but all camera models vary in different conditions, so the key is to experiment with what you and your camera can capture in your local area.

5. Focus fast and freeze animals in motion

Ossi advises photographers wanting to capture nature in the city to choose a camera with a fast autofocus – "the faster, the better" – and image stabilisation. The Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a 65-point all cross-type AF system and features Dual Pixel CMOS AF, which will increase the chances of focusing on moving subjects, even in low light. Utilising your lens's widest aperture will allow maximum light in, and enable you to increase your shutter speeds: "I prefer lenses with a wide aperture, because you need fast shutter speeds to freeze animals in motion," says Ossi.

6. Make your subject stand out

For his trademark wide aperture style, which shows his subjects pin-sharp, isolated from busy backgrounds, Ossi uses Aperture priority mode (Av mode) and a wide aperture. He also uses post-production to enhance his images: "I do basic editing of the brightness, contrast, and a bit of colour adjustment. I often try to make the animal stand out better from the background by making it brighter or the background darker. I try to keep my photos as realistic as possible."