Chester Zoo tips please !
- Thread starter Ricky T
- Start date
I loved my day at Chester Zoo recently:
When shooting against glass if you have a lens hood try and get the hood flat against the glass to reduce reflections.
Try and find out feeding times, some of my favorite shots were at the end of the day when I happened to be near the meerkat's and they got fed mice, totally different shots to the usual 'sentry' shots.
Look for the good light and try waiting for an animal to go there instead of just shooting it where it happens to be at the time.
Two that have stuck with me recently are: look both at the forground and background when taking a shot, and 'whens the best time to shoot portait? straight after horizontal'
See through your own eyes, not just the viewfinder, I work at Knowsley and sometimes take the animals for granted but just spend time watching them instead of taking pictures all day too
When shooting against glass if you have a lens hood try and get the hood flat against the glass to reduce reflections.
Try and find out feeding times, some of my favorite shots were at the end of the day when I happened to be near the meerkat's and they got fed mice, totally different shots to the usual 'sentry' shots.
Look for the good light and try waiting for an animal to go there instead of just shooting it where it happens to be at the time.
Two that have stuck with me recently are: look both at the forground and background when taking a shot, and 'whens the best time to shoot portait? straight after horizontal'
See through your own eyes, not just the viewfinder, I work at Knowsley and sometimes take the animals for granted but just spend time watching them instead of taking pictures all day too
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cosmix3
David Sullivan
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I loved my day at Chester Zoo recently:
When shooting against glass if you have a lens hood try and get the hood flat against the glass to reduce reflections.
Try and find out feeding times, some of my favorite shots were at the end of the day when I happened to be near the meerkat's and they got fed mice, totally different shots to the usual 'sentry' shots.
Look for the good light and try waiting for an animal to go there instead of just shooting it where it happens to be at the time.
Two that have stuck with me recently are: look both at the forground and background when taking a shot, and 'whens the best time to shoot portait? straight after horizontal'
See through your own eyes, not just the viewfinder, I work at Knowsley and sometimes take the animals for granted but just spend time watching them instead of taking pictures all day too
Some very good tips there, one of the main thing I look for at any zoo (not been to chester though) is to try to not get any sign of the enclosuers in the shot, gives a natural feel.
lawrie29
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Get there early to get your monies worth.
Take a packed lunch, cos the food is expensive and if you have to queue you can't snap.
Get a timetable of events to work out what you want to see - lions, penguins, jaguar monkeys etc.
As said above, spend all day, till they kick you out.
Ask the keepers what is happening if you can, eg. chat up the lion keepers to find out where they are hiding the food that day so you can be set up real close to the food, without being 3 rows of people back.
Accept the fact that shots through glass will never come out, they will have either slobber from the creatures on the inside, or slobber from the creatures on the outside to ruin them.
Take a packed lunch, cos the food is expensive and if you have to queue you can't snap.
Get a timetable of events to work out what you want to see - lions, penguins, jaguar monkeys etc.
As said above, spend all day, till they kick you out.
Ask the keepers what is happening if you can, eg. chat up the lion keepers to find out where they are hiding the food that day so you can be set up real close to the food, without being 3 rows of people back.
Accept the fact that shots through glass will never come out, they will have either slobber from the creatures on the inside, or slobber from the creatures on the outside to ruin them.