“I often hear it said, that when going on safari, one ‘must’ have a decent camera with a reasonable long tele-focus lens. And while it is an advantage to have (and use) such a camera, nowadays most people have very good smart phones (iPhones or Android-based) and prefer to travel light.”
“I take a lot of images and video clips with my smart phones. Personally I work with Canon mirrorless system cameras, Apple iPhones and a DJI Phantom drone. And in the last two years I’ve taught far more people ‘smart phone’ photography than ‘proper camera’ photography.“
Here are his five reasons why a Smart Phone Safari can work:
1. WIDE ANGLE – AVOID PINCHING
Smart phones are very good for taking a wide-angle picture (no pinching!). Focus on the beautiful scenery and the wildlife and you will create some great memories. Zooming in on pictures (pinching) should be avoided as most smart phones only provide digital zoom (equivalent to picture cropping). It’s therefore best to take the picture ‘un-zoomed’ and crop it later. Some advanced smartphones, e.g. iPhone 14/15 Pro, have a third tele-focus lens/camera which do provide optical tele-focus capability (up to 5x magnification).
2. DIFFICULT LIGHT
Smart phones are great for those difficult light conditions such as sunsets, sunrises and interesting cloud formations over beautiful scenery. These are much easier to capture with a smart phone than with a regular camera.
3. THROUGH BINOCULARS
Clip-on tele-focus lenses are available at very little cost and having such a lens will make it possible to get a better shot of distant targets e.g. lions, birds than just with the built in lens. Binoculars can also serve as a tele-focus lens (make sure there is a small distance between the camera lens and the binoculars ocular, focusing first on the subject with your binos, before using your smartphone camera). This only works in steady subjects.
4. MACRO
Smart phones are excellent at taking macro-shots. Anything from plants to small creatures can be captured very well. Make sure to check with your guide that it is safe to get close to any creature.
5. EYE LEVEL
Private game reserves, such as Thanda Safari, are great for smart phone photography as one is usually able to get much closer to wildlife than in a National Park. A professional and experienced guide knows exactly how close he can get safely to animals to ensure a good picture. Get as close to eye-level with your picture subject as you can and you will create some great shots.
Please contact me via WhatsApp if you have any questions.
If you would like to book a stay at Thanda Safari with a complimentary smart phone photo lesson and/or private photography game drives please contact reservations@thanda.co.za. https://thanda.com/contact
https://thanda.com/thanda-properties/thanda-safari/experiences/safari-photography/
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 