African Photography Safari Workshop

Join us on our
African Photography Safari
workshop at the Colchester Zoological Society


African Elephant - Opal
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Our African Photography Safari workshop will run from April until September in 2026. Over the spring and summer months African wildlife shows usually more of the behaviour, which could also be seen by for example elephants and giraffes in their natural habitat.

On this photography workshop, participants will be able to explore the African wildlife at the Colchester Zoological Society and should be able to photograph Bailey, the lion, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas, baboons, chimpanzees and many other wildlife species. As there are so many African wildlife species at the zoo, we will tailor this photography workshop around where we anticipate good photo opportunities and most of all around what species, participants would like to see and photograph.
Photo opportunities may vary depending on weather conditions and any circumstances around the animals. We will consider this when planning the route.

The African Photography Safari workshop is ideal for people, who plan to go on safari and would like to make sure, they will be able to capture the wildlife effectively when they will see the wonderful variety of animals while being out in Africa or on any other wildlife holiday.

I will be available throughout the event to offer advice and to help participants with the settings on their camera. Additionally, our customers have the option to have a 30-minutes online photography session before the photography workshop. Through this, participants will get one-to-one tuition on a level, they require. The session could cover anything from an introduction to basic photography aspects like the exposure and focus settings or to refreshing previously gained knowledge. For participants, who will go out on a safari or another wildlife tour, I will also cover aspects of taking photos in natural habitat areas and in particular taking photos when being out on tour with a group.


Cheetah - Azizi

The African Photography Safari workshop will start at 9:30 and finish at 16:30. In order to make our African Photography Safari workshop most beneficial to all participants, we apply a maximum number of 4 photographers per event (we believe that smaller groups are more beneficial to our customers; including getting good positions around the enclosures and having support available when needed).

The price for the African Photography Safari workshop is £141.50 per participant. The fee for the African Photography Safari workshop will cover
  • Guidance around the zoo and support on camera settings plus any photographic questions,
  • A 30-minutes online photography session,
  • The entrance fee to the zoo plus a snack voucher (a contribution towards your lunch),
  • A donation of 45% to the Colchester Zoological Society (this goes fully to wildlife conservation projects)

Covered by the photography workshop fee is also that participants will become members of Big Cat & Nature Photography for one year (our workshops are meant to start and/or reignite an interest into wildlife photography or photography in general).

The membership scheme with Big Cat & Nature Photography provides participants on our African Photography Safari workshop with a range of benefits from discounts when booking future events to access to Hints & Tips articles in our Members’ Zone plus our Members meeting. For more details please visit our Membership page (by clicking on the highlighted term).

As mentioned, we limit the number of participants on our African Photography Safari workshops to 4 photography customers (minimum of two per photography workshop). Additionally we do allow up to 1 non-photographer guest per photography workshop (we recommend to buy the guest ticket online prior to the workshop day). However, please do check with us before bringing anyone (including a carer) along to ensure the guest space is still available (saying this, the Colchester Zoological Society is of course open to everyone, and if you bring partners, family and friends, they are welcome to spend the time around the zoo while the photography workshop participants will focus on the African and other wildlife / entrance tickets can be bought online directly via the Colchester Zoological Society website).


Giraffe - Isha

The following African Photography Safari workshops are scheduled at the Colchester Zoological Society in 2026 so far:
24 April 2026 (Friday) - spaces available
26 June 2026 (Friday) - only 3 spaces left
11 September 2026 (Friday) - spaces available
(as in previous years, we will add further dates, if required)


Fennec Fox - Otis

Below is a provisional itinerary for our African Photography Safari workshop:
--9:30 Meeting in the zoo’s entrance building
--9:40 Leopards
10:00 Baboons and Meerkats
10:20 Bailey, the lion
10:45 Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, Rhinos and more
11:30 Lunch Break
12:15 Revisiting any of the African wildlife species
14:30 Cheetahs and Hyenas
15:30 Penguins and Sea Lions
16:30 Finish
This itinerary is only an example as changes may occur, based on requirements by participants and circumstances around the animals at the zoo or any other conditions.


Lion - Bailey

You can book your space/s by completing the form at the end of this page. Provided it is not indicated above that there are no spaces or only 1 or 2 spaces available for the photography workshop of your choice, you can proceed to our online shop via the 'Payment Link' (in the green message box that comes up after you have submitted the booking form) to pay either the deposit or the full fee from there (the full fee is required when asking for/buying a gift voucher or when booking 4 weeks or less prior to the photography workshop date). For more details about the booking process, please check our Terms and Conditions.

Please read also the Entry Terms & Conditions of the Colchester Zoological Society.

If you are not sure about what date would suit you best, or you would like to get a space on the African Photography Safari workshop for a friend or family member, you can also buy a gift voucher and agree the date at a later stage.

Please contact me via info@bigcatphotography.co.uk, if you have any questions.

African Photography Safari workshop

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