photo safari

7 Wildlife Photography essentials on African safari

safari holiday in botswana
An African safari holiday is the best opportunity to fall in love with wildlife photography, even when photography wasn’t really a hobby beforehand. Many guests arrive with a small point and shoot camera or even with an iPad and go home keen to get the real gear for better pictures.

No matter with which camera you start off your African safari adventure, there are some
essentials to keep in mind.

Make sure your camera has a
good zoom, either a built in zoom or at least a 400mm zoom lens (for full frame SLRs).

Bring something to
stabilize your camera while photographing wildlife. That can be a beanbag, a tripod or a monopod. Beanbags are the most flexible tool.

Bring backup
batteries and memory cards with you on safari.

Bring a small
cleaning kit with a microfiber cloth and some cleaning fluid.

A
rain cover is very helpful when being on open game drive vehicles. There is still something to photograph, even when it rains.

Dress, that you
feel comfortable with any weather. Discomfort will disturb your wildlife photography or you might not photograph at all while feeling cold or wet.

Bring a
laptop to upload your images after every game drive. That will make sure you have always memory card space no matter what amazing unexpected sightings you will encounter.

Geared up like that for your
African safari tour will make sure you are ready for any great Big Five sighting without any stress about your camera equipment. Don’t come with loads of gear; keep it simple and essential. That will make sure, you have an incredible wildlife experience and come home with amazing pictures.

Definite Photo Safari Essentials Guide

wildlife photography on safari tour
African safaris are also photographic safaris with more or less photographic gear from smart phone to point and shoot camera and professional SLRs. Being in the bush and close to the Big Five is an incredible experience for all photography lovers. Safari guests who thought they would only sit and watch start photographing as well to capture these memorable moments of being close to elephants and lions.

This can also be the moment to realize, that the
point and shoot camera is not sufficient for wildlife photography and plans are made to come back with better camera gear and better prepared. It is not only the camera, that makes good images, it is more to photographing wildlife on safari and one realizes that quickly when being on game drives. Anticipating animal behavior, knowledge about the light, the right location to photograph a sunset in the African bush, the right clothes, tips and tricks of wildlife photography and choosing the right safari destination make a successful photo safari.

Ideally one would like to have all essentials in one place and the
Photo Safari Essentials e-Guide provides just that. Including a little field guide to identify the wildlife, information about the game drive routine on safaris, tips what to pack and bring on safari, photo gear and wildlife photography advice and health info make this little e-guide a handy tool when preparing the safari and while being on safari. View and download the photo safari e-guide here.