My Photography Book

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Pets: The Second Best Subject For Photography

By Hannah Carter


One of the most fascinating subjects for your camera is your pet dog or cat. Animals rank a very close second to children as one of the most popular and rewarding subjects for a photographer. Most people think taking an outstanding image of a pet is hard, but it isn't. However, there are techniques that can make the job a lot easier and almost guarantee good pictures. Cameras with adjustable shutter and stop speeds can make this job a bit easier, if used together with the basic techniques.

If you can capture your pet's face and cute expressions in clear detail, you can make your snapshot a picture. Get closer to your dog's face and then take the shot. This is in fact quite easy if you have a larger pet. You still need to close up on the four feet, even if you are using a fixed focus camera, which allows you to shoot at impulse. Your fixed focus camera manual should give you the closest point where you could focus the subject on the lens.

To take a picture of a smaller animal, however, requires some attachments like a close-up lens. If you are planning on taking the picture indoors, you will have to consider the lighting that you use. When you use flash, put it to the side to get rid of red eye. Taking the shot too close may cause the flash to get reflected back to the lens, by the eye itself.

Whenever you need to remove background details, use a telephoto lens. This gives you the chance to have a big image while staying away from your pet. Now that you know a few mechanics of animal photography, let's discuss some other aspects that you will have to deal with.

Know that most animals act like people. For you to be able to take a perfect pet photo, be sure that you are fully aware of this character-similarity and animal's personality. Animals can prove to be difficult.

Wait until the pet does the perfect pose, and then take that photo; that's all you can do. Ready your camera because your pet won't pose for you for too long. There are three things you need to accomplish this: a plan, ingenuity, and patience. It's not necessary, but it's always good to have some help.

As you prepare to take the picture, ask your friend to use rattles and toys to get the animal distracted. The helper comes in handy with chasing the pets back to the set, when they wander or stray away. To compensate with working alone, use a longer release cable. By doing this, you could deal with the pet while still being able to take the shot; but be careful not to trip. You should try using a prop, for instance, to get the animal interested in staying at the focus.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts