Wildlife photography holidays guide


Our Wildlife photography Holidays
Orangutan photography in Borneo
Develop your photography skills in Borneo
Brown bear photography holiday in Alaska
Photograph Alaskan brown bears in exclusive photo tour
Wildlife photography and volunteering in South Africa
Enjoy amazing wildlife photography while giving back!
Iceland birds & landscapes photography tour
Fabulous Birds and Landscapes photo tour Arctic Iceland
Arctic wildlife holiday, Polar bear explorer
A wildlife focused Arctic safari in Svalbard
Wildlife photography internship in the Peruvian Amazon
Improve your photography skills while having an adventure
Amur leopard photography tour in Russia
Photograph the world’s rarest cat, the amazing Amur leopard
Southern Madagascar photography holiday
Taking great pictures and discovering an amazing country
Tiger and wildlife photography tour, India
Tiger photography tour in India's best tiger reserves
Namibia photography holiday
Photograph Namibia's impressive landscape on exclusive tour
Galapagos conservation & photography holiday
Conservation volunteering and photography in the Galapagos
Bear photography tour in Finland
Photograph brown bears in specialist photography pro-hides
Wildlife photography holiday in India
Photograph superb wildlife & even the illusive tiger
South Africa wildlife photography safari
Enjoy incredible photography during an exclusive safari
Amur leopard & Siberian tiger photography tour
Unique chance to photograph Siberian Tigers & Amur Leopards
Winter wildlife photography tour in Japan
Photograph Japan’s Spectacular Winter Wildlife on this Tour
Wolverine photography tour in Finland
Photograph & watch wild wolverines, a very elusive species
Siberian tiger photography tour
A photopraphy unique tour to photograph wild Siberian Tigers
Amazon photography holiday, Peru
Take Amazon wildlife pictures on Peru photography workshop
Spitsbergen widlife photography cruise
Photograph iconic Arctic wildlife
Madagascar Photography holiday
Photograph Madagascar's unspoiled beauty on exclusive tour
Wildlife photography holiday in Finland
Wolverine photographing in winterland Finland
Gorilla photography holiday in Uganda
Uganda mountain gorilla and chimpanzee photography holiday
Masai Mara photographic safari in Kenya
A safari for any wilderness fan or photographer
Antarctic photography cruise, South Georgia & Falklands
A must for photographers and wilderness fans
Wildlife photography and conservation in South Africa
Photography and conservation on a Big 5 game reserve
Kamchatka photography holiday in Russia
Photograph brown bears in remote Far Eastern Russia
Amazon wildlife photography holiday in Peru
Wild photography adventure in the Amazon Rainforest
What do wildlife photography holidays involve?
Do I need to be an experienced photographer?
Not at all. The only qualification for this kind of trip is having a camera with at least some manual settings. Obviously it will be helpful if you already know your way around your camera before departure, but these trips are just as suitable for those new to wildlife photography as they are to practised old hands.Non-photographers can get a lot from this trip too, so while solo travellers are common, many people choose to bring along a friend or partner who will simply enjoy the holiday without looking through a viewfinder once.
How do we find the wildlife?
Some trips, such as in Madagascar, Uganda and Borneo, involve trekking which can be fairly laborious especially in hot or wet weather. You don’t need to be super fit but a decent level of physical fitness will be to your advantage, and some trips will also feature early starts and late finishes, especially where game drives are involved.
Tailor made or small group tour?
While the majority of wildlife photography holidays are small group tours (a great way to compare notes, share tips with likeminded fellow travellers and keep costs down), some, such as photographing tigers in India or wolverines in Finland, lend themselves well to tailor made itineraries. If you are able to shoulder the extra cost you can even opt for a solo tour, allowing you to benefit hugely from one-on-one tuition throughout.Antarctic expedition ships, on the other hand, can carry upwards of 100 passengers. Yet the wealth of different activities included, and the fact that experienced photographers make themselves available throughout the voyage to pass on their knowledge, means that you should still find such a cruise immensely satisfying.
Technical tips
Keep in mind that in some places, such as Borneo, Madagascar or Uganda, the electricity supply can be unreliable. Batteries can die quickly in cold environments such as Antarctica and Finland. Bringing along extra, charged, batteries, can help you cope with unexpected problems. Tripods aren’t always practical, but a photographer’s beanbag is a good way to stabilise cameras on tree branches or window ledges (particularly if shooting from a vehicle), and in cold weather a pair of photographers’ gloves may come in handy.If you have more than one camera body, consider bringing one with a standard telephoto lens and another with a wider or mid-range zoom, thereby reducing the need to swap lenses in humid or dusty environments. Bring your laptop too if you can, if you want to improve your post-production skills and back up files as you go.
As many of these trips take place in quite extreme environments it’s vital to protect your equipment from the elements: heat, humidity, snow, dust – and of course you’ll want to make sure it is fully insured. Ensure you carry as much as you can in your hand luggage to reduce the risk of it being damaged or going missing – charge your batteries as you may need to prove at security that equipment is working. Suppliers can provide priceless advice on secure packing if this is something you’re not used to.
“The best lens for mountain gorilla photography is without doubt a 70-200mm F2.8 which gives the perfect focal range and is also great in lower light in the forest. Having said that a wider angle lens can also be suitable as some encounters will be very close. There's no problem with humidity for mountain gorillas as these forests are high. In Borneo for orangutans the humidity is nearly 100 percent and I recommend people leave their cameras in their bag each night with some silica gel.”
Our top Wildlife photography Holiday
Orangutan photography in Borneo
Develop your photography skills in Borneo
2021: 7 Nov, 22 Nov
Best time to go on a wildlife photography holiday

