Wildlife Photography Tips for Your Next Tanzania Safari

Lions rest for much of the day, so the best photographs come early and late, when they wake, groom, play or start to hunt. Be patient with sleeping prides and watch for yawns, which make dramatic portraits. Shoot at eye level where possible, and frame lions on Serengeti kopjes for a classic, powerful and timeless composition.

Leopards are shy and often rest in trees, especially sausage trees and acacias along Serengeti rivers. Branches can clutter the frame, so change angle to find a clear view of the face. Use a wide aperture to soften leaves, and wait patiently for the leopard to move, stretch or descend, which creates the strongest images.

Cheetahs hunt in daylight on open plains, giving excellent chances for action photography. Use at least 1/2000 second and continuous autofocus to freeze a chase, and pre-focus while the cheetah is stalking. Between hunts, photograph cheetahs scanning from termite mounds or vehicle-free vantage points, with clean, uncluttered grass backgrounds and soft early morning or evening light.

Elephants make wonderful subjects for both portraits and environmental images. Photograph family herds interacting, calves playing and herds walking through dust in golden light. Tight, close crops of eyes, trunks and textured skin create striking details, while wide shots of elephants beneath baobabs in Tarangire show their impressive scale and the wider beauty of the landscape.

Ngorongoro Crater offers some of the best chances in Tanzania to photograph the rare black rhino, usually at a distance across open grassland. Use your longest lens and a stable beanbag, and include the crater walls for context. Buffalo are easier to approach, and their intense stare and curved horns make powerful, dramatic and memorable portraits.

Tanzania hosts more than a thousand bird species, from lilac-breasted rollers and bee-eaters to eagles, kingfishers and flamingos. Use a fast shutter speed and your longest lens, and look for birds on clean perches against soft backgrounds. Early mornings, wetlands and the green season from November to April are especially rewarding for colourful bird photography in Tanzania.

The Great Migration moves in a broad annual cycle, from the southern plains in the calving season to the western corridor and the northern Serengeti for river crossings. Movements depend on rainfall, so timings vary each year. Choose camps close to the herds for your travel dates, and ask your guide about recent herd locations daily.

River crossings in the northern Serengeti can be spectacular, but herds may gather for hours before crossing, or not cross at all. Position early with good light and a clear view, then wait quietly. Use a long lens for drama and expressions, a wider lens for scale, and burst mode to capture the decisive moments.

Dust kicked up by moving herds glows beautifully when backlit by low sunrise or sunset light. Position the vehicle so the sun is behind the animals, expose for the bright highlights and let the shadows fall dark. These atmospheric images often become the most artistic and memorable photographs of the entire Great Migration season in Tanzania.

The Great Migration is about scale as well as drama. Combine wide images showing endless lines of wildebeest across the plains with tight details of faces, splashing water, calves and predators. Shooting a sequence of wide, medium and close images tells a far more complete story than many similar frames taken from exactly the same angle.

Most safari vehicles in Tanzania have a pop-up roof, giving a high, all-round view that is excellent for scanning and wide scenes. For animals close to the vehicle, shoot through the open window instead, which gives a lower and more intimate perspective. Switching between the two adds valuable variety and interest to all your safari photographs.

A beanbag is the safari photographer's best friend, steadying long lenses on the window frame or roof edge. Bring an empty beanbag and fill it with rice or beans in Arusha to save luggage weight. Turn on image stabilisation, keep your elbows tucked in and avoid resting your lens on the vehicle when the engine is running.

Your guide is your most valuable photography partner. Explain your priorities, such as big cats, birds or landscapes, and ask them to position the vehicle with the sun behind you. Agree simple signals for stopping, switching off the engine and moving slightly forward or back, so you never miss an important moment at a sighting.

A private safari vehicle makes the biggest difference to your wildlife photographs. You decide how long to stay at each sighting, when to wait for light or behaviour and where to position, with plenty of space for camera bags and beanbags. Your guide can focus completely on your photographic goals throughout every single game drive of your safari.