Zoo Photography

This year I plan on spending a good amount of time at my local zoo to get some practice photographing animals. I've seen quite a few really nice zoo photos on NPN, so I thought I would give it a try. For those who regularly take photos at the zoo, I'm wondering if you hand hold or use a monopod?

I handhold but often there are lots of railings that work well as support. Be careful of little kids bumping into you just as you click but at least the animal isn't going to disappear. I find the trickiest thing to be not making it look like a zoo, shooting through the enclosure materials, and an inability to choose early morning or late day light. The zoos usually aren't open then. I have a great time though and its wonderful when you can't get out anywhere else to have somewhere to spend your pixels.

As for enclosure materials (bars and such), I recently read that they will fade out of view in a photo if they're closer to the camera than to the animal. I'm glad it's that way around!

Not that I've really been able to test the theory so far... Anyone here who knows more?

If you are concerned about enclosure material such as bars, wire mesh, bird netting and glass, use of a telephoto lens will take care of that as long as you put the front of the lens up close to whatever you're shooting through. For glass, it helps to use a polarizer. Hand holding is easier if the zoo is impossibly crowded. Some exhibits can be pretty dark, though, so at least a monopod would help a lot. I've use a tripod without too much difficulty, though. It helps if you go to the zoo with lots of time, so you can wait out the crowds as they cycle through the exhibits. Usually there's a few minutes, every few minutes, when there is space to capture a good lookout for yourself and unfold the tripod. Once you're set up, hang on to your spot so you can watch for good shots. Animals are usually most active in the early in the a.m. when the zoo opens and again in the afternoon, and always when the keepers set up "enrichment" times for the animals that get them hunting for their treats. The zoo can tell you when those times are. Hope that helps. And don't forget to show us what you get!

For those of us who do not have the opportunity to go on a safari or have other access to wild animals the zoo is a great place to visit. It entertains the children and gives us an opportunity to get some shooting in. As for much of my shooting, it is best to go on an overcast day. As for the bars: Shoot on an overcast day; use at least a 300mm lens; handhold because of the space between the railing and the cage. Watch your backgrounds. Go as early as possible since once the sun comes out they tend to sleep, making for a very uninteresting picture. Regardless of the view of many here it is difficult to get good zoo shots but everyone can have a great day while you're trying.

I agree with the comments about shooting through bars or fence and would add that you need to open your aperture wide open and use a lens 300mm and up. Also, not only do you want to be close to the fence, you need to wait for the subject to move away. In sum: big lens, large aperture, you close to fence, subject away from fence and when you do all that, the fence disappears.

If you have a really long lens, you can even be quite a distance away. I regularly shoot my 500 on a tripod from about 6 feet away from a fence at one jaguar exhibit and absolutely no sign of the chain link fence at all. I regularly use a tripod without any issues although I get there as soon as the doors open and do leave when the crowds begin coming.

That said, I get tons of great shots with a 100-400 zoom handheld, through fences, glass and otherwise too. Very versatile range and at the 400 end, that's plenty of glass to make fences go away if you do the steps above. Check my website under "fauna-captive" for some examples and see if you can tell they're taken at the zoo.

I'll likely never make it to Africa either, something that breaks my heart. So this is a wonderfully rewarding experience for me and I never tire of it. Go enjoy it. Try without a tripod first and find out best days and best times for low crowds and then maybe you can try a tripod at those times. Have fun.
John Reed

I just looked at John Reed's website and he has some delightful shoots of many zoo animals but it brought up another important point. Not all zoos are equal. Our zoo still has many old fashioned enclosures and many have no grass inside, just dirt. You can come away feeling very bad for some of the animals. Our zoo is working to build new enclosures and move the animals into those which will be very beneficial to the animals and photographers alike. Hours it is open to the public are 9 AM to 5 PM so light is a hard one to deal with too, but as someone said cloudy days make it easier to make the enclosure materials disappear. I think Cheryl Molendar has posted shots from a zoo in your area in the past. You might want to contact her for specifics about that zoo. I look forward to wonderful exotic posts from you soon.

I agree that zoos offer great opportunities to see and photograph animals we may never see in the wild, however some zoos have very strict policies regarding photography and the future use of said images. Example; I was told by members of the central states forum to visit the Fort Worth Zoo when I visited Texas this past fall (tri-pod friendly,etc.). When I checked their web site it mentioned "No publication or sharing on the internet". One could avoid bands or ear tags, enclosures, et.al., but I am unaware of the legal repercussions and most of my rebelliousness has left as I've aged(sad but safer), so I haven't posted anything from that trip. Hope that helps,just my two cents. Have fun

Thanks for the help everyone. I'll plan for now to handhold my 300mm IS lens and go to the zoo as early as they open on a cloudy day. I'll post any good shots I get!

Here is an example of the barbs/wires fading away with a 135L. The fade away statement is very true indeed! Be sure to try and use the widest possible aperture!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shivakumar_shankar/2570088622/in/set-72157605553548989/