Tips on photographing wildlife at Disney World

Going to Disney World is a photographer’s dream, especially for taking great family pictures. But it also gives you great opportunities for wildlife photography.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to more than 1,700 animals from 250 species. Many of the habitats in the park, whether on the Kilimanjaro Safari or along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, give photographers the chance to capture animals in what looks like wild settings. And there will be even more as Kilmanjaro Safaris expands.

To help you get the best animal photos using your DSLR, here are some tips:

© Steven Liebman The male lion on top of the lion enclosure. Sitting on the left side of the Kilimanjaro Safari ride gave me a clear view.

The better side of the safari: When riding on the Kilimanjaro Safari be aware that as of now, the left side of the truck gives you slightly better opportunities for animal pics. The left side gives you direct views of hippo island, the open areas where rhinoceros can be found, the elephant enclosure and the lion area. The right side gives you the first good look at the elephants and, with the viewing area built for the Wild Africa Trek tour, you have a better opportunity for giraffes and Thomson’s gazelles because they leave food out for the animals.

Where you can find the animals: If you want to know where you can find all the different animals, you can download our Animal Kingdom checklist, which tells you what animals are in the various areas of the park.

Fast shutter speed: When you are on the Safari or you are photographing birds, bats, gorillas or tigers you are going to want to make sure you are shooting with a fast shutter speed. So turn your camera to shutter-priority mode or sports mode to freeze the action.

Continuous shooting mode: Set your camera to continuous shooting mode. This will keep firing your shutter to take multiple shots and gives you a better chance to get lucky if something especially interesting happens. Don’t forget to set your camera to focus in continuous modes so you will get clear shots.

Keep a wide aperture: You want to try to photograph animals so they do not look like they are in an enclosure. The best way to do this is using a wider aperture to give you a shallow depth of field and blur backgrounds. I suggest shooting at f/5.6.

Lenses: You want to get as close as possible when photographing animals. This means using a telephoto lens with your DSLR, something in the 200-300 mm range.

© Steven Liebman Here’s a good example of how to press your camera against the glass  to get the hippo underwater. I used a wide angle lens for the shot.

Shooting through glass: So you want to get a nice photo of the hippo or gorilla on the other side of the glass, how do you do it? The camera’s auto-focus should work through the glass. The key is to put the camera as close as possible to the glass. If you have a lens hood, put it on the camera and press the lens hood against the glass. This will help stabilize the camera and make it look like you are in the pool. This is also good for the dolphins at The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion in Epcot. If you want to use a flash, it helps to keep the flash as close to the glass as possible and make sure your camera is not angled, otherwise you will get a reflection.

Shooting through cages: No matter how natural Disney wants to make things appear, you are going to have to shoot through bars, wire and netting. At times you will be be able to find a wider opening to put your lens through. That’s when you want to use your longer focal length lens, a wider aperture and all of your patience to wait for the animal to move back in front of you.

Look for the eyes: The eyes are indeed the windows to the soul, and getting the eyes of an animal in a photograph is very important because it helps convey the animal’s personality.

© Steven Liebman The eyes always have it. Try to frame the shot so you can get a  clear view of them when zooming in close.

Be patient: Even at Disney World, where the habitats are built for maximum exposure, you can end up waiting around for a while before the animals do something or get in a position which makes a good photo. Remember, wild animals have their own rules. They are, indeed, “wild.”


Be courteous: Be aware of the people around you. Everyone is trying to get a good photograph, so if you get a really good vantage point, let others have a chance after a while.

Look for funny moments: Animals, like kids, do the funniest things. So make sure your camera is always ready. The meerkats on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail can be found in funny poses; giraffes’ tongues do the craziest things; and the tigers on the Maharaja Jungle Trek can be seen playing like house cats.

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