Zoo photography
If you like caged beasts…
Black and Blue
If you’re a wildlife photographer, zoos and safari parks can be a cheap and cheerful alternative to going on a long-haul destination such as the Masai Mara.
I took this picture at the Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabárceno during a weekend photography workshop led by Marina Cano.
Cabárceno is a great place to go for wildlife photography.
It’s a kind of souped-up version of Longleat situated in an old open-cast iron ore mine, so you get lots of rocky backgrounds tinged with red!
There are over 100 species of animals from around the world, and it’s cheap to get to, cheap to visit and cheap to stay.
The advantages of zoos and safari parks over trips abroad are fairly obvious:
Cheaper
Greater variety of species
Ease of access
Guaranteed presence
No special clothing or equipment required
Limited distances to travel
Longer time to take pictures
Signage making animal recognition easy
On the other hand, there are a few equally obvious disadvantages:
No wild animals
Ethical concerns
Missing species
Barriers to photography (eg glass windows and mesh fences)
Lack of natural landscape
Amount of man-made objects
Crowds of people
Occasional closures
No night photography
No flash photography
Rules such as no tripods
It’s also important to remember that taking pictures in zoos or safari parks is very different from taking pictures in the wild, so this article will try to help you get the most out of the experience in terms of your preparation, equipment and technique.
Preparation
Research
If you want to take great pictures at a place like Cabárceno or London Zoo, it’s a good idea to do a bit of research beforehand.
Which zoo or safari park is best?
Where is it?
What’s the best way of getting there?
How much are tickets?
When are the opening hours?
What’s the best time to go?
Are there any special events, eg feeding time?
Once you’ve gathered a few basic pieces of information, you can then come up with a ‘shot list’ and perhaps an itinerary.
It may be that you want to shoot certain animals at a particular time of day or make sure you’re at the right place to see the falconry display at 1100 or meet friends for lunch at the café.
Whatever you have in mind, you’ll be in a much better position if you’ve put a bit of thought into it beforehand.
Shot list
It’s all very well having a list of all the animals you want to shoot and all the events you want to go to, but it’s also important to think about the kinds of shot you can get.
You don’t want to come home with a long succession of close-up portraits, and you certainly don’t want to be kicking yourself for not taking this or that shot, so try to think about it up front:
Can you take any slow pan shots of animals or birds in motion?
Can you take low key shots of the gorillas, say?
Can you make a time lapse video of feeding time, say, to show how the penguins polish off a bucket of fish?
Can you make the part stand for the whole by taking close-ups of hooves, tails or skin textures?
Can you take any funny photos of comical animal behaviour?
Can you explore a theme such as ‘Mother and Baby’ or ‘A Day in the Life’?
Are there any other subjects you want to capture apart from the animals, such as zookeepers or other visitors?
Should you use black and white with certain animals?
If necessary, you can always Google the name of the venue you’re going to and then click on the mages tab to get a few ideas.
Equipment
If you want to get the most out of your trip, then you’ll need to think about a few basic requirements:
Which cameras to take
Which lenses to use
Whether to take a tripod or monopod
What other accessories to take (eg filters, a lens cloth and spare batteries and memory cards)
Which camera bag to take
Whether to take a laptop for editing your pictures
What to wear (including a rainproof jacket and comfortable shoes!)
How much food and drink to bring
Most of those questions are fairly easy to decide, but the issue of which photographic equipment to take can be a bit tricky.
Of course, in an ideal world, you’d want to take ALL your equipment, but that’s just not practical (or necessary).
And besides, you’ll probably be walking rather than driving round the zoo, so you don’t want to have to carry too much with you.
Just think about the kind of shots you want to take and work back from that.
In general, you’ll need long lenses to be able to isolate your subject and hide any fences or man-made objects in the background, but you might still want to take a wide angle lens to get an overall view from the top of a tower, say, or to take shots in enclosed spaces such as the reptile house.
Personally, I have a Tenba Hybrid Roadie camera bag that I can either roll around or wear on my back like a rucksack.
It has an attachment for a tripod, and it’s big enough to carry my Nikon D810 and D850 camera bodies with my 80-400 and 800mm lenses plus various accessories.
That’s great for transportation, but it’s no good when I actually start shooting!
For that, I have a SpiderPro belt with two attachments that allows me to ‘wear’ a camera on either hip - rather like a gunslinger in the Old West.
It’s very comfortable and lets me walk around and even sit down without worrying about losing either of my cameras.
There’s even a locking clip if I want to feel extra safe.
If you don’t have something similar, then you might be better off with a ‘messenger bag’ or anything that allows you to grab your camera at a moment’s notice.
Technique
Barriers
The big problem with zoo photography is generally the barriers around the enclosures.
If they’re made of glass or wire mesh, it’s often a pain to get a clear view of the animals.
Sometimes, of course, there’s just a fence, and you can simply lean over it to take your pictures.
If not, then here’s what I’d do:
Glass. Use a lens hood and a circular polarising filter and wipe the glass with a rag if there are obvious stains. Rest the hood against the glass to cut down on reflections and rotate the filter until any remaining ones disappear. You typically lose a stop of light when you use a polariser, so bear that in mind when choosing your settings.
Wire mesh. If the holes are big enough, try poking your lens through the fence so there’s nothing in the way any more. If not, all you can really do is place your lens as close to the fence as possible and shoot wide open to blur the wires.
Another thing to remember is that there are many different types of species in your typical zoo, some of which you might never have seen before.
If a species is particularly exotic, it’s a good idea to take a picture of the sign next to the enclosure just to remind you what it was when you start adding titles and keywords to your images at home.
Zoos are often busy places, so patience is a virtue.
If there isn’t room to get access to a particular enclosure, then try and wait your turn.
The last thing you want is the hassle of having to deal with a furious punter who thinks you stole his spot!
Backgrounds
As I say, the general idea when taking pictures at a zoo is to try and give the impression that the animals are in the wild by hiding anything that looks man-made.
That’s easier said than done, of course, but it’s still good practice to check the sides and corners of your frame when shooting.
You don’t want a tender moment between a gorilla and her baby to be spoiled by a kid in a Liverpool shirt jumping up and down in the background!
Indoor areas
Wildlife photographers don’t often shoot indoors, so it’s important to think about the constraints when you go and see the insects and reptiles, for instance.
The main issues are low light and condensation.
Fast lenses and wide apertures will help with the first of these, but there’s not much you can do when your lens steams up in the butterfly house except wait…and wait…and wait!
It can take up to 20 minutes for your lens to defog, but it will happen naturally, so there’s no need to clean it manically every couple of minutes.
Just drink a coffee or do the crossword until your equipment’s ready…
Special events
Zoos and safari parks often lay on special events, and it’s worth picking up a programme in advance to see what the schedule is going to be.
There might be a falconry display, for instance, that offers a great chance to get some action shots of golden eagles, Harris hawks or gyrfalcons.
Alternatively, there’s often a petting zoo for the kids that might allow you to get some good close-ups.
Hopefully, your ‘shot list’ or itinerary will include the key events that you want to see, and then you’ll just need to make sure you’re at the right place at the right time on the day.
Think about each event and, if necessary, have a word with one of the members of staff to see if you can get special access behind the scenes, perhaps in exchange for a few pictures.
They might say no, but it’s always worth a try.
Sample images
I’ve been to Cabárceno and London Zoo, so here are a few sample images to show what’s possible.
Cabárceno
"Who turned out the lights?"
Pretty in Pink
This is Unbearable
London Zoo
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Fiji iguana
Giant gourami