Safari photography tips: Photographing wild animals (with a camera)

Safari photography tips: Photographing wild animals (with a camera)

Our Safari photo tips come from a decade of photography of wild animals

After I have spent a considerable part of our travels in Jeeps on game drives, I have managed to photograph some beautiful and rare wild animals over the years. On the way I collected some indispensable tips for Safari photography, be it by trying out, by talking to experienced rangers or simply by comparing photos with other enthusiasts.

Here are some important tips for Safari photography that help you get the best out of your nature experience.

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zoom lens

The most important thing you need is a decent telephoto lens. The Nikkor 18–300 mm, Nikon's all-in-one zoom lens, is an extremely versatile part of the kit, which covers almost all situations, from wider landscape shots to animal shots from a great distance. The lens is light, bright and delivers a consistently extraordinary performance in any environment.

To avoid too frequent lens change, the larger the zoom area, the better - safaris are usually a dusty matter!

alt = “Lens tips for Safari photography-1 Atlas & Boots Wild animals are rarely so accommodating, so invest in a zoom lens

filter

It didn't take long to find out that a landscape photographer primarily needs a glass polarization filter to reduce reflections of water and glass and make the blue sky darker and clouds clearer.

I also have a Tiffen filter kit for neutral density (ND). ND filters are essentially gray-tinted filters that absorb light when it falls through the lens so that you can photograph with wider aperture levels in bright conditions.

beanbag

memory cards

i Invested in some high quality, high-capacity transcend sd cards to ensure i never loose any photography. Transcend’s SD and Micro SD Cards are tested to with. 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 photographer Across to my laptop, then back up to a portable transcend storejet 4TB. Finally, I Back Up Again to a Cloud Service Search AS Dropbox Or Google Drive Whenever I Get Wifi Access.

Alt = “Safari-Photography-Tips-Backup”> Atlas & Boots by the End of the Day, My Photographer are idally 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 situation 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-Ps-P-Mode-1 ″> Atlas & Boots Program Mode is ideal for situation where there is little 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, especialy as you’ll be shifting between Shutter Speeds Taking Wide Shots, Close Up 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 Search as Photoshop.

Alt = "Safari-Photography-Tips-White-Balance"> Atlas & Boots Editing White Balance During Post Processing

flash off

Just gymnastics off. Even in Low Light, just gymnastics off. You’ll achieve far more natural results without it and using it will starts wildlife and annoy your fellow safari goers. Using A Flash wants reduce deep shadows created by the midday sun.

composition

focus on the eyes

i’m no portrait photographer but just like with people, we connect with Animals through theires so try to focus there. Just be aware that many animals on safari have unusual features search 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 & Boots We Connect with Animals Through Their Eyes

Rule of Thirds

in Its Basic Form, Split the Shot into Thirds Vertically and Horizontall, and Try to Divide up the shot. This is particularly useful with against Shots of Horizons. So, think about where the ‘action’ in a shot will be unfolding. On the interluses of Two Points is usually a good place.

Alt = “Safari Photography Tips-Wide Shot”> Atlas & Boots Consider the Rule of Thirds, Particularly for 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 fashion (or Burst Mode) to rapidly take multiple photos.

The trick is to Pan at the same speed as the moving animal, the aim beg to take Shots where the background is blurred but the subject is Clear, Further Accenting 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”> Dreamstime Panning 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. INFRETUNATELY, 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 patient the time the time comes. You have to be there, Ready, so they decide to look cute or do something interest, 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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