How to Photograph Wildlife

I have been wanting to photograph animals that I have been finding recently, like salamanders, snakes, insects, frogs, maybe even a cool plant or two. But I was unsure how to do this well. Most invertebrates and plants will be relatively easy, but animals that are faster to run and hide will be much more difficult, like snakes, lizards, and salamanders. Obviously I would want to avoid handling them (especially salamanders) but what should I do if the animal hides? Lifers and rarer animals I would especially want to photograph, but I also want it to be natural and ethical. I’m not sure how I feel about posing the animal (it feels unnatural and I’m not sure it’s ethical) but would moving the animal to a clearer spot be considered posing? And also, how could I photograph a venomous snake? I would love to find a venomous snake, especially if I can get a good photograph of it, but obviously I can’t handle it so I can’t do much to keep it from running away, and again I don’t want to stress it. Also, how would I be able to do it from a safe distance?

I will be posting these photographs (especially ones of animals with bad reputation) on iNat and the Nextdoor Neighbor app. My goals with the Nextdoor app is to show my community the beautiful animals that they are too often portrayed as evil, dangerous, and disgusting creepy-crawlies and hopefully change some minds.

I am just wondering how others photograph wildlife and how to ethically do so. Any advice appreciated!    

https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/HoneyandBee/