I recently took a trip to the zoo to do a test on a camera that I was reviewing and thought I’d share a few tips that I put into practice along the way.

Zoos are great locations to practice photography as they present us both with a great variety of subjects (both animals and the people watching them) but also with some real challenges. Some of the things you’ll need to overcome in getting great shots at a zoo include:

Distance – the space between photographer and animal
Moving Subjects – animals rarely stay in the one place for long
Tricky Lighting – foliage and indoor/outdoor shooting can prove to be challenging
Cages and Glass – while many zoos are improving in how they contain their animals and are giving them more natural surroundings the challenge of photographing them without the distractions of reflections off glass or grim looking bars both in the foreground and background add to the ‘fun’ of zoo photography