Tips for getting animals to be still

[ajkramer87]

My lab collie mix. I move him where I want him to sit and give him a treat. Then I back away with one in my hand that he can see while telling him to sit. Works for him anyway.

beautiful animal.

Thanks. He is a real handfull most days lol. He is much easier to photograph than my daughter though.

 

[Olympus E300]

.308 Winchester..... Nah! Just kidding!!!

 

[Nikon_Dude]

Drug it.

But seriously, you can add a flash and bounce it off the ceiling, will allow you to use a much faster shutter speed because you'll have alot of light.

My dog was moving when I shot this, but there's no motion blur because I used a flash and 1/200 shutter speed.

 

[medic24]

sounds like i need to make her extremely tired and buy a flash.

 

[Nikon_Dude]

Flash is a priceless tool when shooting indoors.

 

[medic24]

any recomendations for an Olympus E420?

 

[Nikon_Dude]

Sorry, not familiar with Olympus equipment. One other benefit I've noticed when shooting with a flash is you have to mess with white balance less.

 

[Olympus E300]

any recomendations for an Olympus E420?

Get your aperture open (lower f/stop to allow more light in) and your shutter speed up (faster is better for freezing motion). If need be, bump up your ISO slightly (but not too far as this can be cause for a grainy picture). A quality lens will help. I just ordered and am awaiting the arrival of my new Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 lens for my E3. I'm hoping that it will allow for better quality indoor photos (I've been mostly using the kit lens indoors up until now).

Good luck! Let us know how you make out!

Cheers!
- Daniel

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

sounds like i need to make her extremely tired and buy a flash.

And the book, Understanding Exposure.

 

[Overread]

sounds like i need to make her extremely tired and buy a flash.

And the book, Understanding Exposure.

+1
Get the book first as well - learning proper control over the settings and how each affects your photos really frees up your ability to be creative and to capture photos as you want them.

Building on from there you can move on to more advanced methods such as adding flash and thus learning to control the flashlight as well. Take it in stages and you'll find it each builds into the next.

Also one bit of advice to add - food, toys and exercise can all help to bring the dog under your control for that posed shot - however often you can get some great shots with patience and by not making the photo the major event. Ie to slip back and let the dog relax in its natural environment of your home and to just be his/her self. This of course tends to take a lot longer and in most cases is opportunistic photography - but you can also be deliberate when your dog has quieter moments of the day and such.

 

[Ryan Sitko]

Malamute?

 

[medic24]

any recomendations for an Olympus E420?

Get your aperture open (lower f/stop to allow more light in) and your shutter speed up (faster is better for freezing motion). If need be, bump up your ISO slightly (but not too far as this can be cause for a grainy picture). A quality lens will help. I just ordered and am awaiting the arrival of my new Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 lens for my E3. I'm hoping that it will allow for better quality indoor photos (I've been mostly using the kit lens indoors up until now).

Good luck! Let us know how you make out!

Cheers!
- Daniel

thats one of my main problems. my wife bought be the camera for christmas and none of the lenses have an f/ that large. the smallest i have is f/3.5 at 14mm on the 14-42mm and f/4 with my 40-150mm

 

[mwcfarms]

Looks more husky to me. Labrador retrievers are an entity unto themselves and the food motivation game. All retrievers are highly food motivated but labs will eat and eat and eat even when no longer hungry. Worked in the vet industry for the last nine years and most labs we meet are just a teensy bit overweight to gluttons. Although we do have a few clients with hunting/trial dogs and they are gems. Good luck and hope to see some more pics of your gorgeous girl.

 

[knightracersi]

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE Try bringing the ISO up with a mid f stop and turn the shutter speed up. Don't make the dog pose right away and take a few pics adjusting the settings looking at the computer to see what it looks like grain and colors. If a flash isn't in the budget right now look at other lamps you have around and use reflective surfaces. I know others are gong to tell me to buy a book as well but ehhh just me. After you get all of that then get the dog to pose with a treat! Good luck and happy holidays!

 

[Josh66]

From the exif on the first shot:

Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 2/5 second ===> 1/2.5 second ===> 0.4 second

(...and ISO 400 & f/5.6 if I remember correctly.)

Nearly half a second - way too slow for shooting people/pets.
That's why it's blurry. You need more light, which will allow you to use a faster shutter speed.