Ranthambhore with its varied and beautiful landscapes, excellent light and relatively easy tiger sightings is one of the best parks for photography in India. No wonder that it is a favoured haunt of some of the best photographers in the world.

Ranthambhore is one of the few places in the world where one can photograph tigers in their wild, natural habitat and some of the best wild tiger photos in the world have been taken in Ranthambore.

There are a number of reasons for this and the most important ones are:

1. It is “relatively” easy to find tigers in a wildlife safari in Ranthambhore National Park,

Thanks to the dry nature of the reserve, on an average a photographers should be able to get at least a few good tiger photography opportunities in a 3-4 days. When we say good opportunities, we mean great sightings in good light for at least 15 minutes.

2. The rolling and hilly terrain Ranthambhore makes for low angles.

This means that one is taking wildlife pictures from a much lower angle and the end results are eye level photos, that are far more impressive. These low angles set Ranthambore apart from many other tiger reserves in India.

3. Ranthambhore has some very interesting backgrounds to offer.

The forest here changes it colours every month or so. It varies from lush green in October, to varying yellows and reds in winters (from the end of November to February), to yellows and browns in the summers (March to June). The ancient ruins that are found all over the park add to this environment. The open forest helps a lot in viewing and photographing wild life.

4. Ranthambore also has a lot to offer wildlife photographers, besides tigers.

It is the best place in the world to take pictures of Sambar deer. One can get excellent pictures of ungulates, birds (particularly the ones that prefer drier habitats), landscapes, old monuments in the jungle etc. So when you can not find an obliging tiger to take pictures of, one can still get a lot of other very interesting subjects to shoot.

There are some downsides of wildlife photography in Ranthambore too and the main ones are:

1. It is difficult to book jeeps in Ranthambhore.

Only a limited number of jeeps are permitted to go inside the park and since there is a huge demand for them, they get booked well in advance. The Canter “safari bus” are not so good for photography. They offer a higher angle than jeeps, besides there are other people in the Canter too and they may all be moving at the same time.Canters are good for a large group of photographers as they all get similar experiences and it is far easier to get bookings for Canters.

2. You are restricted to one Zone

When you book your safaris, you are allotted a zone and you have to stay on the allotted zone during your jeep safari. This can be painful for photographers because it is important for them to get the right zones and these can vary from time to time. One way to go around this is book 8 to 10 safaris so that you get to see as many zones as possible. Or you can book the special “full day – zone free permit” safaris which last from morning to evening and are not restricted to any particular zone. They are far more expensive but well worth the money.

3. You could get stuck with the wrong team of drivers and guides.

There are a few (only a handful – I would say) excellent guides and drivers in Ranthambhore, who understand the light, angles, photography and can predict action with some degree of reliability. You could end up having a pretty lousy trip if you are not with one of them.

Some tips for wildlife photography in Ranthambore:

1. Equipment: I would recommend carrying at least two lenses – one wide (I use a Nikon 24-70 or 28-300 mm), one telephoto or zoom lens (I use Nikon 200-400 mm). A super telephoto (500, 600 or 800 mm) is great but it does not really work with tigers. I do own a Nikon 600 mm but rarely use it in Ranthambore. For tigers the best range is usually between 100 to 400 mm range, so the 100-400 or 80-400 mm lenses are fantastic for Ranthambhore. . I would recommend carrying at least two camera bodies and carrying a dust proof bag to keep all this stuff in. Dust is a big problem here, so always carry all the things required to clean your gear and avoid changing lenses when on a safari.

2. Accessories: Carry all the cards, hard drives, plates, cells etc that you think you would need because you can not get any of those here.

3. Support: Tripods are great but they do not work on jeeps and canters unless you modify the vehicle (if you are planning to stay here for a long time you could do that). However, I would still advise you to carry the tripod – it does have its uses outside the national park. If you don’t like to carry extra load, you could always borrow ours. Beanbags, on the other hand, are great in the vehicles. They are easy to carry and can be set up almost anywhere inside a jeep or a canter. Best of all, you can buy them here for a very low price.

4. Light: The terrain in Ranthambore national park is hilly and so the lighting is totally different at different times of the day. The best lighting (the soft winter light) is between November and February. May and June is when its easiest to find tigers but the summer light of these months can be very harsh. March and April are a great compromise between the two. Throughout the year the light is nice and soft in the early mornings and in the late evenings.

5. Time duration: If you want to get some serious wildlife pictures, I would recommend coming here for at least 4-5 days (more if you are planning to come here in the winters). If you are planning to spend less than that, then plan on getting lucky.

-Aditya “Dicky” Singh

It is highly advisable to get a local feedback from the park a few days before one starts his trip.

“For a feedback on tiger sightings, lighting condition and any other information that may help your photography, write to us.

I have been shooting pictures in Ranthambore for long and have worked with some of the best. I like photographers and if you need any assistance or information do not hesitate to drop me a mail. We will help you as much as we can even if you are not staying with us” – Aditya Singh

Camera Fees

There are no fees for still cameras in Ranthambhore but a fee of Rs 600 for Indians and Rs 900 for Foreign nationals is charged per entry to the park, for video cameras used by non-professionals. There is no Video camera fee for Half-Day and Full-Day safaris.