Two facts govern everything: the subject is black, and the forest is dark. Almost every mistake people make follows from underestimating one or the other.
Bring a shorter lens than you think
The most common error is arriving with a 400 mm or 500 mm and nothing else. You will regularly be closer than seven metres, because the gorillas do not observe the seven-metre rule, and at that distance a long lens gives you a beautifully sharp portrait of an ear.
A fast standard zoom — 24–70 mm or 24–105 mm — is the single most useful lens. If you carry a second body, put a 70–200 mm on it. On a phone, you are better equipped than you think.
Expose for the fur, not the scene
Your meter sees a dark subject against bright leaves and underexposes the gorilla into a featureless silhouette. Dial in +1 to +2 stops of exposure compensation and check the histogram, not the screen. Blown highlights on background foliage are an acceptable price for detail in a face.
Spot metering on the face works if you have time. You usually do not.
Settings that survive contact with reality
- Aperture priority, f/4 or wider. Depth of field is a luxury you cannot afford.
- Auto ISO with a floor shutter speed of 1/250 s. Faster for juveniles, which never stop moving.
- Expect ISO 3200–6400. Modern sensors handle it; a blurred frame at ISO 800 is worth nothing.
- Continuous autofocus, single point, on the eye. Face detection struggles with a dark face in dappled light.
- Shoot bursts. Something will move.
- No flash. Not a preference — a rule, and a good one.
Practical problems
Condensation on the lens is guaranteed when you come out of a cold morning into humid forest. Carry two microfibre cloths and expect to use both. Rain — a dry bag or a plain plastic bag and a rubber band. Batteries drain faster in cold and damp; carry two spares in an inside pocket where they stay warm.
And leave the tripod. There is nowhere to put it and no time to use it.
The shot worth getting
Not the portrait. Everyone comes back with the portrait. The frames people actually treasure are the ones with context — a gorilla in its forest, hands, an interaction between two animals, a juvenile mid-fall. Shoot wider than instinct suggests.
And put the camera down for the first five minutes. If you want serious time to work, the four-hour habituation permit exists precisely for this.
Next
Keep planning
- Gorilla habituation experience — four hours, four people
- What to pack — the rest of the kit
- The green season — why overcast light is better
- Gorilla trekking guide — everything else