Photographic safari in Botswana

On the whole, people in remote parts of Botswana enjoy having their pictures taken, they find it flattering and amusing.

But some people object very strongly to having cameras pointed at them without being asked first. This is sometimes because of deeply held traditional beliefs about cameras being able to steal their souls, but more commonly it is that they simply find it understandably rude and intrusive.

In areas where the locals are used to seeing travellers, it can also be that they want to extract some kind of fee from you for the privilege.

In any event, here are some of our own tried and tested solutions …

The most important aspect of taking photos of people in rural areas is to take your time and show your humanity. If you roll into a village as a stranger and start snapping away indiscriminately then you are not going to make many friends and you are not going to get very good pictures.

If possible, you should arrive with a guide who knows the local people, or who at least speaks the local language.

Start by showing some interest in the village as a whole, perhaps there is something small you can purchase, even just a Coke. That gives you the excuse to linger and the chance to break the ice with one or two of the locals.

Go out of your way to show yourself as a smiling, receptive and sympathetic person. Rural people naturally view outsiders with a good deal of scepticism, especially if you are obviously foreign. They will usually be polite but distant and it’s up to you to break down the barriers. You might wear a daft hat or some other such device, to help you appear less serious and forbidding.

At some stage the camera has to come out. Children are often the best starting subjects, since you can usually steal a snap without making them angry. If you very quickly move to show them the image on the screen, then you should quickly start to make some friends.

Photography should become easier from there. The key word is respect and the method is simply being friendly, sympathetic and approachable.

By the time you leave, both you and the villagers should be feeling happy and rewarded by the experience. And the photos will be worth so much more to you.

kindness and patience delivers better pictures

The challenge in urban areas of Botswana is that there may not be the chance to stop and be intimate. You cannot make friends with everyone along a roadside or in a busy market, although opportunities to do so should be sought out.

A key method here is to make it absolutely clear to any observers that you are taking pictures of the buildings and physical features rather than of people. This can be done by looking up at facades, taking in the detail of a road surface, or obviously waiting for people to pass out of a photo before taking it.

Once the locals understand that they are simply in the way of what you want to photograph, rather than being the subject matter, objections tend to subside considerably.

Whether you then abuse this situation by using your long zoom or wide angle to take portraits of individuals is on your conscience. We have missed so many wonderful photo opportunities because we could not bring ourseves to break the trust.

On occasion, you may encounter strong and even aggressive resistance from locals. In these rare cases, it can be a good idea to have a back up plan in place. For example, you could say that you are investigating the practicalities of improving the road or other infrastructure. Local people tend to be naturally respectful of officialdom, so this kind of statement usually works well to diffuse a potentially difficult situation, giving you the chance to exchange some genuine pleasantries.

be subtle and have a back up plan

The staff in lodges are generally much more willing to have their photos taken, but you should still take care and be sympathetic.

Obviously, the front of house team (guides, managers and waiting staff) should all be fine, they are used to it.

But by the time you get to the laundry ladies and kitchen staff there can be a good deal more reticence and the techniques described in the village section above can be used.

We strongly recommend including the local staff in your photos, it can really work well and it can be a nice ice-breaker, when done properly.

staff are usually at ease with cameras

If you want to take photos of animals in Botswana, then it’s usually best to have a decent zoom lens.

The distance to which you can approach an animal depends upon their level of habituation and the means which you are using to approach.

Animals are generally more habituated in areas where they are used to being visited, so generally the more busy the safari area, the closer the sightings.

The best way to get very close to an animal is to be concealed within a hide, usually alongside a waterhole..

The most common way to approach animals is on a vehicle safari. It is rare for animals to be hunted or seriously harassed by vehicles (most of their bad experiences will occur with people on foot), so animals are often very relaxed to the approach of vehicles.

In some areas, cheetahs will actually climb onto a vehicle to use it as a lookout, whilst lions and hyenas may creep underneath to take advantage of the shade. Younger predators may even try to chew the tires.

Another great way to get up close to some animals is on a canoe safari, especially for crocodiles, hippos and elephants, but also for any other animals which happen to be on the banks.

On the whole walking safari does not involve really close encounters with large animals and photographic opportunities are more macro and micro, of landscapes and details. Having said that, there’s maybe no better safari photo than a group of people tentatively approaching wildlife.

There is no point in us getting into a deep discussion about image composition, since there are as many opinions about this as there are photographers.

The one thing that we would say, however, is that it’s always worth seeking out a new angle on something. How many billions of photos have been taken from safari vehicles of lions lying in the middle distance?

As screens get bigger, the modern trend is for showing animals in their context, rather than being too preoccupied with the kind of close-up portraits that have been taken so many times before.

