“My tips” are advice on the practicalities of taking photos on safari or in the wild. They are not meant to cover the ‘how to take photographs’ side of wildlife photography as there is plenty of information and books to access written by the professionals. These tips are more about making sure you take advantage of any and every opportunity you have when you are in the wild.

Be ready!

Have your camera set up for action and ensure it is close to or in hand.

With other photographic opportunities there is often time to review your settings, but in the wild when something exciting happens it is over in seconds so you should always be ready so you don’t end up thinking if only …!

Know your equipment before you get there

This is something every photographer advises, but too many times people buy a nice new camera just for their safari trip and only look at how to use it when they get in the jeep and then wonder why they missed that great view of a leopard for example. Please at least get the camera out of the box!

Don’t forget to look at the small and/or different animals and plants

Photographs of the ‘Big 5’ can be fantastic and yes everyone wants to have their Elephant – Lion – Leopard – Rhinoceros – Buffalo photograph, but if you really look you will see potential in all aspects of the wild. All of nature is beautiful, amazing and inspiring.

A great or unusual picture of something you often see can be better than a poor image of something rare

You may want a photograph of everything you see ‘for the record’ but for example a fabulous photograph of an impala leaping or a backlit baboon playing in the morning sun can be fantastic.

Change you angles

Although being on a safari jeep can have its limitations in terms of positioning, at least try to get a different angle where you can. Maybe there are opportunities at tea and coffee breaks? Or the terrain can allow you to take a picture that appears to be on the same level as the animal.

Don’t be afraid to ask your guide.…

- If you are in a shared jeep, don’t worry about asking the guide to stop for you to take a photo. There is nothing worse than the jeep driving on and you sitting there wishing you had asked the guide to stop.

- Or, for example, if you want to get the sun exactly behind a tree/animal; again the guides will always be happy to move a few yards.

- Camera shake can be a real issue – a pin-sharp photo is often the difference – so if you need to politely ask the other guests to stay still for a shot – most will understand.

Memory Cards - Brings lots!

And change them before they completely fill up – just imagine that special moment and after two shots your camera stops “Card Full”. The leopard completes the kill and drags the prey into the bush; you missed it all as you changed your memory card.

Batteries

This is stating the obvious but people do get into their jeep and find their battery runs out after 5 minutes. Just check before you set off and where you can bring a spare. The day you don’t will bound to be the most exciting safari drive of your trip. Of course you will have wonderful memories but….