Around the World in an Afternoon
If you go to the zoo, definitely remember to bring your camera. It would be tough to find a better place with so many great opportunities for photographs. It’s like you’re taking a quick trip around the world—one minute you’re observing African lions slumbering in the sun, and the next minute you’re watching arctic polar bears taking a swim. Turn around again and you might see amusing meerkats in a huddle just like a football team or pink flamingoes standing on one leg as still as statues while all the visitors pass by. All of these scenes are begging to be captured in a photograph. Modern zoos use less and less fencing to enclose their animals, so with a little luck and creativity, your pictures will look like they were taken in the wild.
Use your telephoto zoom 
so you can get rid of distracting objects in your picture’s background. You can also use the telephoto setting on your camera to capture a picture of a crocodile’s eye or a tiger’s tooth.
If you put your camera right up against an animal’s enclosure and make sure to focus on your subject, the fence will be blurry and won’t be too distracting. (Always be sure not to break any zoo rules and keep safety in mind!)
Face to Face with Sharks and Squid
Taking photographs in an aquarium can be a real challenge because you’ll often see your own reflection in the glass walls of the tanks. But the underwater world is really a treat to photograph. There’s no other place where you can take pictures of fish, sea snakes, jellyfish, and sharks. One good trick is to get as close as you can to the glass—so close that your lens touches the tank. Be sure to turn off your flash so it won’t be reflected or disturb other visitors. After you give this a try, you’ll see that you can take amazing pictures of the colorful and mysterious world beneath the sea.
People and Animals
Sometimes the people who visit the zoo are just as interesting as the animals that live there. Use your camera to observe little children pressing their faces flat up against the animal enclosures. It’s also fun to watch the animals react to the visitors. Apes, for example, will sit still for a long time, observing people outside their habitats. If you’re able to take a picture that shows a person beside an animal, the results can be really funny—sometimes the people start to resemble the animals, and the animals start to look human.
Some animals might have feeding times during your visit, or if you’re lucky, you may even get to give them a treat yourself. You shouldn’t pass up this great opportunity, even if you don’t think watching a rattlesnake devour a mouse is your cup of tea. Most animals eat calmly. It’s fascinating to watch elephants skillfully pick up carrots with their trunks.