Some of the best images we have taken in Botswana have been of lesser animals and even insects.

There are tens of thousands of photos on this website, it’s probably worth taking a good look through before you travel in the hope of finding some inspiration. Most of our best photos are not the result of one-in-a-million sightings, but simple details or angles that could have been taken by anyone with the right eye.

maybe try to avoid obvious portraiture

There are very few places in Botswana where we would be unhappy to take photos, there are opportunities at every turn.

Having said that, the wetland areas of the Okavango Delta and Linyanti Waterfront are particularly scenic and the wildlife sightings are more reliable.

If you want to take photos of specific subjects then simply ask us and we will do our best to get you there. We are all keen photographers.

it’s more about you than the location

Generally speaking we like to take most of our photos at either end of the day.

Before sunrise is not a time of day that we tend to be very focused on our photography, but we wish you the best of luck, if you are a really early riser!

Around sunrise, the light can be magical, especially if you are picking up animals like monkeys, who are warming themselves in the first rays after a cold night, or when a pride of lions is emerging from a hunt in the long dew-laden grass and finding a prominent anthill upon which to sunbathe. Even the steam coming off the kettle over the campfire can be utterly magical at this time.

For a few hours either side of noon the light can become rather stark and unforgiving. We like to head into woodlands at this time and take advantage of the dappled light leaking through the canopy. Having said that, we do tend to prefer animal photos taken in honest true-colour daylight.

Towards sundown, the light can become uncomfortably thick and gloopy and we are in serious danger of taking cheesy sunsets. But there can be amazing opportunities. For example, elephants throwing plumes of dust over themselves with the light behind, or the setting sun glowing red through heavy foliage.

For about twenty minutes after sunset, the plaid remains of the day can provide some really soft and subtle light. As it gets too dark for your long lens, you might get some interesting out-of-focus effects.

After dark, it can be very hit and miss, especially as you try to figure out whether the spotter’s torch is a help or a hindrance to your photography. We just take loads of images and the odd one can work out.

every hour offers a different photographic opportunity

During the summer of 2023, we ditched our extensive SLR camera bags and converted completely to using smartphones for stills and video.

This has been a great liberation in terms of the amount of gear that we need to haul around and means that we can now fly hand luggage only everywhere.

The turning point for us was the launch of the iPhone 14Pro, which we found was able to deliver still images suitable for large displays and 4k video. The standard iPhones are presently not good enough, it is the Pro suffix that makes all the difference.

We have found that an iPhone is easily sufficient for us to take documentary photos of lodges and safari activities.

We have also been bowled over by how easy it is to take quality video of a camp and edit into a full video right there on the phone, often whilst lying in a hammock outside our room, all on the same day. The image stabilisation is incredible.

However, a smart phone may not be sufficient for your needs, especially if you want to capture large format images and use a long zoom to get closer and compress the perspective.

When we do travel with an SLR camera bag, we tend to take three different lenses. Preferably these should be on three camera bodies, so you don’t need to keep changing lenses, but this is a bit excessive. Two bodies is a blessing though, if you have them.

The first lens we carry is an ultra-wide, almost fish-eye. This is great for room interiors, but is also fabulous for capturing whole scenes. If you intend to use your images for full screen use, then these wide shots are much more modern. You can always use Photoshop to zoom in or even de-fish the images.

The second lens that we carry is a mid-range zoom, maybe 30-70mm or 30-150mm. This is good for standard photography, all the in-between stuff. However, we do find ourselves using this less frequently these days, as we tend towards the extremes to get more exciting results.

The third lens that we love to have with us is a long zoom. If you intend to take serious portraits of animals or use depth-of-field and compression effects in-camera, then you should bring as long a zoom lens as you can. Up to 200mm would be the minimum, 400mm and above would be preferable. We tend to carry a 500mm, but at that size it’s starting to look like something a professional photographer would have by the side of a sports field. They can get really bulky and heavy.

If you do bring long lenses, then another little tip is to take empty bean bags for your cameras, which can be filled at the other end with beans or rice, to provide a steady base from which to shoot, especially from safari vehicles.

Be warned, safari can eat cameras alive. Our reconnaissance department used to send 2 or 3 cameras for serious maintenance every year. The biggest culprits are sand and water ingress, but there seems to be an infinite number of ways in which a camera can bite the dust.

Perhaps our most important words of advice are to carry a spare camera (or phone) with you at all times and make sure that you backup your data at least every day.

smartphones are now a legitimate option

The use of drones is heavily frowned on by authorities in many countries, including Botswana, and is widely controlled.

At some country borders you may have your equipment confiscated on arrival and may even, in extreme cases, be refused entry to the country.

