Baby Animals: Take a Time Out for Cuteness

My glamorous, jet-setting career of being a travel photographer has suddenly become not so alluring during this Covid-19 pandemic! All of the contracts and gigs I had lined up for spring have been canceled and I’m stuck at home for the foreseeable future.

Luckily, my silver lining is that I’ve had more time to dig through my archives and marvel at all the amazing places I’ve been. I find the most solace in images of our beautiful natural world, and of course, nothing cheers me like images of adorable baby animals! I hope to be sharing more images with you over the next weeks (or months?) of social isolation. Please enjoy these baby animal pictures and stay healthy and safe!

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If “stay-at-home” measures had me crammed next to my sibling and literally being sat on by a parent, I wouldn’t be so happy either. Luckily, these gentoo penguin chicks were made for these rocky, close quarters and the warmth of a parent’s belly. Port Lockroy, Antarctica.

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This young sloth is a vision of social isolation with its own cecropia tree for both eating and sleeping! Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Upper Amazon, Peru.

Zimbabwe.

These elephants huddle together to protect the newest member of their pack. Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

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Remember, we’ve got each others backs during these trying times. Two juvenile brown bear cubs stand back-to-back while their mother hunts for salmon in Southeast Alaska.

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Sea otters float in kelp beds in the nutrient-rich waters surrounding the Inian Islands in Southeast Alaska.

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Mornings are the most lovely time to be out on safari. I photographed these white rhino while on assignment for National Geographic Traveler. uMkhuze Game Reserve, South Africa.

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Downy Adelie penguin chicks must stay in the colony while their parents go out to sea to hunt. If your children are getting cranky staying home during this pandemic, you could always remind them that at least their next meal won’t be regurgitated! Brown Bluff, Antarctica.

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A Nazca booby safeguards its chick at Punta Suarez in the Galápagos Islands.

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A pod of orca, including this female and juvenile, swim off of Trinity Island, Antarctica.

Zambia.

Fat and happy lion cubs rest together after having feasted on a kill. Kids, don’t follow their example, because rules of social isolation don’t apply to cubs! South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

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An Antarctic fur seal nuzzles her pup on a rocky beach at Fortuna Bay, South Georgia Island.

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This young southern elephant seal stole my heart at Gold Harbour on South Georgia Island.

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This family of noisy night monkeys is doing an excellent job at social distancing. Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Upper Amazon River, Peru.

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Surprise, it is fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! A female Great frigatebird feeds her chick in its nest on North Seymour Island in the Galápagos Islands.

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Young Galápagos sea lions frolic along the rust-colored shoreline on Rábida Island.

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A young guanaco in the grass at Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile.

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Remember when you grew as tall as your parents but you had acne and didn’t quite fit into your body yet? Well, teenage years are awkward even for blue-footed boobies. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Safari in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

A tender moment between a mother giraffe and her baby. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

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Keeping six feet of distance between penguins would be impossible in this king penguin colony! Gold Harbour, South Georgia Island.

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Number 2 is in the lead! A young tortoise ventures down a path at the Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado reserve in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador.

Photo Tip: Get Eye-to-Eye with Animal Photography

One easy way to improve your animal photography is to change perspective. Think about getting the shot from the animal’s eye level; most often that will mean to get low.

Shooting from the animal’s eye level can make an animal portrait more intimate and about personality. An added benefit of shooting from a lower perspective is that it usually makes for cleaner backgrounds.

Galapagos sea lion at sunset

In the shot above of a Galápagos sea lion at sunset, I crouched down on the beach. Along with the position of the sea lion’s head, this made the animal look more majestic. This also caused the sea lion’s body to stand out against the lighter background of water and it filled the space in the frame. Lowering my perspective made the photo more dynamic.

Galapagos sea lion at sunset

Above is the “before” picture that I took from my eye-level when I walked up to the scene. The sea lion’s head and neck are lost against the similarly colored background of the sand. Also, there is a lot of empty space being taken up by the sand and water. I knew it wasn’t a great photo, but it was a good starting point for experimentation like lowering my perspective and waiting patiently for the animal to make an interesting shape and gesture.

Galapagos land iguana

Sometimes getting low means getting dirty. I saw this Galápagos land iguana (pictured above) on the move and got onto my belly in front of him using my telephoto lens. I then snapped away hoping that I’d catch his hand in a gesture that would show he was walking. By getting so low, I cropped out the distracting brush that was in the background and made this photo all about the animal.

A dog at a pub in Salem, Oregon.

Just because our pets aren’t as exotic as some animals we’ll encounter on our travels, it doesn’t mean the same techniques won’t apply. Try getting onto your puppy’s perspective or crouching with your cat. And this is where I’ll spare you from having to look at endless images of my own pet!

For more stories behind getting a successful photograph, head over to National Geographic’s On Assignment blog to read about capturing the essence of San Francisco and unexpected encounters.

And I’d you’d like to learn photography in person with me, come to the Galápagos Islands or Alaska on a National Geographic Expedition or meet me in Texas this summer. Read more of my photo tips here.