Welcome To The Jungle

Shoot safari images – in a wildlife park! Adam Waring shows you how to get shots of lions and cheetahs that look as if they were taken on the savannah…

Wildlife doesn’t get wilder than lions, tigers and jaguars, oh my. But jetting off to Africa, Asia or South America to go on safari isn’t cheap, and there’s no guarantee of you coming across these fierce felines if you do.

Wildlife parks, on the other hand, offer assured access to these amazing animals, but the drawback is that there’s a physical barrier between you and them. No bad thing, considering these are predators that could consider a photographer to be a snack, but by following our tips, you can take brilliant natural looking images that look like they could have been shot in the wild.

You’ll need to get closer access than a regular zoo can provide. We headed to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent – a charitable organization dedicated to the conservation of these creatures. We photographed them under the advice of Lead Photographer Alma Leaper, who not only advised us on photographic techniques, but was able to encourage them into the perfect place. The cats reacted to her and she could guide them into position, with the help of treats thrown into their enclosures with pin-point accuracy…

STEP BY STEP / Nail majestic-looking big cat portraits

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