Different Angles Give Different Perspectives

Most modern zoos tend to have the habitat at roughly eye level using the viewing public, and that’s a good thing, particularly for photography. We’re going to get the most connection using the animal when the viewer and the animal are at eye level with each other. If I have to shoot down on the animal to get a photo, I won’t take the photo (unless there’s a really compelling reason to make an exception). There are occasionally some advantages to shooting upwards at an animal (we want to emphasize its height, for instance), but for most animal photography, keep the perspective at eye level.

Maintain the focus on the eyes of the animal (that’s why we switched to Spot Focus) - the eyes are probably the most crucial element to have in focus. If the shoulder or foot is in sharp focus, not the eyes, it won’t be a great photo. The animal doesn’t have to face you, but the eyes should be clearly visible. And for the love of all that’s great within the world - NO ANIMAL BUTTS - no shots from behind. The animal does not have to face you, but it needs to at least present a side view.

The glass is usually absolutely filthy - certain, you are able to bring travel sized glass wipes, and that might help, but zoo glass is not optical glass. Expect reflections and distortions when shooting through glass - even clean glass. Even worse is thick acrylic walls. The pictures will come out blurry.

What about shooting via bars, fences, mesh, and glass? My very first response is "Don’t bother." You are able to occasionally use a shallow DOF and hope that by focusing about the animal that the bars/fence/mesh will be thrown out of concentrate. It just doesn’t work as well in practice as it does in theory.