Have you ever wondered what it takes to get a tiger to pose for the camera? If so, National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore has shared a humorous behind-the-scenes video wherein he learns a little trick from zookeepers on how to keep a tiger in front of the camera.
The shoot, which is part of Sartore’s ongoing Photo Ark project, was done at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
To capture the portrait, the team placed a black seamless against a wall in a small room and safely stayed behind some heavy duty fencing as they waited for the South China tiger to get in just the right position.
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In the words of Sartore, ‘contrary to reputation, tigers are not real go-getters.’ The tiger lazily rolls around on the floor and paws at the food being used as bait, but doesn’t really show any interest in stepping on the foreign black seamless.
That is, until two and a half hour laters when the team uses an unlikely secret ingredient—Prada perfume. Once sprayed on the paper, the tiger almost immediately makes its way over to where it was sprayed and rolls around in it like any housecat would do.
You can find more photos from Sartore’s Photo Ark project on his Instagram page.
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