I am lucky enough to be able to travel in the Australian Outback, and to go overseas to capture photos of animals in their natural habitats. I wish I could spend all my time travelling, but even if that was possible I would never get to all the places or see all the creatures I am interested in…but I can get to zoos. In some ways Zoos are better than the wild…they only places where some very rare species can be observed and photographed and the only remaining refuge for many rare and animals even some which are now extinct in the wild.
I have photographed lions crocodiles in the wild, but the Great Panda? I wish! If you are one of the many people who don’t have the time or money to travel to remote parts of our planet, zoos can offer you a great opportunity to photograph exotics creatures; and even some of the harder to reach local one. But in order to get decent images, there are some techniques you need to master to solve the problems that the zoo environment throws up.
Actually, every zoo is different. There are traditional zoos where the animals are kept in rather small cages; more modern ones with much more room where glass and plastics have replaced iron bars, and there are open-plains type zoos where the animals and people are kept apart by moats and pits, without bars at all. Many zoos combine all these elements, and each has its own ambience, although even the open plain zoo was never built primarily for the convenience of the photographer!
There are five significant problems you will have to deal with: glass, bars and wires between you and your subject; bars and wires (and other “junk” behind your subject; distance; light levels; and people in the way!
We can deal with all of these problems, but even in a zoo it is important to take time to understand a little about your subject if you hope to make really good pictures. Plan to be in the right place when different species are most active. Feeding time is obviously important, but you can’t be at every site at one time, and one an animal like a tiger has their meat, they may vanish into a cave to eat it anyway.
Read up on the animals you are most interested in, talk to zoo keepers (they are usually very helpful) and, if possible visit at different times of year. Check also when special exhibitions, like free-flight bird displays and reptile-handling opportunities take place, and organise your visit to be at the right place at the right time. That could take some planning in a large zoo.
Equipment:
No special equipment is needed for zoo photography, but some things will make your percentage of good shots higher and open up a wider range of animals to your lens. Even so, the variety of exhibits is so great that the chance of coming home empty handed depends more on your approach than your equipment.
A long lens is useful, of course, especially in open-plains zoos, but you will seldom need a super-zoom. Smaller diameter lenses as found on compact cameras have an advantage over the wider lenses fitter to SLRs…they can fit between the wires for an unobscured view, so if you have an SLR and a compact, pack both.
Low light levels and active animals equal blurred photos. A tripod will serve you well, but if you cannot manage one, take a monopod or a small bean bag to rest and steady your camera on. Check with the zoo first as a few don’t allow tripods.
Don’t forget your lens hood…a real help in reducing reflections and glare from enclosure glass; and a polarising filter also helps.
Getting the Picture:
Problem 1: The wires, bars and glass between you and your subjects.
There are three approaches you need to use to deal with these issues. For reflections, give the glass a wipe with a cloth to get rid of finger (and nose) prints. Get in really close to the glass and use a lens hood to reduce any reflections. You may need to hold your hand or a hat or piece of paper so it throws a shadow on the glass to get rid of the reflection…ask a friend or even ask a stranger to hold it for you. Whenever possible, shoot at right angles to the glass. Don’t forget your polarising. If you still can’t get rid of all the reflections, take a few steps back and use them to make an environmental shot that places reflections of people watching the animals into the shot.
Bars and wires are also handled by getting close…really close. As mentioned, some lenses will fit between bars or wires (be careful! You would not be the first to be assaulted by an animal because you came to close, or were so busy looking through the viewfinder you didn’t see another animal approaching. Do not place yourself at risk). But you don’t have to put the camera through the wires: pressed against them, you will put many so far out of focus that they become effectively invisible, or at worst, soft-focus filters. Just avoid scratching the lens.
Problem 2: Enclosures, cages, free-flight aviaries and the like are enclosed…the backgrounds are intrusive, often ugly and rarely attractive in a photograph. For animals on the ground, try to find a higher vantage point so that the ground rather than the wall is in shot. If that gives a poor angle, use the largest aperture you can manage to throw the background out of focus. This approach means you will be shooting at a higher shutter speed, which in itself is a good idea, since many animals are prone to constant or sudden movement.
Problem 3: Distance is always a problem when you want to get close to your subject and create that feeling of intimacy. With animals in cages this is a challenge and generally needs a longer focal length lens. However, many zoos have special “behind the scenes” and escorted tours that allow you into close proximity to animals that you might otherwise have little chance of getting close to. They tend to be popular, so check them out in advance in case you need to book. Some zoos also have night tours and sleepovers.
Where you can’t get as close as you would like, use the highest quality settings you can set, make the shop as steady as possible and at the lowest. ISO setting you can get away with, knowing you are going to have to enlarge just the subject when you get the image into the computer or the darkroom.
Problem 4: Exposure levels can be extreme. It is always best to avoid bright, overhead sun (it makes for flat, textureless pictures with little modelling); early morning and late afternoon are better light for the open enclosures and grazing animals, and anyway, they are more likely to be active then.
Reserve the middle of the day for the smaller enclosures, but expect them to be dark. Flash is not a good option here. In darker places, the brilliant flash can distress your subjects (and in nocturnal houses it can harm them). Even where flash is useable, it casts harsh shadows unless it can be placed between the bars. Glass is worse; a burst of flash turns clear glass or Perspex into a mirror!
Instead, crank up your ISO or shoot with fast film. Most SLRs will be OK up to 400ISO, Any Canon should be quite acceptable at 800 or more, and just about all SLRs released after 2007 should also be able to cope at these speeds without unacceptable noise. Even so, you should be prepared to do a little work on the noise levels when you get the images into your computer.
Problem 4: Your fellow zoo goers will probably have a different agenda to yours. See the animals, take the kids out for the day, have a picnic, be a tourist. You are going to spend forever just getting that perfect expression, they just want to grab a snap and get on to the chimps. Be patient; use your tripod to claim a bit of territory; watch what the human animals get up to as they react to the animals; make them your subjects too.
Try to beat the crowds to the vantage points and get set up(after all, you checked the prime times and locations, remember), or choose the quieter areas when the press is too much: you will still find great photos.
Well, that’s all problems solved! So here are a few final tips to help you bring back great animal pictures:
Focus on the Eyes – it is true for people pictures and it holds for animal portraits, too: the eyes are the window to the soul. If the eyes are your focal point you will have established an emotional connection between your subject and the viewer.
Work From The Right Height - photographing an animal at their level helps create a sense of intimacy. On your knees for an echidna, holding your camera above your head for an ostrich, working from a viewing platform for a giraffe… You might look a little silly, but no one sees that in the final print…they are too busy going “Wow!”
Look for Humorous Situations and Stories - straight record shots might be useful, even profitable, but animals do the funniest things. When the monkey grabs a banana and runs, or the emu pokes its head through the cage and steals that hotdog your camera should be firing! In fact, consider setting it to continuous more and have plenty of spare memory on hand.
And that is my final tip for the zoo…plenty of memory: you are going to need it.
