Here are some tips for making the best of your camera and lenses during your next zoo trip. What you need: your camera and a telephoto lens. (Reported by: Yurika Terashima, Digital Camera Magazine/ Venue: Zoorasia, Yokohama Zoological Gardens)

EOS R6 Mark II/ RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM/ FL: 500mm/ Manual exposure (f/7.1, 1/80 sec)/ ISO 200

 

1. Nail those expressive close-ups with the right AF mode settings

The zoo is full of picture opportunities, but one type of shot you will want to catch are close-ups. Whether an animal is eating, stretching, doing things animals do, or showing surprisingly humanlike emotions, close-ups are a direct and impactful way to capture its gestures and expressions.

Nailing the focus is a must for such scenes. After all, even the most perfect moment will result in a failed shot if the image is not sharp where it’s supposed to be. Here’s how you can set up your camera’s autofocus (AF) for even higher chances of success!

Tip 1: Enable Animal Detection AF

The Animal Detection AF function on recent EOS R series cameras was trained through deep learning. It can automatically detect the face, head, eyes, and torso of dogs, cats, and birds. Some models such as the EOS R8 and EOS R6 Mark II can also detect horses. When you set the “Subject to detect” to “Animals”, the camera prioritises animals even if there are people or vehicles in the frame.

Tip 2: Switch AF area modes according to the situation

A larger AF area such as one of the Expand AF area modes would be more effective when photographing an animal’s entire body or groups of animals like the image above.

If there are obstructions in front of you such as fences or cages, use a more precise AF area mode such as Spot AF or 1-point AF. A larger AF area might end up focusing on the obstructions instead. Switch to a larger AF area mode, such as one of the Flexible Zone AF or Expand AF area modes, to keep groups of animals in focus.

Find out more about AF area modes and AF settings in:
5 Tips for Better Subject Detection and Tracking

Tip 3: Use Servo AF mode to track moving animals

If the animal is moving, make sure you’re in Servo AF mode. Its excellent tracking performance follows the animal anywhere across the entire AF area (100% of the image area on most cameras when using a compatible lens), providing lots of flexibility even if you need to change your composition.

Useful function: Silent shutter

The silent shutter function not only disables shutter release sounds, it also turns off other light and sound sources such as touch sounds, the self-timer lamp and sounds, the AF-assist beam, and flash firing. This lets you shoot unobtrusively during feeding time or other zoo events.

Flashes and the AF-assist beam could stress out some animals and make them react unpredictably or feel unwell, so there’s a double benefit in disabling them.

 

2. To get rid of wire fences, use the longest focal length possible

EOS R6 Mark II/ RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM/ FL: 500mm/ Manual exposure (f/7.1, 1/640 sec)/ ISO 200

Many zoo enclosures are surrounded by wire mesh, which will show up as dark lines in your images if you shoot through them normally. To get a good shot of the animal in the enclosure without those lines:

1. Set the widest aperture (smallest f-number) possible.
2. Use the longest focal length on your lens.
3. Put the lens as close to the fence as you can.

This should blur out the wire mesh and make them less visible, or even remove them altogether.

Bonus tip: If the animal is too close to the fence, the wires won’t be blurred out as effectively. If that happens, wait until the animal moves further away.

Learn more tips on this technique in: How to Photograph Zoo Animals Through a Wire Fence

Gear recommendation: A lens that reaches 300mm or longer

A super telephoto lens that reaches at least 300mm (full-frame equivalent) is ideal for this. It will help you get better close-ups of the animals and blur out wire fences more effectively.

 

3. Use High-speed continuous shooting + (H+) mode to capture tiny variations in movement

EOS R6 Mark II/ RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM/ FL: 168mm/ Manual exposure (f/7.1, 1/640 sec)/ ISO 800

Capturing decisive moments in the zoo can be more challenging than you think! Set your drive mode to ‘High-speed continuous shooting +’ (H+) to use the fastest continuous shooting speed possible on your camera. This will increase your chances of capturing the most picture-perfect pose possible.

The higher your camera’s fastest continuous shooting speed, the more capable it is of capturing the slightest variations in movements. The EOS R8 and EOS R6 Mark II can shoot up to 40 frames per second (fps)! Such split-second variations can make a difference to the impact of what is captured: you might even make new discoveries when looking through the pictures.

Tip: Use continuous shooting selectively—don’t just hold down the shutter!

It might be tempting to just hold down the shutter button in continuous shooting mode, but your camera can’t keep taking continuous shots indefinitely. After a short while, it will stop and be busy as it writes the images to your memory card. You won’t be able to release the shutter in the meantime, during which anything can happen!

How long each burst lasts depends on several factors: your camera, memory card, and sometimes even the battery life. Ration your continuous shooting carefully: watch and hold down the shutter only for as long as the action unfolds. This will also result in less to delete when you cull your images later.

Learn more about shutter modes and continuous shooting modes in:
Shutter Modes & Continuous Shooting Modes: When to Use Which?

Useful function: RAW Burst mode and pre-shooting

Don’t fret if you’re unable to anticipate what an animal will do next. When you enable the RAW burst mode and pre-shooting, the camera will capture moments up to 0.5 seconds before shutter release.  You can find out more about the mode and how to use it in Camera FAQ: What are RAW Burst and Pre-shooting?