15 safari photography tips

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go on a photo safari in Tanzania. What an extraordinary experience! I spent a week exploring the beautiful national parks of Lake Manyara, the famous Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, and finally Tarangire National Park. I learned a lot about photography along the way, and today I’d like to share those lessons with you. The goal is to give you practical photography tips to take better pictures on your safari. We’ve also written a full article on our best photography tips for wildlife photography.

If you decide to go on a photography safari, chances are you’re already passionate about photography. So taking great safari pictures is probably something you don’t want to miss, right?

In addition to this page, I invite you to read our detailed article explaining how to improve your long lens photography. On safari, you’ll mostly be using a telephoto lens, so we share all our advice in that article too.

Although it isn’t the only thing that will help you bring back beautiful pictures from your safari, it is still a very important point to think about. I’ve written a complete article on the subject.

So I won’t repeat everything here, but to sum it up:

• First, evaluate your budget and your current and future photography needs so you know which gear to prioritize,
• Choose a rugged camera that can handle dust and moisture,
• Start with at least a 300/400 mm equivalent lens (35mm format),
• Choose a zoom lens rather than a prime lens,
• Choose a bright lens,
• Remember to bring a lens for landscape photography too.

In any case, this is one of the main photography tips for a successful safari: identify what you need and choose your gear accordingly.

Here are some quality telephoto lenses I recommend for a safari. As always, you can choose between native brands (Nikon/Canon) and third-party brands, which now offer very good long focal length lenses at very attractive prices. All of these lenses are compatible with APS-C cameras as well as full-frame bodies.

For your safari, I recommend buying a polarizing filter for your telephoto lens. It will help saturate and brighten colors, especially in the savannah, for example. I particularly recommend these filters for the following sizes: 67mm, 77mm and 95mm.

So why am I talking about renting if I just advised you to choose your gear carefully? Some of you may not want to buy all the photography equipment for your safari, or spend 1000€ on a lens you may never use again once the safari is over.

This is one of the best photography tips for a successful safari: if you can’t, or don’t want to, buy it, rent it.

You can rent a very good Canon 100-400mm vII lens for only 100€ per week, whereas buying it will cost you more than 2000€. It’s up to you to decide whether you can afford it and whether you’ll still use it after the safari.

It’s also worth remembering that renting a very good lens is often better than buying a very cheap one. Your pictures will be far better.

Yes, it may sound silly, but I recommend changing seats in the safari vehicle several times if you get the chance. If you’re traveling with several people, the vehicle will probably be full, as it was during my safari. With everyone’s agreement, we asked to switch seats from time to time so we could vary our framing.

You won’t be able to take the same pictures from the front and the back of the vehicle. One seat isn’t necessarily better than another; it’s just different. If you’re in the two front seats, it can be difficult to shoot toward the rear because you’ll often have people in your field of view. On the other hand, you’re often the first to see the animals.

Conversely, if you’re sitting in the back, your view toward the front of the vehicle will be partly blocked by the people ahead of you. In return, you’ll have a much clearer field of view toward the rear of the vehicle.

This is also one of the most important photography tips for taking great pictures on safari. So what do I mean by that? Quite simply, if you take 50 tight shots of a zebra, that’s fine, but honestly, everyone will have the same photo as you. The goal on safari is not necessarily to photograph wildlife only in close-up. You can also photograph animals in their environment, which is very different.

So my advice would be to vary your framing. Take a few tight shots, but also try different types of photos that place the animal in its natural environment: in the savannah, by the lake, and so on.

For this, I have two pieces of advice:

• Take a step back. Just because you have a 400mm lens doesn’t mean you have to zoom in on every shot. Try zooming out and shooting at 100 or 150 mm to include the animal in its environment,
• Change lenses: if the animals are close enough, you can use your landscape lens and take wider atmospheric photos of them with a standard or wide-angle lens.

I know that many of you will unfortunately tend to put your camera down when you return to camp in the evening to rest and spend the night. One of the photography tips I can give you for better safari pictures is to think about photographing other things too. What exactly? There are plenty of possibilities:

Why not take a picture of your camp

Or simply some landscape photos…

So keep in mind that there are many other ways to capture beautiful memories of your safari. The landscapes are superb, even without animals, so don’t forget to photograph them too while respecting the basic rules of great photos, such as composition and framing.

And yes, going on a photo safari doesn’t mean taking only your camera and lenses. In fact, I’ve written a complete article on the essential accessories to bring on safari. To sum up, in my opinion, these accessories are clearly worth considering:

A polarizing filter, mainly for landscape photos (to increase contrast and color saturation), but also for photos of animals by the lake (to reduce reflections). Be careful, though, because a polarizing filter will cost you a little light. A beanbag is also one of the essential accessories for resting your telephoto lens and giving your arms a break.

