Pet Photography????

[dogsinfocus]

Great Picture buddy !

the dog portrait i posted was done with an off camera flash and shoot through umbrella. some dogs might react poorly to flash i guess. if your planning to do "studio" type shots, i would use off camera flash.

OR, you can always go outside for the pictures.
I meant to crop this one a little more, but never did.
i shot this on an OLD digital camera with an OLD lens.
your 5DIII should totally rock these photos once you get the settings down.

View attachment 43861

 

[Overread]

Thanks allot man -- also what metering modes would you use for pets and what AF Case 1 to 6 would you use thank you

Metering I would leave on evaluative for the moment whilst you learn. Once you've really learned how to expose and how exposure works you can start to look at the other metering modes and how they read the light in the scene differently.

AF wise I can't say as I don't own a 5DMIII to know what the modes do or mean. For a dog on the couch though any AF mode should work without too much trouble. Focus on the exposure and stopping the motion blur then approach the AF modes. You have to learn one thing at time and build from that into the next, otherwise you'll be trying to learn too much and falling over yourself (not to mention getting a massive amount of information overload).

You might want to see if there are any "dummies guides for the 5DMIII" or a "5DMIII guide book". Alongside the manual you'll find those books a good resource in explaining the modes and functions in more detail.

 

[pixmedic]

for moving dogs, its really about getting the shutter speed right, and then adjusting everything else to get the exposure you want.
i still have some bit of trouble panning well, but its a learned art.
these are from my old backup D200 and nikkor AF 180mm f/2.8 handheld (no flash)
your setup is 10x better.
typically, the longer the focal length, the faster your shutter speed needs to be. possibly more depending on how shaky you are. maybe add some more for fast moving objects. its kinda trial and error.


View attachment 43863
View attachment 43864
View attachment 43865

 

[dogsinfocus]

wow those are some amazing photo's do you know anything about the 4 metering modes on the Canon ?

for moving dogs, its really about getting the shutter speed right, and then adjusting everything else to get the exposure you want.
i still have some bit of trouble panning well, but its a learned art.
these are from my old backup D200 and nikkor AF 180mm f/2.8 handheld (no flash)
your setup is 10x better.
typically, the longer the focal length, the faster your shutter speed needs to be. possibly more depending on how shaky you are. maybe add some more for fast moving objects. its kinda trial and error.


View attachment 43863
View attachment 43864
View attachment 43865

 

[cgipson1]

Shooting a dog is like shooting anything else... a child, a running child, a bird, even a rock or a statue (if the dog is asleep). All these would / might require a different answer as to "What settings to use" depending on many things like light, background, movement... there is no one answer except maybe AUTO or PROGRAM, which is not much of an answer. Do what your meter tells you... and make a reasonable selection of shutter speed based on how fast the subject is moving, and aperture based on DOF desired! And use flash... it helps!

And post images with exif intact.. that way we can REALLY help! (and you might want to read your manual a couple of times!)

 

[bentcountershaft]

Also, the first thing to do is learn the exposure triangle. It's explained really well in the book Understanding Exposure that was recommended earlier. Think of that as kind of the same as learning your multiplication tables. Everything from here on out is going to build on that foundation. Good luck, be patient and have fun.

 

[dogsinfocus]

ok thanks

 

[bratkinson]

On the 5D3, it's nearly impossible to take an out of focus shot!

1. For anything that can move, people, animals, even leaves on a tree, put the AF mode to AI Servo
2. Don't use the 61 point AF...set it to center point only. That's a good starting point. As countless 5D3 owners have bemoaned, briefly press the grid button on the rear of the camera to light up in red the selected focus point(s)., then aim your camera accordingly.
3. In low light, crank up the ISO. 5000, 6000, all, no problem! It will allow you to shoot in very dimly lit areas with a shutter speed at 1/125 and faster...especially wide open at f2.8.
4. In smaller areas such as in your living room, at f2.8, the depth of field (plane of focus) is very thin. Your dogs nose will be in focus, the eyes OK but not quite in focus, the ears, a bit more out of focus, and the tail...way out of focus. So you'll probably want to be in the f5.6 to f8 area to get the whole dog in focus.

 

[gsgary]

Yes i do have a canon 600ex-rt -- I'm going into Pet Photography and i herd it's not recommended to use a flash for pets

I'm using canon d5 mark iii and lens 70-200mm and my dog is on the couch playing with her toys and each time i take a pic if she moves her leg it goes blurry -- I'm putting the shutter speed at around 500 and then the F 2.8 and iso around 400 and my images is very very dark it's not exposed right how can i solve this ??

your already at max aperture for that lens. cant do anything there.
your options are...higher ISO, more light, slower shutter speed.
if your already getting motion blur, i would try raising the ISO first.
more light is your best option. even a speedlight on the camera with a small softbox or bounced would yield good results.

a 5DIII and 70-200 is a GREAT combo. do you not have a good flash as well?

Who told you that load of rubbish, i always use studio flash, here's some with 2 studio flashes, if you don't want to use flash crank your ISO to 1600-3200 well exposed with that camera will be fine

 

[cgipson1]

I agree with Gary... I don't shoot dogs often, but I shoot a LOT of cats! Flash works wonders.... if you know how to use it!

 

[gsgary]

I agree with Gary... I don't shoot dogs often, but I shoot a LOT of cats! Flash works wonders.... if you know how to use it!

<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=43925"/><img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=43926"/><img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=43927"/>

I love pussies

 

[shelby16]

I agree, I use flash on my animals for inside use, but when I'm outside I just turn my back to the sun, and shoot from there and it does WONDERS. Try taking your dog outside and letting him run. Play with your ISO as you go, see which setting you like. Higher, or lower. Try it on Aperature Priority, and have fun. This is what I did to learn, and I ended up with some great photos. You got lots of great advice on here as well!

 

[cgipson1]

I agree, I use flash on my animals for inside use, but when I'm outside I just turn my back to the sun, and shoot from there and it does WONDERS. Try taking your dog outside and letting him run. Play with your ISO as you go, see which setting you like. Higher, or lower. Try it on Aperature Priority, and have fun. This is what I did to learn, and I ended up with some great photos. You got lots of great advice on here as well!

Funny.. I use flash outside too... fills the shadows that the harsh sun makes, and makes for an overall better image. But hey, what do I know?

 

[dogsinfocus]

center weighted mode

 

[ryanparker]

When you&#8217;re on the carpet or grass with your pet, start to play with them, generate a little excitement. With the small size and lightness of digital cameras, you can include one of your hands with a favorite toy in the frame, while you shoot very interactive pet photos with the other hand. What can set your pet photographs apart from most others is to add family members and friends to the pictures. This is another way to use the interaction between humans and pets to make them more relaxed and occupied, so you can take some of those excellent spontaneous pet photos.




Get more tips for pet photography :


http://www.photographytalk.com/phot...tographyhow-to-make-fido-or-kitty-a-star?pt=6


9 Pet Photography Tips


How to Take Great Pet Photographs