Tips for Photography in a Zoological Park

Many amateur photographers, at some time or other, consider wide-life photography as a genre they would like to pursue.   Serious wildlife photography, however, involves considerable investment in equipment, time, money and most importantly, patience. One may end up in a reserve forest with heavy equipment for hours together without a single sighting of the animal or bird he or she has been waiting for. This is where a visit to a zoo in your city becomes a promising proposition. Most large cities have zoological parks. One can take fairly decent wildlife pictures in a zoo with minimum investment in equipment, time and money. While this is surely not a substitute for true wild-life photography, it may be a more viable option for many. If you intend to take reasonably good images of birds and animals in a zoo these tips may be of some help to you.

1. Try to visit the zoo on a working day. This may involve taking a day off from work but will surely help you in getting some great images. On weekends these places are too crowded and noisy. It is important to find out the day when the park is closed. Just imagine travelling all the way to a park like the Bannerghatta National park, Bangalore on a Tuesday and realising that it is their off day!

2. Start as early as possible. It is best to be there as soon as the place opens. The animals will be in a more relaxed state and the place will be clean. The lighting also will be better early in the morning.

3. It is better to go with minimum equipment. If you have a DSLR, the kit lens is quite adequate. If you are using a compact camera or a ‘bridge’camera make sure you are familiar with the operation of optical zoom feature. In fact even if you have no camera, your mobile phone can take reasonably good images.

4. One of the major challenges of taking images in a zoo is that very often one has to take images through a wire mesh which forms an integral part of the animal ‘cage’. Sometimes this mesh is so small that it is impossible for your camera lens to get an unobstructed view of the animals inside (this is where a mobile phone camera wins hands down as the lens is usually small enough to clear the wire mesh). There are some tricks to overcome this problem. Bring in your lens as close to the mesh as possible.  If possible, bring it flush with the mesh. If using a zoom lens, zoom in as much as you can. If your camera has manual mode or aperture priority mode (TV mode in Canon), open up the aperture to the maximum (the smallest f/ stop number). Larger the aperture, the better. If you are not able to go close enough to the mesh your autofocus may try to focus on the mesh rather than the subject. If this happens, resort to manual focusing. Now gently press the shutter release. In all probability, you will get a reasonably good image without the mesh.



Image taken on a mobile phone to show the size of the mesh. Mobile phone image by Ms. Preethi Nair

Image taken on mobile phone by placing the lens on the gap in the mesh. Mobile phone image by Ms. Preethi Nair

 

Image taken on a DSLR using wide aperture technique to eliminate the mesh

 

Iguana- photographed through the mesh on DSLR using large aperture. Mesh totally eliminated

5. Shoot from as many angles as possible.

6. Do not use Flash.

7. Be as quiet and as unobtrusive as you can. Your movements may irritate the animals and they may move away.

8. If an animal is sleeping do not make noises to wake it. Respect the animals’ need to rest. Moreover, remember sleeping animals also make good pictures.

9. While in a zoo do not ignore the flora and fauna around you. You may get some excellent images of flowers and butterflies if you look around.

Image taken on a mobile phone at Bannerghatta National Park. Mobile phone image by Ms Preethi Nair



Colourful plant captured at Bannerghatta National Park

        

A DSLR image taken at Bannerghatta park

Please see the Photo Gallery section for more images taken during my visit to Bannerghatta National Park, Bangalore

7 Golden Rules of Composition

In a creative field like photography one should not get bogged down by 'rules'. However, the fact remains that some of these 'rules' were formulated much before the advent of Photography. Many owe their origin to well-known painters of the bygone era. Even today, for instance,portrait photographers talk of Rembrandt Lighting.

Should we just ignore the golden rules formed over the years in the name of creativity? My answer would be to be aware of the rules but decide if you want to follow them depending on your style of photography, the effect you want to create and the situation.

You may want to totally ignore the so called rules and evolve your own creative style. For a beginner though, some of these rules may be invaluable as a starting point in composing good images. In this blog I will cover some of the guidelines which may help you create great images.

1. Rule of the thirds:

This is perhaps the most touted rule of photography. Simply stated it means that if a scene is pided into nine equal parts using two equally spaced horizontal and vertical lines, placing the object of interest on any of the four intersections of these horizontal and vertical lines will enhance the composition by highlighting the object and creating a visually more appealing perspective.

In this image, the pelican is roughly on the bottom right intersection of the vertical and horizontal lines.

2. Do not center your subject in the frame

This rule is a corollary of the rule of the rule of thirds. Placing an object in the dead center of the frame renders the subject static and compositionally devoid of interest. Place the main subject off center. This will result in a more dynamic and vibrant composition.

3. Let your subject move into the frame rather than move out of it:

This is an important aspect to consider while composing. For instance, if you are photographing flying birds, a moving car or any moving object make sure you have more space ahead of your object than behind it. This creates a better dimension of space and motion.

4. Beware of the background and distractions:

While concentrating on the main theme or subject, one should not neglect the background. Instances of a tree or a lamppost just behind a portrait subject can be distracting.

5. Focus on the eye:

Whether you are shooting wildlife or portraits, ensure that the eyes are in sharp focus. If both the eyes are not on the same plane, the one closest to the camera should be in sharp focus. Most of the reputed publications reject an image outright if the eyes are not in sharp focus. Improper focus in the eye is a major distraction.

6. Keep the horizon straight:

In Landscape photography ensure that the horizon is not tilted. While tilted horizon can be easily corrected in post processing, it will save a lot of time if taken care of at the time of shooting

7. Do not place the horizon at the center of the frame

If your foreground is more interesting, let it occupy about 75 % of the frame . If on the other hand the sky is your main area of interest let the sky cover 75 % of the frame. An image, where the sky bisects the image in the center, will not appear appealing.

These seven rules are of paramount importance while composing the image. There are many more aspects related to composition and lighting like balancing elements, leading and converging lines which I will discuss in future posts.