This is also one of my photography tips for a successful safari. The fact is, you’re going to spend your days surrounded by dust. Believe me, your camera is going to suffer quite a bit, especially with dust and small twigs getting stuck everywhere.

I therefore recommend cleaning your camera gear, especially the body and lenses, every evening in a place sheltered from the wind if possible. I suggest bringing a few cloths to clean your lenses and a cleaning pen to remove any dirt that has built up.

You can refer to the article on the essential accessories to pack for a photo safari.

You’ll spend the week in a dusty place, often with a bit of wind, not to mention all the driving. As mentioned above, you’ll probably want to change lenses so you’re not always using the same zoom.

I therefore recommend changing lenses only when the vehicle is stopped, and ideally even a few minutes after stopping. The movement of the vehicle kicks up dust and dirt. So take your time, do it calmly, and make sure no other vehicle is passing at that moment.

This advice also applies to improving your travel photos in general: think about the time of day and the pictures you’ll be able to take during those hours. The most beautiful photos will usually be taken in the hours before and after sunrise and sunset, the famous “golden hours.”

You’ll then get magical light in the African savannah, perfect for highlighting animals in their environment, and even more so for your landscape pictures, which will take on soft golden tones. Even tight portraits of animals will look better in beautiful light than under the harsh midday sun.

Of course, you can’t wait only for those hours to take your safari pictures, because you’ll be in the vehicle all day. But give those moments special attention, because they can really elevate your photos.

This is one of my photography tips for a successful safari, even though I also recommend it more generally for improving your travel photos.

If you have some photography experience, you already know why shooting in RAW is important. And if you already spend time editing your JPEG photos, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to shoot in RAW.

On safari in particular, and depending on the season you visit, the colors can sometimes look a little flat (yellow/light green). A bit of post-processing can then help enhance your photos.

It will require a lot of patience when you get back, especially for sorting and editing, but it’s worth it.

Patience is one of the key words on safari, so yes, you’ll need plenty of it. This isn’t a zoo. You’ll probably drive around for hours without seeing much, watching for the slightest movement. Then, at some point, your guide will stop because he has spotted something in the distance. Suddenly, there it is: a beautiful pride of lions playing, and you’ll be amazed by the scene.

When you finally come across the scene you’ve been waiting for, don’t rush straight to your camera. That group of lions may stay there for hours, giving you plenty of time to capture beautiful moments.

Why am I also talking about observation? Because in the end, your guide can’t keep an eye on everything. You may also spot something in the distance yourself, and then the whole group can enjoy it. I’m also talking about observing animal behavior. Try to anticipate what they might do, ask the guide questions if needed, and think about the type of photo you want to take.

Don’t always wait for your driver to put you in the right position for photos. Your guide may have some photography knowledge, but that won’t always be the case.

It’s therefore worth discussing this with him at the beginning of the safari and explaining your “photo expectations.” During the safari, don’t hesitate to ask the driver to move the vehicle to get a better angle, better light, or a backlit shot.

When I talk about watching your shutter speed, I mean from a technical point of view, not because you need to rush. During your safari, you may come across hunting scenes or animals playing.

In these cases, you’ll need to pay attention to shutter speed. If you shoot with a shutter speed that is too slow, you won’t capture the scene properly and your subject will be blurred. This is even more true when shooting with a long focal length.

A small technical memo: try never to shoot at a shutter speed slower than the focal length you’re using. For example, with a 400 mm lens, use at least 1/400. It’s a simple rule. I would even advise doubling it if your camera gear allows, just to be safe. At 400 mm, that means aiming for at least 1/1000th.

Of course, depending on your lenses and the brightness of the scene, this will be more or less possible. In that case, you can use a beanbag or a monopod to stabilize the camera and avoid motion blur.

Note that some camera bodies allow you to set a minimum shutter speed (for example 1/300), which can be useful in photography when paired with Auto ISO.

Here again, this is one of the photo tips I recommend. Keep burst mode activated. You’re going to have plenty of images to sort through anyway, but it would be a real shame not to be able to choose the best shot from a specific scene because you only took one photo at a time.

So don’t be afraid to shoot in burst mode, especially for action and moving scenes. This advice is obviously a little less true for a lion sleeping in the savannah!

The last tip for a successful safari: always be ready! Yes, in the space of 10 seconds, you can miss the photo of the century. It doesn’t take much to miss a moment, a scene, or a precise animal gesture.

Photographing a lion lying in the savannah isn’t complicated, but capturing a great scene, like a lion roaring or chasing prey, requires you to be ready and wait for the right moment to take your pictures.

I hope this article on photography tips for a successful safari gives you a better idea of what you need to know to prepare for your safari. One of the last tips I can give you is also one of the most important in the end.

For your part, have you ever been on a safari? Do you remember it as fondly as I do? Where was it? And don’t forget one important thing on safari: save your photos.

I hope this article has helped you. And remember, if you enjoyed it, don’t forget to share it with others!

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

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