Zoo Photography through a Wire Fence

It has been reported that our local zoo has introduced several alpacas, which has arouse great attention. During the weekend, many parents will take their child to take a visit to those special guests. Of course, photographing this happy moment is hard to be missed. But trying to shoot an interesting subject behind a wire fence can be a challenge. So how do you minimize the impact of the fence in your shots? Here are a few quick tips:

Lion photographed by John Hodgkin

Switch to Manual Focusing. Your camera may not know what to focus on – the fence or the object behind it. Switch to manual focus mode and you’ll be in complete control of what is in and out of focus.

Get close to the Fence. Try to make the fence so out of focus. To do this one strategy is to get up very close to the fence – so close your lens has no chance of focusing on it. It may not be possible to be right up against a fence but the closer the better.

Use a Large Aperture. Choose a large aperture will help to narrow the depth of focus and will hopefully through the lens even further out of focus.

Wait until Your Subject is away from the Fence. If your subject is moving around behind the fence, wait until they are a little further back from the fence to take the shot. The closer they are to the fence the more the fence will be in focus.

A mandrill, photographed by John Hodgkin

Position Your Lens to Shoot Through Larger Gaps. This one isn’t rocket science but if the fence has largish openings you’ll do better to position these gaps in the middle of your frame.

Avoid Reflections. If there are reflections from the sun or other lights coming off the fence you’ll find the fence becomes even more noticeable. Try to find a part of the fence that is shaded – or get someone to stand in a way that casts a shadow on the fence.

Incorporate the fence into your composition. Consider breaking all the above rules to try that out!