Skip to content
Compare tours

FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Photographing sloths in Costa Rica: the field guide

Sloths don't run, but they hide high, backlit and behind leaves. This is what the photography guides on Lyferr tell their clients before the first shot: settings, light, gear, where to stand and where to go.

BEST LIGHT
5:30 to 8:30 am
TYPICAL DISTANCE
8 to 30 m
LENS
400 mm or longer
PHOTO TOUR GROUP
max 4
Brown-throated sloth hanging from a branch among cecropia leaves

SLOTH PHOTOGRAPHY TRIPS FROM LOCAL GUIDES

Compare sloth photography trips

  • Deposit protected
  • Verified trips
  • No paid ranking

How booking works

  1. 1

    Pick a tour or trip on Lyferr

  2. 2

    Choose your date and pay the 25% deposit on Lyferr

  3. 3

    The guide confirms within 24 h. You message them in Lyferr

  • Clear refunds

    up to 60 days before trips, 48 h before day tours, on every booking made through Lyferr. Lyferr's commission is not refunded.

  • Reserve with 25%

    secure checkout on Lyferr, the rest paid before your tour

  • Group size, upfront

    every listing shows its maximum group size

  • Your guide, confirmed

    guide's name arrives with your confirmation and you message them in Lyferr

  • Real reviews

    only travellers who booked can review

Prices are set by each guide. The price you see is final. Lyferr's commission comes out of the guide's price, not on top. Each card opens the tour's page on Lyferr.

PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDES WITH A REVIEWED PORTFOLIO

Guides who shoot, not just spot

A photo tour is built around light, not a checklist of animals. These guides are photographers first. They know which sloths sit low, where the background is clean, and when to wait.

Photo tour compared with a standard walk
PHOTO TOURSTANDARD WALK
Group sizePHOTO TOUR: Max 4 photographersSTANDARD WALK: Up to 8
Time at each sightingPHOTO TOUR: As long as the light is goodSTANDARD WALK: About 5 to 10 minutes
Start timePHOTO TOUR: Before sunriseSTANDARD WALK: Park opening
Your guidePHOTO TOUR: A photographer who positions you for light and backgroundSTANDARD WALK: A naturalist who finds and explains wildlife
Monopod or tripodPHOTO TOUR: Welcome, the pace allows itSTANDARD WALK: Usually impractical

Are you a wildlife photographer and guide in Costa Rica?Join Lyferr as a photo guide →

SLOTH PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD GUIDE

What the photo guides tell their clients

Pick a topic. The first one is open.

CAMERA SETTINGS

Settings by situation

Settings by situation
SITUATIONSHUTTERAPERTUREISOEXPOSUREFIELD NOTE
High in the canopy, bright sky behind1/1000 sf/6.3400 to 3200+1.3 to +2Meter on the face. Without compensation the sloth turns into a silhouette.
Under the canopy, shade or overcast1/250 sf/5.61600 to 6400+0.3 to +0.7Sloths are slow, branches are not. Wait for the wind to drop between gusts.
Low branch, eye-level portrait1/320 sf/4 to f/5.6400 to 32000 to +0.7Step sideways to clean up the background instead of walking closer.
Rain1/250 sf/5.61600 to 6400+0.7Rain cover on. Drops on fur make the shot, so keep shooting.
Night walk, guide's light1/60 to 1/125 sWide open3200 to 12800-0.3 to 0No flash. Ask your guide to angle the beam across the sloth, never into its eyes.
Phone through the guide's scopeAutoAutoAutoTap and lockUse the 1x lens centred on the eyepiece. Burst mode, then pick the sharpest.

Starting points for mirrorless or DSLR bodies with stabilisation. Adjust for your lens and how steady you are.

Sloth tours

from $45 · price is final

See dates