“The Photo Ark” in Joel Sartore’s Own Words

A behind-the-scenes look at capturing intimate animal portraits.

May 24, 2017

National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore is halfway through a multiyear effort to document our planet’s incredible biodiversity by creating portraits of approximately 12,000 species of animals. His book, The Photo Ark, is a curated collection of his most spectacular photos. Here, Sartore explains how he got his animal subjects to cooperate.

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Chimpanzee“This baby was being raised by human moms who worked at the zoo. She refused to not be held by a human at all times, so we had to do the portrait with her caregiver holding on from the waist down, just out of frame. That made the baby feel safe, secure, and even willing to ham it up a bit for the camera.”
Photograph by Joel Sartore