Capturing the Wild: Photography Tips for Your Safari Adventure
- Jordi Woerts
- Oct 16, 2024
- 6 min read
Master wildlife photography on safari with essential tips and tricks covering gear selection, camera settings for various animals, composition techniques, and the importance of light. Learn how to focus on the eyes, position your vehicle effectively, and practice patience and respect for wildlife while capturing stunning images in the bush.
Gear: what do you need?
There are many options for photography while on safari, let's have a look! The most important thing off course is the camera itself and the lens. Which camera is the best for wildlife photography? I will not be able to tell you, it is a personal preference. But I can tell you what my thought process was when getting my camera, I think this is much more helpful that naming a few cameras. I mean, everyone knows the €7000 Sony A9 III is probably the best one on the market at the moment for wildlife, but not everyone is able to afford a camera like that, including me;) When I look for a camera I am focussing on a few aspects: how does it perform in low light situations (important for early mornings and late afternoon), autofocus specifications (animal eye autofocus), continuous shooting speed (how many shots per second), amount of megapixels and the video capabilities. Since I like photography and videography I wanted a camera that could do both really well. I came to the conclusion that the Sony A7 IV was the perfect fit for me with my budget. It is a fullframe camera (which makes it perform well in low light), has a decent continuous shooting speed and is known as probably the best hybrid camera on the market with both great photography and videography specifications. What about the lens? You need to ask yourself the question what you want to accomplish with your photography: do I want to capture the animal up close or do I want to include the animal in a landscape photo? I use the Sony 100-400 GM and the 24-105 G. This gives me great flexibility while on drive, although I use the 100-400 a lot more. Not every leopard decides to stand right next to you ;)
Is there anything else to keep in mind gear wise? Yes! A spare battery is an absolute must. Imagine coming around the corner, a beautiful leopard is sleeping in a tree, but your ran out of battery life.... It is the worst feeling ever! It happened to me once and it will never happen again, haha! A solid memory card is also worth it. There are a lot of options on the market, but I would always go for a memory card with a high writing speed with decent storage; 32GB for me is the absolute minimum. Don't forget a good cleaning kit! It can be dusty out there, especially in the winter time. A good cleaning kit will prevent you from getting dust spots on your photo. These are the essentials in my opinion.
There are more options like beanbags or tripods, but I don't really use them on drive.
Capturing the beauty in front of you
There aren’t any 'one-size-fits-all' settings for wildlife photography. It’s essential to understand the basics, especially how aperture and shutter speed work together. This knowledge will help you freeze action, reduce camera shake, and control the depth of field for stunning shots. But you can imagine that the average shutter speed for wildlife photography is a lot higher compared to architecture photography. You want to have the animal in perfect focus, which means that in wildlife photography you will raise you shutter speed quite high. A lot of photographers are scared to raise the ISO values to compensate for the higher shutter speed in situations with low light, but please don't be scared!! You rather have an animal in focus with a little bit more noise, than a blurry shot. The editing software is now so advanced that you can even get rit of most of the noise in your editing process.
Framing the wild
Composition is crucial in wildlife photography! A well-composed image can highlight the animal's behavior, surroundings, and the overall mood of the scene. Effective composition can create balance, draw attention to your subject, and enhance the emotional impact of the photo. Using techniques like the rule of thirds, leading lines, and framing can make your images more engaging and visually appealing. Additionally, good composition helps to convey the vastness of the animal's habitat, adding context to the shot. In wildlife photography, where moments can be brief, thoughtful composition can transform a good photo into a great one. With that being said, don't be scared to just take photo, even if the composition is not perfect. You can always change your composition slightly in editing software.
The importance of light
Light is a fundamental element in photography because it directly affects how images are captured. Light can create different moods and atmospheres. Soft, diffused light during golden hour can add warmth and tranquility, while harsh midday light can create stark contrasts. Good lighting can also help draw attention to your main subject by highlighting it against a less illuminated background. Light helps reveal details and textures in your subjects. Side lighting can enhance textures, while backlighting can create interesting silhouettes. You can tell that playing with light can be a very creative thing to do. I would suggest to test your skills in different lighting situations to see what works the best for you.
Focus
The eye in perfect focus is the most important thing while out there. Capturing sharp, well-focused eyes can create a strong emotional connection between the viewer and the subject, making the image more engaging. The eyes of an animal eyes can convey a range of emotions and behaviors, from curiosity to aggression. Focusing on the eyes helps to capture and express the animal's character and mood. Which gives you the opportunity to do a little storytelling, providing context that enhances the viewer's understanding of what is happening.
You can't park here
The position of the vehicle in relation to the animal and your position in the vehicle is really important. it also depends on what you want to accomplish; do you want a silhouette? Well better to park the vehicle with the sun and the animal facing you. If not, then park the vehicle in between the sun and the animal. But there is more to it than just parking the vehicle in the spot you want. The guide has a great understanding (hopefully) about the behavior of the animal, the surroundings and the potential issues that can occur in a sighting. If your guide tells you that he can't position the vehicle in a spot with the best view for a explained reason, respect it. I have many examples of guests that wanted me to go closer to an animal or in front of an animal just to get the shot they wanted. It doesn't work like that, we have to respect the comfort zones of the animals and also respect their surroundings. It can potentially very dangerous if you do not respect their comfort zones. I would like to live guys! ;)
So what about your position in the vehicle itself? I prefer to be as low as possible to be on eye level with the animals. Eye-level shots provide a more intimate and natural perspective, making the viewer feel closer to the subject. This perspective often results in more engaging and relatable images. If I had the option I would always choose the frist row, but it is always important to discuss this with the other individuals in the vehicle. They also might want to be in that spot!
Patience is key
Patience is a cornerstone of wildlife photography, playing a vital role in capturing stunning images. Wildlife is inherently unpredictable, and animals often do not behave according to our expectations. By being patient, photographers increase their chances of witnessing and capturing those elusive moments when animals display their natural behavior. My best sightings have probably the ones where I had to be patient: elephants coming out of the thick vegetation walking passed the vehicle, waiting for a pride of lions stalking and eventually killing an impala and so many more. Waiting quietly in a hidden spot allows photographers to observe wildlife without disturbing them. This is crucial, as animals are more likely to act naturally when they feel safe and unthreatened. Rushing into a scene can frighten them away, resulting in missed opportunities.
Animals always nr. 1
A phrase that my tracker always mentioned to the guests, I loved it and it is so true. We are in their natural habitat and we are there to observe, not to disturb. Respecting the animals can first of all keep you alive but 9/10 makes the animal more comfortable with you being around. This gives you much better photography opportunities in the long run. It goes a bit hand-in-hand with being patience, don't rush yourself into a sighting trust me. You will get rewarded with a winner of a photo ;)
I really hope you find this helpful and hope you get incredible footage of your next safari!
A good example of being patient: we were following the tracks of an elephant herd and it seemed like they were heading towards the water. We positioned the vehicle and waited and waited and waited... Until we got rewarded with the scene below.
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