Drones are sometimes viewed as a threat to national security. Our advice is to be extremely careful where you choose to use them.

Even if the country does allow drones, their use is usually strictly prohibited in most wildlife areas.

Drones can rarely be used to take footage of safari wildlife. Many animals are simply afraid of the unknown, others mistake the noise for swarming bees, which they find very disturbing.

A range of one hundred metres is the kind of distance at which you may be able to fly without disturbing them, which basically means that they are dots on the horizon.

The close up drone footage that you can find out there on the internet is usually taken with disregard for the welfare of the animals and often in open contravention of reserve regulations.

This is in stark contrast to approaching by vehicle with a hand-held camera, where you can often get within five metres or less of elephants and even lions.

On the other hand, you may well be able to take awesome footage of lodges, landscapes and your safari vehicle cruising through the bush, as well as over villages, lakes and oceans, all of which can add up to a very nice short movie.

In the private concessions in Botswana it may be possible for you to fly a drone. Although it is officially not permitted, these camps are very remote and the chances of being caught by a ranger team and prosecuted are very low. However, if you do try to clear this with the lodge manager, it can be extremely difficult for them to give you the all clear, for fear of you being caught and them losing their job.

If you are really keen to take a drone with you, then please ask us to connect you with one of our photographers so that we can let you know our most up to date information for each area.

drones are not permitted in almost all areas

All the safari lodges in Botswana are known as ‘photographic camps’, in contrast to the ‘hunting camps’ that preceded them.

All of these properties ostensibly exist to provide guests with the opportunity to take photos of animals. However, some camps are much more serious about photography than others.

The first step is to have guides who understand photography. If you are out in a vehicle, then it is the guide who is in control of positioning you for each shot, so it’s really important that he knows what you need. In many of the best camps, the guides are also keen photographers and have their own SLRs along with them.

The next level is camps which have hides, set alongside waterholes and other key locations, where keen photographers can spend as much time as they like, waiting for the perfect shot. This is surprisingly rare in Botswana, but there are a few hides here and there.

Camps which are aimed at professional photographers may have specially adapted vehicles. At the lowest level this would mean the provision of leaning areas and beanbags for long lenses. At the extreme, it can mean special chairs that can rotate 360 degrees, vehicle roofs and sides that can be removed completely. At this level, it’s getting rather niche, serious and expensive.

Some very high-end lodges (notably those owned by Singita and Great Plains) provide every group of guests with a set of top-of-the-range safari equipment and offer expert advice on taking and editing images.

A few lodges have editing suites and large printers to create posters of your images the same day that you take them.

Let us know how far you want to take this and we will tailor your trip to suit.

all lodges are photographic lodges

Most of the camps and lodges in Botswana combine groups of guests onto their safari vehicles.

Usually the sharing of a safari vehicle is an integral part of the safari experience, the camp managers are careful about which guests they mix together and the vast majority of people are a delight to spend time with.

But for a photographer, sharing a vehicle can be really restrictive.

A private vehicle can be a major advantage, enabling you to specify your preferred routes and interests. It also allows you to spend extra time on sightings and move the vehicle time and again to get the best angles.

If you are travelling in a group of 5-7 people, then you will almost certainly get a private vehicle as standard, for no additional cost. If you are in a group of 3-4, then you may get a private vehicle, it depends on how many guests are in camp at the time. If you are 1-2 people, then you would be very lucky to get your own vehicle.

In all camps it is usually possible to pay extra for a private guide and vehicle. However, this can represent a very considerable extra cost, you quickly start to wonder how many days you would need to stay before you could have bought your own vehicle. The main reason for this is that the vehicles often have to be subcontracted and driven in from far afield.

a private vehicle can be a major advantage

We generally recommend that photographers travel on private itineraries. That gives us the chance to tailor your safari to exactly match your needs. It also fits in with the way virtually all the good lodges in Botswana operate, catering to small private groups.

For solo photographers who are keen to join a group of like-minded people, we work closely with a number of truly expert photographers, putting together fabulous tailor-made safaris that a limited number of people can join.

Please do ask and we will check the calendar for upcoming trips to Botswana.

group trips can work for serious solo photographers

If you would like to speak to an expert whilst putting your trip together, our team includes prize-winning safari photographers.

Our reconnaissance team has photographed over 4000 lodges and our safari experts have decades of experience building specialist photographic trips.

Use the Arrange a Call button top left and fix a time for one of our photographic experts to call you back. From there, if you want to proceed to putting a trip together, you can be passed on to one of our safari experts.

Whatever your hopes and ambitions for a photographic safari, whether to Botswana or any other safari location, we are ready and eager to help.

it’s always fun to chat about safari photography