Large herbivore photography can be amazing

When it comes to photographing large herbivores, many seem to battle at the choice of their photos and the artistic approach. My approach to this type of photography is just to wait for the best light. Light creates more than just a photo of a large herbivore, it tells a story, creates a passion in an artistic way and defines your photograph that much more than just a general image.

Now with that being said, try play with a black and white image. Always with a black and white image use the tone curve, it allows for a decent flow of contrasting darker and lighter areas on the photograph. This Cape Buffalo bull was photographed on a bright afternoon with the sun setting, however, he was stationary in a shaded area, hence why I opted for the darkening of my image. My last advice to all when trying to photograph these large lovely animals, don’t be scared to be an artist, your image will be of more value the more artistic it looks so try your ideas and mine if you find it works. Lastly, remember we all have a different eye, so each and every photograph is unique.

I look forward to seeing your large herbivore images taken here at this amazing reserve I call home, Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve.

Equipment Used

• Camera – Canon 7D mk ii
• Lens and Focal length – Canon-EF100-400mm f-4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 320mm

Settings used to capture this image

• ISO – 800
• Aperture – f 5.6
• Shutter – 1/640

Editing used on this image

For such image to be displayed, I chose a black and white format along with lowering the exposure of the image making the surroundings and shadow darken areas slightly darker to add an effect. With that I increased the contrast of the image and also decreased the white balance to keep the realistic effect and clarity. I then increased the highlights to make the object, being the buffalo, to stand out and decreased the black and the shadows to blend in and create a solid black background. To add an extra effect, I added a post-crop vignette to create the exiting of a shadow effect to complete my photograph for display.