7 top tips for taking photos on safari

1) You don’t need the latest and greatest camera to take brilliant pictures. Nor do you need to huge amounts of equipment. While a quality digital SLR camera and lenses can help you get professional-looking shots, a decent compact camera is a perfectly suitable for a less experienced photographer. Often the best moments out on safari are captured by keen-eyed amateur on a modest camera who have pointed and shot the action at just the right moment.

2) If you do have an SLR camera, the most important extra lens to bring is a long lens. This will allow you to zoom in on distant wildlife with clarity. Carrying a tripod is likely to be an unnecessary burden – carefully resting your lens on a solid surface such as the side of a safari vehicle is usually adequate to prevent excessive wobble.

Karen lines up a holiday snap.

3) Remember to take enough spare batteries or recharging facilities and extra digital storage, or film if you’re using this medium. Don’t underestimate how many photos you might want to take. The low price of compact flash cards makes it well worth investing in the extra capacity should you need it.

4) Prepare for the conditions of the African bush. The dusty air can present problems for your equipment, especially in the drier seasons, so it can pay to take a soft cloth wrap with which to cover everything, and a small paintbrush or specialist blower to clean off dust particles when changing lenses out on safari. Heavy rain can be another issue so waterproof camera carrying bags are a sensible precaution.

Professional photographer and Africa House guide Bob Demchuk
 shows his work to Pokot tribesmen.

5) Get familiar with your camera’s functions before you get to Africa, especially if it’s new or you’re out of practice. Out on safari, you’ll want to concentrate on the action and sights around you rather than struggling to figure out what all the buttons on your SLR do.

6) If there’s one technical aspect of photography worth mastering for wildlife photography, it’s controlling the depth of field through your aperture setting. A larger aperture (lower f-number) keeps the subject in sharp focus while blurring the background, ideal for wildlife shots. For landscape photos it’s usually better to keep everything in focus by using a smaller aperture (higher f-number). The right choice here can transform an ordinary shot into a professional-looking image.

7) Experiment and use your imagination when taking shots. As well as taking the more predictable, conventional photos, use unusual angles and think about overall composition, not just the main subject in view. Try juxtaposing foreground and background objects in novel ways. You'll come home with photo album which is unique and personal to you.