Best Safari Camps for Photography Enthusiasts
Serengeti North: Lamai Serengeti
Perched among the iconic kopjes of the northern Serengeti, Lamai Serengeti offers photographers unparalleled advantages with its strategic location. The camp’s elevated position provides commanding views over the Mara River and surrounding plains, creating perfect vantage points for landscape photography. Each of the eight open-fronted rooms features private viewing decks positioned to maximize the changing light conditions. The camp employs specialized photography guides who understand optimal positioning for light and animal behavior, while their customized photography vehicles include camera mounts, bean bags, dust covers, and extra space for equipment. The camp’s proximity to Mara River crossing points during migration season (July-October) offers world-class action photography opportunities, and its year-round resident game viewing means excellent predator photography throughout the seasons. The camp also provides charging facilities for equipment, dedicated cleaning kits, and a media room for reviewing and editing images.
Ruaha National Park: Kigelia Ruaha
Situated in Tanzania’s wild and less-visited Ruaha National Park, Kigelia Ruaha presents extraordinary photography opportunities in diverse habitats. The camp’s six spacious safari tents are positioned under shade trees along a seasonal riverbed, attracting diverse wildlife directly to camp. Kigelia specializes in walking safaris that allow for unique perspectives and intimate macro photography opportunities often missed from vehicles. The park’s dramatic landscapes—featuring ancient baobabs, golden grasslands, and granite kopjes—create stunning backdrops in changing light. Ruaha’s exceptional predator density includes photographically rewarding lion prides, leopards, and wild dogs, while the low tourism density means photographers rarely contend with other vehicles in their shots. The camp’s experienced guides are adept at positioning for optimal lighting conditions and anticipating animal behavior. Photographers particularly appreciate the camp’s flexible schedule with no fixed timetable, allowing extended time at productive sightings and full-day excursions to remote areas with packed meals.
Tarangire National Park: Oliver’s Camp
Deep in Tarangire’s remote southern region, Oliver’s Camp combines authentic safari atmosphere with exceptional photography opportunities. The camp’s ten tents overlook Tarangire’s iconic landscapes of giant baobabs and elephants, while its location away from the park’s busier northern sector ensures exclusive wildlife sightings. The camp excels at specialized night drives that allow for dramatic nocturnal photography, including unique predator hunting behavior and rarely-seen nocturnal species. Professional photographers frequently lead specialized workshops and photographic safaris based from this camp. The expansive viewing deck and fire pit area offer excellent options for astrophotography in Tanzania’s dark skies, and the camp provides dedicated photography boats on nearby Silale Swamp for capturing unique water-level perspectives of elephants and birds. Photography enthusiasts appreciate the camp’s walking safaris that allow intimate insect and plant photography opportunities, along with the camp’s fly camping options that enable photographers to stay in remote areas near productive animal sightings.
Ngorongoro Crater: Entamanu Ngorongoro
Perched on the northwestern crater rim, Entamanu Ngorongoro offers photographers a dual advantage with views into both the crater and the Serengeti plains. The camp’s seven canvas and wood tents are positioned to maximize changing light conditions throughout the day. The camp’s location provides superior early morning access to the crater floor before most visitors arrive, allowing photographers to capture wildlife in the magical golden morning light. The camp’s expert guides are specifically trained in photographic positioning and understanding of light conditions at different crater locations throughout the day. The extraordinarily diverse wildlife of the crater provides abundant photographic subjects in close proximity, while the camp’s proximity to Maasai communities offers cultural photography opportunities with traditional permissions observed. Photographers particularly value the camp’s cozy indoor spaces with wood stoves that provide comfortable areas for downloading and editing images during cold crater evenings. The camp also arranges specialized crater floor picnics that allow extended time for photography during optimal midday wildlife activity around waterhole areas.
Mahale Mountains: Greystoke Mahale
For photographers seeking something beyond traditional game drives, Greystoke Mahale offers extraordinarily unique opportunities along Lake Tanganyika. This remote camp features six exotic wood and thatch bandas facing the beach and forested mountains, creating exceptional settings for landscape photography. The camp specializes in chimpanzee trekking, allowing for intimate great ape photography that ranks among Africa’s most compelling wildlife photography experiences. The camp’s location where mountains meet lake creates dramatic light conditions and mist effects, especially during morning and evening hours. The pristine beaches and crystal-clear lake waters enable underwater photography opportunities in Lake Tanganyika, home to over 250 species of colorful cichlid fish. Photographers value the camp’s dhow boat cruises that provide unique vantage points for sunset landscapes and fishing village cultural photography. The camp’s expert guides understand primate behavior and can anticipate photographic moments, while the camp’s remote setting guarantees photographers an exclusive experience without crowds.
Selous Game Reserve (Nyerere National Park): Sand Rivers Selous
Set on a dramatic bend of the Rufiji River, Sand Rivers Selous offers photographers diverse options in Tanzania’s largest protected area. The camp’s eight open-fronted rooms provide constant river views where wildlife regularly crosses, creating spontaneous photography opportunities directly from your accommodation. The camp specializes in boat safaris that allow unique water-level photography of elephants, hippos, and crocodiles, while also providing exceptional bird photography opportunities in the riverine environment. The diverse safari activities (including drives, walks, and fly-camping) give photographers varied perspectives beyond traditional game drive shots. Photographers appreciate the camp’s walking safaris for close-up macro opportunities and dramatic landscape perspectives, and the remote fly-camping options that allow photography in pristine wilderness with spectacular night sky opportunities. The camp’s location in the photogenic Stiegler’s Gorge area provides dramatic landscape possibilities, while the camp’s expert guides are skilled at finding elusive species like wild dogs and providing proper positioning for lighting.