Gotcha!

I have to confess that I very rarely make a shot list. The problem is that I’m a freelance wildlife photographer, so I don’t have clients to satisfy, and I’m happy to take pictures of whatever I happen to see. As Matt Kloskowski is fond of saying, I ‘embrace the chaos’!

However, if you don’t think about the pictures (and video) you want to take in advance, you might miss out. You might end up going to the wrong locations at the wrong times, or you might not take the right gear with you.

If you’re anything like me, you probably regret the pictures you don’t take far more than you appreciate the ones you do! That means it’s worth considering a shot list.

What is a Shot List?

What your shot list looks like depends on what kind of photographer you are and what you’re shooting. I once shot a wedding for a friend, and I had to agree a detailed list of the photographs she needed, including lots of different combinations of friends and relatives on the bride’s side and on the groom’s.

If you’re a wildlife photographer, you probably don’t need to be quite so specific, but it depends on the circumstances. I often do deals with safari lodges that let me stay for free in exchange for my pictures. That means the lodge owners and managers have a say in what they’d like to get.

As a result, I might have an email conversation with them in advance, exchanging ideas about what they need and how best to manage the process. In my experience, most lodges want more than just wildlife shots, and they might ask for pictures of the staff, the food and the rooms as well. I’ve also covered a couple of public events in Kenya and Botswana at the request of my hosts.

People take pictures for many different reasons, so you just need to work out what’s important to you personally. When I went to Brooks Falls, I was desperate to get a shot of a bear on the waterfall with its mouth open and a salmon in mid-air—a bit like Thomas D Mangelsen’s Catch of the Day!

If you have a similar shot you’re keen to get, then that will obviously go on the list, but you might have more general ambitions. These might be based on the animals and birds you’d like to see, or you might want shots at sunrise and sunset. You might also want to ‘tell a story’ through your pictures, covering the flights, the accommodation, the staff and the other guests, as well as the wildlife.

How do I Create a Shot List?

It’s probably best to create your shot list on your smartphone (if you have one). That way, you’ll always have it with you, and you can tick off the shots you get as you go along.

I have an iPhone, and I use the Notes and Calendar apps to keep track of what I need to shoot. I also keep a list of animal and bird species I see on each of my trips—although I sometimes get caught writing down the name of the species rather than taking pictures of the animal or bird!

If you’re lucky enough to be working for clients, you can discuss and agree the shot list with them. If you’re working freelance or just want to bring home a few good shots to show your family and friends, you’ll have to do it yourself.

At this point, you might have to do some research. Look at your trip notes, itinerary or online sources. There’s no point putting ‘black rhino’ down on your list if there’s no chance of seeing any at your destination! The time of year is also important. Some migratory species of birds, for instance, will only be present for a few months of the year.

You might want to group your shots into categories to make it more organised. Here are a few suggestions:

• Animal species

• Bird species

• Landscapes

• People

  • Staff

  • Guests

  • Family

  • Friends

• Events

  • Sundowners, drinks in the bar or around the campfire

  • Breakfast, lunch and dinner

  • Bush breakfast

  • Maasai or staff dance

  • Helicopter ride

  • Boat ride

  • etc

• Time of day

  • Sunset

  • Sunrise

• Location

  • Lodge

  • Rooms

  • Vehicles (eg on game drives)

  • Transport (eg flights, taxis)

  • Local points of interest (eg view from a hilltop)

How do I use a Shot List?

The point of a shot list is to make sure you get the photographs you want. That means you have to plan ahead. I remember sitting down with the manager of Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp when I first arrived and asking him where I could photograph animal silhouettes at dawn or dusk. He recommended a man-made waterhole, and I saw a lioness there the following morning (see above)!

You also need to keep track of what’s left on a regular basis. There’s no point having a shot list if you never look at it! If time is running out, and you still haven’t got the shots you want, it’s worth talking about it to your guide or expedition leader.

It’s always worth planning ahead and (if necessary) discussing your needs with the local staff so that you can come up with a proper schedule. There may be shots that you can only take at a certain spot, so you need to know if and when you’ll be able to go there. The same applies to the time of day. If the plan is for an all-day safari, you won’t be able to take any pictures of the lodge!

Examples

I have a few photographic trips coming up in the next few months, so here’s what I’m hoping to get out of them. How much I enjoy myself is always dependent on the quality of pictures I come home with, so this stuff is important!

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (August-September 2023)

The whole point of going on this trip is to see the crossing of the Mara River. I’ve seen the Great Migration of zebra and wildebeest a few times, and I’ve seen wildebeest crossing the Sand river in Tanzania, but I’ve never seen the Mara crossing.

That’s one of the signature events in the wildlife photography calendar, and I thought I might as well try to capture it. I’ve tried a couple of times before, but I’ve been unlucky for various reasons. Here’s hoping it’ll work out this time!

I haven’t created a shot list yet, but it’ll definitely include pictures of wildebeest (and zebras) jumping into the water from the banks of the Mara river. I’d like to get shots like that at slow shutter speeds as well as fast, so I had to check in advance that I’d be able to use my tripod somehow while I’m out there!

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (October 2023)

This is my first chance to photograph pumas in the wild. I’m a big fan of the big cats, and I’ve seen tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs and a variety of smaller cats, but never a puma! If possible, I’d like to see a kill, but there’s no guarantee of that. It took me six safaris in Africa before I finally saw a kill, so I’m not too hopeful!

I’d also like to see puma cubs, and I’m keen to take advantage of the spectacular mountain backdrops in the Andes. There are even a couple of days devoted to Magellanic penguins and the Andean condor, so I’ll always have a back-up plan!

Kicheche, Kenya (January 2024)

I’ve been to Kicheche Bush Camp a couple of times before, and I’ve been lucky enough to see six cheetah kills. That’s why I’m going back. The Masai Mara is the best place for that kind of action, and I’m keen to try out my new Sony a1 mirrorless cameras on a cheetah hunt!

Part-owner Paul Goldstein is always keen on shooting cheetahs at slow shutter speeds, so maybe I’ll be able to get a decent slow pan shot of a cheetah hunt to match the one I took at 1/1600 of a second (see above).

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Botswana (May 2024)

I went to Muchenje twice in 2021, and I’m looking forward to going back there. When I went in May, it was the Green Season, so I saw lots of migrating birds as well as a few elephants and lions. I had to wait until October to see my first leopard in Chobe, but I hope I’ll have more luck this time!

The game drives and boat rides are fairly familiar to me now, so I know what I’m likely to see. However, the riverfront runs east-west, so I do have the opportunity to take backlit shots if I drive towards the rising or setting sun. I avoided that on my last visit, so maybe it’s time for a change…

Estonia (May, 2024)

I recently received a message on LinkedIn from the owner of a wildlife hide in Estonia. He kindly invited me to take pictures of wolves, bears and other wildlife over there at some point, but the benefit of going in May is that I’ll see bear cubs. Fingers crossed…!

Verdict

Whatever your level of photography, it’s worth putting together a shot list to avoid any regrets. You can only spend a limited time at great wildlife destinations, so it’s worth planning your shoots in advance to make sure you have all your bases covered.

Whatever you want to capture—whether it’s the wildlife, the people, the food, the accommodation or the landscapes—a shot list will give you the best possible head start.

If you’d like to order a framed print of one of my wildlife photographs, please visit the Prints page.

If you’d like to book a lesson or order an online photography course, please visit my Lessons and Courses pages.