Prize-winning kid photographers share their top tips for the perfect shot

Not one but two kids from the UK have bagged top prizes at one of the world's most famous nature photography competitions.

The winners of the Natural History Museum's annual photography competition were announced on Monday.

A smartphone picture of a bee mid-flight taken by a then 9-year-old Amelie Davis took first prize in the under 10 category.

And 15-year-old Oscar Whitfield took home the top prize, of Young Photographer of the Year, for his close-up photo of a dung beetle chased by flies.

Both winners spoke to Newsround about how they got their perfect shots.

"I've always loved nature as long as I can remember," Amelie told Newsround.

But it was during the coronavirus lockdown that she found her love of photography too.

"I'd go for walks with my family and my parents would give me their phones to take pictures."

Last summer while Amelie was off school, she found herself taking lots of photos of bees with her parents' smartphones.

"What I love about bees are the texture," she explained.

"Some bees, like the western honey bee, are quite shiny and the light reflects nicely off them, whereas the common carder bee is quite furry so there's a lot of detail you can get in a shot."

She says she actually thought she'd missed her prize-winning shot after a bee she was photographing flew away.

"But I looked back and I couldn't believe what I saw... it was in the air with its wings outstretched."

Amelie's advice for any young photographers is that the kit you use doesn't matter.

"My piece of advice would be patient with your subject but also patient with yourself," she said.

"You don't have to get the shot immediately, it's just practice.

"Be curious and get out there and explore the world because it's really amazing."

Oscar was 14 when he took his prize-winning picture. He said the experience has been "surreal".

"I couldn't believe it," he told Newsround on finding out he had won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

This wasn't the first time that Oscar had applied to the competition.

"I submitted ten photos last year," he said. "Three went through to the final but didn't win."

Oscar, who lives in the UK and Zimbabwe, was photographing elephants when something much smaller caught his eye.

"I was photographing elephants at a waterhole and I noticed this dung beetle rolling past my foot – at first I didn't notice the flies behind it."

He said it was tricky to capture such a small creature.

"I was lying flat on the sand, buried in it - there was lots of grass in the way. To get the dung beetle in a gap between the grass was pretty tricky."

Oscar wanted to share his advice for anyone interested in getting into nature photography too.

"Start with something small – you definitely don't need big fancy cameras. Some of my better photos have been from my iPhone.

"Often I used to just go in my garden and find little bugs and beetles to photograph."

Do you like to take photos? What would your top tips be for a good photograph?