newbie! taking photos of animals

[jawilson]

i am new to the forum, so hoping you guys can help with my dilema. I have had my digital camera for about 6 months now, and am used to all the settings etc....

We have entered our cats and dog into the petmillions.com charity photo contest (not professional just general photos!) - the problem is i am struggling to get some great photos of them especially the dog!... we have a few 'quick get the camera' style photos but we are stuggling to get some of them naturally posing - as soon as we approach them they move!

does anyone have any ideas, i am not trying to get major professional photos just ones where their heads etc are not blured from movement!

cheers

jacks.

 

[gizmo2071]

I'd say carry your camera around with you all the time and just get the used to it if they're scared and run away. If thats what you meant when you say they move?
Maybe try and get somebody to distract them.
Could put them in an alert position.
Hard to say on individual pets as they all act differently.
My chameleons tough to photograph because if you get to close he tries to climb on the camera.
Pets are nuts.

 

[Alex_B]

well, what sort of camera is it? can you control shutter speed or aperture? if so, go to a high shutter speed. have your camera ready and wait. don't follow the dog all the time to get a good shot, just be ready to shoot, be with him for say an hour. there will be moments when he approaches you, and those are your chances

 

[memorex88]

One word.... treats! Also get down to their level.

 

[mysteryscribe]

If you are getting blurr your shutter speed is too slow...

If you can kick your speed up sit him in the background you want, with a chew toy, then stand in front. Focus the camera then shout his name loud. He will instantly look at your camera for just a second shoot at that point. Let him go play a while then repeat till you get just what you want.

If his name stops working shout Dog at him that will work a while. Old studio trick with dogs you don't know.

 

[xfloggingkylex]

also I've found that it is much easier to hip shoot dogs. the camera up to your face is scary/confusing or whatever. If you have a P&S with an LCD that works just fine. If you are using an SLR or something without a live LCD screen, set your aperture to f/8 and take lots of shots.

I have yet to get a really good shot of my dogs when the camera is up to my face.

 

[jawilson]

thanks all...have changed the shutter speed and the hip camera concept does work....thank god for digital otherwise i would have used 2 films just to get a good shot!

am cooking chicken tonight, so the treat thing is next on my list...

here is a little look at what i have so far...

Jazz

Jess

Valentine

thanks for your help - mucho appreciated x

 

[xfloggingkylex]

good stuff. Also you may want to consider moving the camera off to the side. Since you are already shooting from the hip it should be too much to move it over a little. The idea for this is that you dont want the animal looking directly at the camera with the flash firing. That is what is causing the crazy eyes. Keep the flash off of the lens of their eyes and you'll reduce/eliminate the "glow"

nice work, glad to hear the hip thing worked. and yes, amen for digital

 

[xibo]

Something I'd add: to avoid getting that green eye thing with animals, it's nice to use natural light instead of your flash. Take the dog outside to get some shots (you'll likely need a pretty high shutter speed if he/she's an active one!) or get the kitties by a window. It really makes a difference.

 

[xfloggingkylex]

Something I'd add: to avoid getting that green eye thing with animals, it's nice to use natural light instead of your flash. Take the dog outside to get some shots (you'll likely need a pretty high shutter speed if he/she's an active one!) or get the kitties by a window. It really makes a difference.

the green eye (its can be different colors for different breeds/animals) is just the animal equivalent of redeye. It is different colors depending on the attributes of the eye, such as the cats increased nightvision.

cause

The light of the flash occurs too fast for the iris of the eye to close the pupil. The flash light is focused by the lens of the eye onto the blood-rich retina at the back of the eye and the image of the illuminated retina is again focused by the lens of the eye back to the camera resulting in a red appearance of the eye on the photo. (This principle is used in the ophthalmoscope, a device designed to examine the retina.)
The effect is generally more pronounced in people with grey or blue eyes and in children. This is because pale irises have less melanin in them and so allow more light to pass through to the retina. Children, despite superficial appearances, do not have larger pupils but their pupils are more reactive to light and are able to open to the fullest extent in low light conditions. Many adults have lost the ability to fully open their pupils except through the use of drugs.
In many species the tapetum lucidum, a light-reflecting layer behind the retina that improves night vision, intensifies this effect. This leads to variations in the colour of the reflected light from species to species. Cats, for example, display blue, yellow, pink, or green eyes in flash photographs.

to read more....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eye_effect

 

[jawilson]

thanks again for more tips...

i took a look at petmillions today and i loved this photo i am sure i will get to this in the end...

 

[Claff]

Our rule is to always have some sort of camera around just in case. Happened today when all three of our pugs were curled up in my recliner. Grabbed the Powershot and got a few, and the dogs weren't too fazed by it so I had time to grab one of the Nikons and get a bunch more.

With pugs it's pretty easy as ours are not that active. If they're getting restless we can usually freeze them by saying "snackie" or "chowtime" or one of those magic words they associate with food.

I avoid blue-eye by not hitting them with direct flash indoors. But nothing beats shooting them outdoors.

Good luck with the pet photo contests. I've entered a bunch with no success, so while I love my pics I don't think others share my enthusiasm.

 

[xfloggingkylex]

FWIW claff, I like your pugs. the pics I've seen of them have all been pretty good.

 

[jawilson]

Good luck with the pet photo contests. I've entered a bunch with no success, so while I love my pics I don't think others share my enthusiasm.

Claff, the good thing about this contest is that its down to you and other people to vote! i didnt think anyone would vote for me but they are as our cat is now in the most popular section!

right off to snap the little critters

 

[neea]

i would suggest trying when they're sleeping.
especially cats, they have some pretty odd positions when they're all twisted around.
also, maybe try getting closer or cropping.
distracting and cluttered backgrounds take your eye off the main subject