Top Tips to Take Better Photos on Safari

Top Tips to take better Photos on Safari

A safari is one of the most thrilling photography adventures you can embark on. The chance to witness wildlife in their natural habitat, surrounded by stunning landscapes, is a dream for photographers. However, taking great photos on safari requires preparation, patience, and an understanding of wildlife photography techniques. Here are my top tips to take better photos on safari.

1. Get to Know your Equipment

Before heading out on safari, ensure you’re comfortable with your camera settings. Whether you’re using a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or smartphone, understanding features like shutter speed, ISO, and aperture will greatly improve your shots.

Key Settings to Master:

Shutter Speed: Use fast shutter speeds (1/1000s or higher) to freeze motion for moving animals.

ISO: Use Auto ISO. The camera will then select the lowest ISO possible for the chosen Aperture and Shutter Speed.

Aperture: Use a wide aperture (f/2.8–f/5.6) for beautiful background blur, but narrow it down (f/8–f/11) for sharper landscapes.

Exposure Compensation: Get to know what it is and how to use it. Read more on it here. As a general rule because it is so bright in Africa shoot at -1 (one stop under)

TOP TIP

I would always suggest to anyone going on safari that they use one of the following modes:

Manual – with Auto ISO on. On newer cameras you can then use exposure compensation.
Aperture Priority and Auto ISO (set a minimum shutter speed of 1/1000s in the ISO sensitivity settings). Read more on this here.

2. Use a Zoom lens

Wildlife is often at a distance, so a telephoto lens (200mm–600mm) is ideal for close-up shots without disturbing the animals. A zoom lens also gives you the versatility that you don’t get with a prime lens. If the subject moves, you can zoom in or out.

Safari vehicles move frequently, making stabilization tricky. To avoid blurry shots use a Beanbag. Rest your camera on a beanbag a top the vehicle frame for stability and enable Image Stabilization: Most modern cameras and lenses have this feature—turn it on to reduce motion blur.

TOP TIP

Don’t Over-Zoom: Allow some space around the subject to provide context and avoid cutting off parts of the animal. I see so many posts on social media from people who have been on safari for the first time and they have got some great shots but they have photographed for example a lion, but there is no story to the image. It is just a full frame image of a lion.

My advice is always to shoot some images at the widest focal length, then some at halfway zoomed and then fully zoomed. 3 different images from one subject and 3 different images that will help to tell a story.

3. Timing and Patience

Wildlife photography is unpredictable. The best shots happen when you observe patiently and anticipate animal behaviour. Some of this will depend on whether you have booked to join a group safari with other people, if so you may not have the control to wait. If you are on a photographic safari then the photographic guide should be able to read the sighting and the behaviour and decide whether it is worth waiting or not. If you have booked a private safari then you are in control, always give a sighting time and don’t just rush to the next one.

TOP TIP

Best Safari Moments to Capture:

Golden Hours: Early morning and late afternoon provide stunning lighting (change white balance to cloudy or shady for these)
Action Shots: Wait for animals to interact—hunting, feeding, or playing provide dynamic images. Ensure your default setting is 1/1000s so you are ready to capture that action
Eye Contact: An animal looking directly at your camera makes for a powerful shot. Try to shoot from the windows rather than always using the pop up roof. Read how to capture eye catching portraits here

4. Master Light & Exposure

Lighting changes quickly in the Africa, and knowing how to adjust exposure is key. If you shoot with either of the suggested modes above then you can use the exposure compensation dial/button to brighten or darken the image based on the light and the conditions.

TOP TIP

How to Use Light to Your Advantage:

Morning & Evening Light: Soft, golden tones are ideal for wildlife and landscapes. Get up early and make sure you are out ready to take photos as the sun is rising. This is always the case on photo trips but on non-photo group trips check with the operator when you will be starting the day. Sometimes you will have breakfast first which means you will miss sunrise and the best light of the day.
Backlighting: Creates dramatic silhouettes—ideal for elephants or giraffes against a sunset. My favourite type of light and I will always look for this when I am guiding my photographic safaris. It is not just ideal for silhouettes, placing your subject in front of the sun you will see the light hitting the grass and lighting horns or fur, dramatic and a superb addition to any safari portfolio.
Cloudy Days: Soft, diffused light prevents harsh shadows—perfect for capturing fur textures and details. Consider doing a safari in rainy season when the light tends to be much less harsh and effectively you can take great shots all day!
Look for side Lighting. If you can position the sun at an angle to the subject you can play with shadows, texture, highlights and details making some dramatic and unique portraits.

