Lens on Life · Guide
Lake Eland

Giraffe and zebra portraits

When one is close and calm. Head and shoulders, the eye sharp.

100-400 · 300–400mmNo filterHood on
Mode
Av
Aperture
f/8
ISO
Auto
Drive
Single
Focus
Servo · Spot AF on the eye · Subject: Animals

Do this

  1. Vertical for a giraffe — it's the shape of the animal.
  2. Leave space in front of the face, on the side it's looking. Don't centre the head.
  3. Zebra stripes confuse the autofocus. Q menu → AF area → Spot AF and put the point on the eye.
  4. Background matters more than you'd think: move the car a metre to put sky or plain grass behind the head instead of a mess of branches.

If it goes wrong

Focus jumps between eye and ear
Spot AF, hold the point on the eye. Eye detection helps but stripes and manes fool it.