Tamron Blog: Seagulls & Other Coastal Wildlife

When it comes to photographing wildlife at the coast, you're going to need something with a little more reach as even though gulls are brave and will come and pinch a chip, they won't hang around while you try and get close to take a photo. 

Tamron has plenty of lenses you could reach for but we're sticking with the 16-300mm which we actually used early last year to capture captivating pet portraits and a few shots of butterflies at nature reserves.

At the telephoto end, the 16-300mm offers great optical quality and you can use a wider aperture to draw focus to your subject by throwing the background nicely out of focus. It's also pleasingly sharp, something we all want to hear when taking photographs.

Of course, you don't always have to zoom right in when capturing shots of wildlife as environmental portraits, captured with a wider focal length, can also work well, too. The 16-300mm is ideal for this as it has a large zoom range, allowing you to experiment with focal lengths without having to change lenses all of the time. The built-in vibration compensation also means you don't have to worry about carrying a tripod around either which is always a bonus. 

Gulls are a seabird you'll be able to capture all year round and they can actually make rather comical subjects for photographs but if you want a subject that's a little cuter, seals start having young at this time of year but please do be respectful if you head-off to a coastal location to photograph them and keep your distance.