Wildlife photography is fascinating though challenging. Wildlife photos and videos have been some of the most entertaining, educational and most watched or viewed medias world over. But the bottom line is, not many beginners and amateurs will really venture into wildlife photography in their early days due to the challenges involved. The gear required to start with is very costly and unless you are really making money from the photography it may not be walk in the park for a beginner. But there is close cousin to wildlife photography that could be a better way to start—zoo photography.
Photo by Sandip Niroula / Fotosocial
Zoos are great locations to practice photography as they present us both with a great variety of subjects (both animals and the people watching them) but also with some real challenges. We tell you some of the things you’ll need to overcome in getting great shots at a zoo
The fences
Photo by Sandip Niroula / Fotosocial
Unlike wildlife photography where animals are free to roam in the open, in the zoos, animals are restricted and therefore photographing them poses a challenge since you have to contend with fences. These fences are normally in the form of wire meshes that are elevated above the cages for the safety of the people. This of course makes it impossible for a photographer even to lift a camera above the fence to get a clear view of the inside of the cage.
To overcome this limitation, you should set your camera to manual settings and then adjust your aperture to wide settings and use longer focal length. This will be able to reduce the depth of field in front of the camera thereby throwing the fence out of focus. You should also try to move as close as possible to the animal of the cage. In fact, if the spaces allow, you can photograph through the spaces on the wire mesh since this will give you a better chance of throwing the fence out of focus.
Positioning
Photo by Sandip Niroula / Fotosocial
Though this is called zoo photography, the ultimate goal is to photograph the animals in such a way that they appear like they were in their natural habitat and not present them as caged animals. If you have to take great zoo pictures, you should position yourself where there will be no distractions at the background or foreground especially in terms of artificial objects like electric poles, dust bins etc. You should also avoid people at the background as they often appear to be looking at the animals and this may steal authenticity of your image.
The people
In zoo photography people and animals go hand in hand. The main reason why zoos exist is to protect the animals and to give people an opportunity to see wild animals in a more controlled environment. As a photographer, you have to find a way to deal with crowds of people continually blocking your view or acting as a distraction at the background. People can be used to add value to your zoo images at times by capturing their expressions as they look at the animals. Some of their expressions can be humorous and if well captured could be hot selling images for you.
Weather and time of the day
Photo by Sandip Niroula / Fotosocial
Depending on the part of the country or world you are in, weather could really be a game spoiler for you. Even if you could be harmed with the weather report, you cannot be sure of what will happen out there. The reason why weather is an issue in zoo photography is because animals often retreat to the inner enclosures within their cages once it starts raining and this takes away any chance you have to photograph them even if you have all weather equipment. When it comes to time of the day, you should note that animals are often active at a certain time and not the other. To overcome problems with unpleasant weather conditions, you should consult the weather report for the day and always have protective gear all the time especially if there are chances of rain. If the forecast is not so favourable it is advisable to cancel your shooting sessions and put it for another days. As far as time of the day is concerned, it is advisable to talk with zoo keepers and handlers to know the behaviour of animals so you come to photograph when they are active and not when they have retreated to their sleeping quarters.
Final word
Photo by Sandip Niroula / Fotosocial
The above mentioned are just some of the challenges you may face in zoo photography. There are other challenges involved like focusing, camera settings like ISO etc. While you can do a little more study to find out what more challenges you may face and how to overcome them, it is important to look into legal issues involved in photographing in the zoo. Some zoos won’t allow professional cameras and tripods unless you have permissions while others won’t even allow a camera inside the zoo. You should find out how this goes and be ready with necessary permission before you find yourself in hot soup.
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