Of all the big cats I work with, cheetahs are the least dangerous to humans.
In fact, there are no records of a cheetah seriously injuring a human; it is not within their DNA to have a go. They also lack the facial majesty of a lion or a tiger or the menace of a leopard, so there are demands on the photographer to be creative.

There are more cheetahs in Namibia than any other country, and that tends to be my preferred destination to work with the animals either in staged shoots or on their own. However, wherever one goes to photograph the animal, it is a real test to be authentic. I struggle a little with their faces. The best images of cheetahs I have seen tend not to be portraits, but images that convey speed. It is speed, after all, for which they are renowned, and wildlife photographers do tend to home in on that for understandable reasons.

But this close portrait is given dynamism by two unrelated factors. First, the cheetah’s head is wet, which adds some textural detail to her face.
It lends some definition and character to a face that can sometimes be a little bland and clown-like. It is marginal, but it does make all the difference.

Second, the cheetah is walking up a rock face from the riverbed, which offers an angle that is just a little different. There is more menace and more sense of danger. In the field I give relentless thought to where I am shooting from.

It is probably the most important dynamic in my quest for immersion, and the perspective in this image is good.