Safari Photography Tips: Photographing Wildlife (With a Camera)

Safari Photography Tips: Photographing Wildlife (With a Camera)

Our safari photography tips come from a decade of photographing wildlife

Having spent a significant portion of our travels in jeeps on game drives, I have managed to photograph some beautiful and rare wildlife over the years. Along the way, I've picked up some must-have tips for safari photography, whether through trial and error, speaking to experienced rangers, or simply comparing photos with other enthusiasts.

Here are some essential safari photography tips to help you get the most out of your nature experience.

gear

zoom lens

The most important thing you need is a decent telephoto lens. The Nikkor 18-300mm, Nikon's all-in-one zoom lens, is a highly versatile piece of kit that covers almost all situations, from wider landscape shots to long-distance wildlife shots. The lens is light, bright and delivers consistently exceptional performance in any environment.

To avoid changing lenses too often, the larger the zoom range, the better - safaris are usually a dusty affair!

alt=”Lens tips for safari photography – 1″>Atlas & BootsWild animals are rarely this accommodating, so invest in a zoom lens

filter

It didn't take long for me to discover that a landscape photographer's primary need for a glass polarizing filter is to reduce reflections from water and glass, as well as to make blue skies darker and clouds clearer.

I also have a Tiffen neutral density (ND) filter kit. ND filters are essentially gray-tinted filters that absorb light as it passes through the lens, allowing you to shoot at wider apertures in brighter conditions.

Beanbag

[If you are taking a large lens (and you really should be), a camera beanbag will help support your lens. Take it empty and fill it with rice or beans when you arrive. You'll struggle to fit a tripod in the back of a jeep so this is the next best thing.

Memory cards

I invested in some high-quality, high-capacity Transcend SD cards to ensure I never lose any photography. Transcend’s SD and micro SD cards are tested to withstand extreme conditions. They are temperature resistant, waterproof, shock proof, X-ray proof, and static proof – ideal for an outdoor travel blogger.

Backing up

Back up your photography at the end of every day. I copy all my photographs across to my laptop, then back up to a portable Transcend Storejet 4TB. Finally, I back up again to a cloud service such as Dropbox or Google Drive whenever I get wifi access.

alt="Safari-photography-tips-backup">Atlas & BootsBy the end of the day, my photographs are ideally backed up in three places

Batteries and power banks

Pack at least one reserve battery along with a power bank and/or solar charger for charging in emergencies.

Settings

Use P Mode (program)

Many prefer using A/Av (aperture priority) mode, but with safari and wildlife photography you’ll want to have control of the shutter speed as well. Program mode is recommended for snapshots and situations where there is little time to adjust camera settings. The camera sets shutter speed and aperture for optimal exposure, but you can still adjust both dials to suit your shot.

alt=“Safari-photography-tips-p-mode-1″>Atlas & BootsProgram mode is ideal for situations where there is little time to adjust settings

ISO

Unless you have decades of experience it’s unlikely you’ll be able to out-think a modern DSLR camera’s ISO settings, especially as you’ll be shifting between shutter speeds taking wide shots, close ups and action shots. Let the camera do this one for you.

White balance

Setting the white balance to automatic will result in bland images as the camera will try to reduce everything to mid-gray. Use the relevant setting on your camera (i.e. daylight, cloudy, shade). Additionally, you should consider shooting in RAW and editing your photography’s white balance in post processing software such as Photoshop.

alt="Safari-photography-tips-white-balance">Atlas & BootsEditing white balance during post processing

Flash off

Just turn it off. Even in low light, just turn it off. You’ll achieve far more natural results without it and using it will startle wildlife and annoy your fellow safari goers. Using a flash will also reduce deep shadows created by the midday sun.

Composition

Focus on the eyes

I’m not a portrait photographer but just like with people, we connect with animals through their eyes so try to focus there. Just be aware that many animals on safari have unusual features such as long necks, snouts and trunks, so you may need to play with your focal length to pinpoint the eyes.

alt="Safari photography tips – eyes">Atlas & BootsWe connect with animals through their eyes

Rule of thirds

In its basic form, split the shot into thirds vertically and horizontally, and try to divide up the shot. This is particularly useful with wider shots of horizons. So, think about where the ‘action’ in a shot will be unfolding. On the intersection of two points is usually a good place.

alt="Safari photography tips – wide shot">Atlas & BootsConsider the rule of thirds, particularly for wider shots

 Panning blur

This is a difficult technique to master but can produce some fantastic shots. Switch to aperture mode and select the highest f-stop number (f/22 or higher). Set the ISO to 100 and use continuous shooting mode (or burst mode) to rapidly take multiple photos.

The trick is to pan at the same speed as the moving animal, the aim being to take shots where the background is blurred but the subject is clear, further accentuating their movement. Just be warned: this takes a lot of practice and can produce frustrating results in the mean time!

alt=“Safari photography tips panning blur”>DreamstimePanning blur: a difficult technique to master

Ultimately, the most important safari photography tip is to remain patient. Wild animals are always going to do what they want to do. Unfortunately, you can’t ask a wild animal to look at the camera, do something cute, or stand in better light.

The only way to get the shot is to be in the right place, over and over again, waiting patiently until the time comes. You have to be there, ready, so when they decide to look cute or do something interesting, you can take the shot.

It takes a long time to capture good wildlife shots and even longer to take great ones – I’m still waiting.

But it's never wasted time.

Lead image: Atlas & Boots

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