Home
>
Photography
>
Safari Wildlife Photography Top Four Tips

Safari Wildlife Photography Top Four Tips

I've been practising wildlife photography on safari for over twenty years now in places like the Kruger National Park, Chobe, Okavango Delta, and Hwange game reserves and these four tips have been indispensable in making sure that I get some decent wildlife photographs.

1. The Right Equipment

I believe that you can't beat the quality of film but that digital offers wildlife photography practitioners more options at a better cost so for the purposes of a safari trip a digital camera is your best bet.

It should have some of the following characteristics to qualify as a good safari camera.

There should be little or no lag between the time you depress the shutter release button and the photo is taken. Some of the compact digitals on the market today suffer from this affliction and it's not ideal when you come across fast moving wildlife subjects.

It should be ready to take photographs at a moments notice because that is sometimes all the time you have before an animal disappears into the undergrowth. No long power up cycle.

Due to the fact that most of your nocturnal wildlife sightings on safari will occur during early morning and dusk it needs to be able to function well in low light conditions as well as bright sunlight during the day for the diurnal animals.

Lenses should have a focal length of at least 70mm for adequate wildlife photography and an image stabiliser is not essential but a great help in eliminating blur.

Another piece of equipment that is essential however is a deadrest in the form of a beanbag or a window mounted tripod that you can rest the camera on to help stabilise the long lenses. Handholding a long lens will often lead to blurring and the dead rest will prevent this. A tripod or monopod is impractical because you will be taking photos from the safari vehicle for most of the time.

2. The Best Wildlife Photography Areas

You can have all the right equipment and the best wildlife photography talent in the world but it won't mean much if you can't find any wildlife to take pictures of.

Some areas in Africa are better in terms of safari photography than others. The top five for getting excellent overall wildlife picture opportunities are:

Kenya - Masai Mara
Tanzania - Serengeti
South Africa - Kruger National Park
Botswana - Moremi
Namibia - Etosha

3. Patience and Luck

Everything comes to him who waits is a very relevant saying for wildlife photography. Patience will help you get better photographs because you will be able to take pictures of animal behaviour that you would otherwise have missed.

The role of luck mustn't be underestimated either. There is no guarantee of what you will encounter in a game reserve and whatever you do get to see and photograph is a matter of a little bit of planning and a lot of good fortune.

4. Light and Composition

Because you are at the mercy of the elements in wildlife photography, you don't have too much control over the light. Flash is of no use when the animal is at a distance and you can't wait for better light conditions because the subject could move off at any moment so you need to make the best of what you have.

And due to the habits of nocturnal species you will find yourself taking lots of pictures in low light conditions at dawn and dusk which is why a fast lens and a dead rest is essential. Using bracketing (changing the exposure by one stop up and down) will also help get the optimal exposure in the available light.

What you do have some control over is the position of the safari vehicle which can be moved to change the aspect of light that is falling on the animal somewhat but even that is sometimes not possible because in most reserves you are not allowed to go off-road and moving might scare the subject away.

Composition is something you do have more control of however and you can apply the rule of thirds and framing using the available vegetation just as well as in any other form of photography.

Be especially careful using the autofocus on your camera because it will cheerfully focus on a twig or tuft of grass close to your animal subject and spoil your composition.

You will also need to make your compositional decisions quickly as wildlife often doesn't hang about long waiting for you to make your mind up so it pays to have a solid foundation in the basics.

Collection of wildlife photography practitioners depicting most of the animals you can see on safari like lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, crocodile, chimpanzee, baboon, gorilla, rhino and many more species.

The five best wildlife photography practitioners destinations will give you some excellent opportunities to take photographs of the king of the jungle.

Dowagiac prom limousines .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how Google kept Android SafetyCore details quiet until it scanned users' photos.

Hydrogen trucks debut in Georgia, sparking debates on costs and green freight gains. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson comments on this promising chapter in green logistics evolution.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says ChatGPT learns from chats, but you should avoid sharing sensitive information to protect your privacy.

Beyond Aero's BYA-1: Hydrogen-electric jet with zero emissions, reduced costs, 2030 launch. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses a potential game changer in the evolution of air travel.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains how you can creatively repurpose your old unused Android devices, which are full of potential and hidden value.

Mech the super-humanoid robot can lift up to 132 pounds and is designed to tackle stressful and repetitive tasks that often lead to workplace injuries.

Double-clicking is something we all do, often without giving it a second thought. But it could be giving hackers permission to do something dangerous.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Kurt the CyberGuy offers some of his easy expert tips to free up storage space on your Android if your device is running short on storage.

You can reset your internet router remotely if you're not home when your power goes out. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains how this can be done.

The EO Canopy is a self-sustaining, solar-powered camping platform designed to provide all the comforts of home while completely off the grid.

Experts say hackers who used to focus on Windows operating systems are increasingly targeting Apple IDs as part of a new phishing campaign.

Unitree, a Chinese robotics company that developed a backflipping robot, has now introduced a humanoid robot capable of doing a side flip.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

According to the FBI, cybercriminals are sending extortion letters, threatening to release victims' sensitive information unless a ransom is paid.

FireSat is a satellite project designed to detect and track wildfires early, aiming to detect a fire that's the size of a classroom within 20 minutes.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reports that researchers have uncovered a Chrome vulnerability used in a cyber espionage campaign.

Preserving voicemails securely on Android: Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals easy methods to keep memories alive forever.

This phishing kit bypasses 2FA via session hijacking and real-time credential theft. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers four ways to stay safe from Astaroth phishing attacks.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses Joby Aviation and Virgin Atlantic planning to launch 200-mph U.K. air taxis linking airports and cities.

Fake Apple virus warnings, security alerts and messages are tactics used to prompt you to call a number or click on a malicious link. The CyberGuy explains how to protect your devices.

The combination of artificial intelligence and neuroscience allows a paralyzed man to manipulate a robotic arm by using his brain to imagine movements.

With the help of artificial intelligence, sophisticated fraud techniques emerging today are virtually undetectable to the untrained eye.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents

If you need to free up space on your Mac, consider deleting duplicate photos in your image library. Apple makes it easy to do, and the CyberGuy explains the process.