You can read more here on mastering the angles of light

5. Composition Matters

A well-composed shot is more compelling. Instead of placing the subject dead-centre, use these composition techniques:

Rule of Thirds: Position the subject slightly off-centre for a natural, balanced look.
Lead Room: Leave space in front of moving animals to show direction.
Frame Within a Frame: Use trees, bushes, or rocks to create a natural frame around your subject.

TOP TIP

Sometimes things happen quickly and you cannot always be perfect with your composition, so if that is the case, zoom out and leave some additional space so you can crop and recompose in post processing.

6. Capture the Environment

I touched on this earlier but wanted to make it a separate point. A safari isn’t just about animals—showcase the incredible landscapes, weather, and atmosphere.

TOP TIP

Ideas for Environmental Shots:

Wide-angle landscapes: Capture the vastness of the location, whether that be wide open planes like in Masai Mara and Serengeti, Unique vegetation like the Doum Palm Trees of Samburu or the dusty landscape of Etosha.
Sunset & sunrise shots: Warm, dramatic colours add beauty to your safari portfolio, but shoot wide and think carefully what to include in the shot does a tree detract from the main subject or enhance it.
Animal interactions with nature: Show elephants near watering holes or lions blending into golden grasslands. Think how you can tell a story of that subject, where does it live and why is it there, that is all part of the story. To read more on storytelling click here.

7. Try Different Things

Once you have got the safe shot try different techniques and settings.

Shoot high key – overexpose the image deliberately. This works really well when you have animals resting in the shade and it can add some interest to an otherwise boring image.
Shoot low key – underexpose the image. This works really well if the subject is on a darker background and the light is coming in from the side. How dark is too dark? – that is for you to decide
Shoot with slow shutter speeds – once you have a sharp image of a lion walking, slow the shutter speed down. 1/15s is the magic number to start with and pan the subject (move the camera in time with the subject) done correctly this will keep the subject sharp and blur the background.
Try Zoom bursts – a Zoom burst is a technique where you select a slow shutter speed. 1/20s is perfect. Focus on the subject and then as you shoot zoom the lens in and out. It creates a kaleidoscope type image and is something completely different.

TOP TIP

Challenge yourself. Find a common subject for example a herd of zebra and then by just using the camera and lens, try and shoot 10 completely different images. You will be very surprised at what you can do. I always try to do this on my tours as it gets people thinking in a different way.

8. Respect Wildlife

Ethical photography means prioritizing animals’ well-being.

Adhere to the Park and Reserve Rules – No offroad driving unless permission is given.
Never overcrowd an animal – encourage your driver/guide to park a reasonable distance away from the subject, you will get much better images this way anyway as you will not be shooting down on the subject.
Never hassle an animal: If lions or cheetah are hunting give them space, It is not good practice to follow too closely or stop a potential hunt.
Stay Quiet: Sudden noises can distress wildlife. Even if you are in a vehicle
Don’t Alter Nature: Never provoke animals for a “better shot.”

TOP TIP

Where possible encourage your guide not to chase sightings, too often something is radioed in and every vehicle rushes to that particular sighting. It is far better and more rewarding to stay with a particular species and photograph it properly and spend time with it, watching behaviour and using different angles of light. Many times I have been on safari and all of the vehicles have disappeared and then the magic happens and we are the only ones there to witness it.

Consider booking a photo safari.

Go on a photographic safari. You will be with like minded people and should have a photographic guide that can help you get the images that you want, you may pay a bit more but you should then come back with better images.

Top Tips to Take Better Photos on Safari