How to photograph wildlife on a safari
A professional photographer shares their secrets on how to capture animals on camera, from choosing the right equipment to picking where to go.
With the global celebrations for Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday shining a light on the pioneering wildlife documentaries that first brought the magnificence of the natural world to our screens, you might be inspired to pick up a camera and head off on your own big adventure. But how to choose where to go, what to take with you and how to make the most of it once you get there?
Where and when to go
When it comes to wildlife safaris, Africa is unrivalled in terms of its variety. In this huge continent of savannahs, wetlands and national parks, most sub-Saharan safari destinations have their dry season between June and October, when the Big Five — lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant — congregate at water sources, making them easier to spot. But the tail end of the wet season is less crowded and arguably just as spectacular, with the bonus of dramatic skies and verdant grasslands.
If it’s your first safari and you want to see it all, you can’t go wrong with East Africa. Travelling between Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve and Tanzania’s Serengeti will provide opportunities to see the continent’s apex predators alongside a huge variety of other species. You should also consider South Africa’s Kruger National Park, renowned for its abundant megafauna and self-drive options.
If you have a particular animal you’d like to observe, look for specialist lodges like Botswana’s Thamo Telele; helping to support the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, it has its own giraffe herd you can get close to (while still maintaining a responsible distance). Similarly, the Okonjima camps in Namibia offer the chance to monitor and photograph leopards with conservationists from the AfriCat Foundation.
Before you travel
Make sure you practise with any new equipment before you go, switching between one-shot and continuous mode, shooting stationary or moving local wildlife before your trip.
Knowing what you want to see will also help optimise equipment choices. Photographing Namibia’s elephants wandering the starkly beautiful ochre desert, for example, is a different prospect to taking shots of primates in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. For an activity such as tracking gorillas, you’ll want to keep your camera kit manageable as the terrain can be challenging.
Check out different safari operators’ itineraries to help you decide where to go, too, and ensure their credentials on animal welfare are front and centre.
To zoom or not to zoom
A telephoto, or zoom, lense is an absolute game changer for wildlife photography, especially on safari. They make capturing distant subjects possible and minimise disturbance to wildlife — a key marker of ethical practice.
It offers more scope and variety, so you might want to investigate the cost of hiring or buying one. Most wildlife photographers will tell you it’s ‘all about the glass’, with lenses that work fast in all conditions the most versatile. Take note of hand luggage weight restrictions when flying, though, especially if taking internal flights on light aircraft — and invest in a good backpack that can double up as your carry-on.
Framing the environment
While everyone loves a good close-up of a beautiful animal, one of the compensations of not having a telephoto lens is that you’ll probably shoot wider and include the environment — which can make you more creative.
The landscape tells the story of an animal’s habitat, so position your subject accordingly. Acacia trees and silhouetted giraffes at sunset can be sublime, or a single lilac-breasted roller on the end of a branch is a classic composition. Don’t forget to shoot in both vertical and horizontal orientation for variety (or in social media’s preferred formats).
It’s a cliché, but the best camera is always the one you have with you, so figure out what yours can do and play to your strengths. Photographing static animals allow you time to compose the background, and including neighbouring safari vehicles or people can add scale and human interest.
Photographing from vehicles
A running cheetah is tricky to photograph, so learn how to adjust your shutter speed and use focus tracking modes to keep things sharp. A monopod for stability or a beanbag to cushion your lens can help too.
Luxury operators provide customised photo vehicles, offering a variety of angles, dust-protected storage and stabilisation. With dedicated wildlife photography guides positioning vehicles in just the right spot for the light, providing technical help and even predicting animal behaviour — invaluable in allowing time to prepare settings and compose your shot — this might be the perfect option if you want to learn how to get the most from your camera.
Use your phone
When it comes to using a smartphone, you probably won’t get sharp images at a distance, but you can take perfectly exposed environment shots. Shoot wide to show the beauty of the plains or get reflections at water holes.
Explore how to use RAW for better resolution, or better still, book an experience that includes a hide. At Photo Mashatu’s partially underground Lala Limpopo Sleep-Out Hide in Botswana, animals will often approach close enough for phone photography. In Kenya, Soroi Collection’s Tsavo and Samburu camps offer photo hides with guides, while Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park also has several photo-hide options.
If you’re using a phone, take advantage of the various video presets, including cinematic mode and time-lapse. Footage from a hot air balloon or a camp’s high vantage point might just be good enough for your own wildlife documentary.
