Photographing Pets
Delightful Chinese Silky Hen called Tiffany drinking out of the bird bath
Photographing pets is definitely where you need to be quick clicking the shot. Pets won't be waiting around while you compose your picture so its best to keep clicking and hope for the best. with this photo, the wee hen was quite dark and every time I tried to get her she disappeared into the shadows and all you could see was a blob. Now, I could have used a flash but that would have destroyed the subtle lighting effect of the light on her feathers so I have photographed her with the sun against her to bring out the feathery look to advantage. Because she kept darting around and didn't stay still at all I had to take quite a few photos to get this one that looks clearer and I managed to get this by finding a position where I thought she would look good and waiting until she showed up. Sometimes this can be quite a long time so have patience with pets. I have several pets who really like having their photos taken to the extent that they keep coming towards the camera !
Most digital cameras now have a setting for backlighting but sometimes this will destroy the effect too so experiment with other objects rather than miss a great shot of your precious pet. Feathers and fur usually look great against the light so use this to your advantage.
Black or dark pets are difficult to photograph as their eyes often seem to disappear into their heads and not show up. Try some sort of screen to bounce light off - a fence in the right place or the side of a white house will make a huge difference to the light and give an overall even light. I have a range of hens and poultry that I often photograph and the ginger hens come out looking great almost every time and the white hens look amazing but the black ones I feel a bit like a sleuth creeping around trying to get a good shot of them.
Photographing pets is definitely where you need to be quick clicking the shot. Pets won't be waiting around while you compose your picture so its best to keep clicking and hope for the best. with this photo, the wee hen was quite dark and every time I tried to get her she disappeared into the shadows and all you could see was a blob. Now, I could have used a flash but that would have destroyed the subtle lighting effect of the light on her feathers so I have photographed her with the sun against her to bring out the feathery look to advantage. Because she kept darting around and didn't stay still at all I had to take quite a few photos to get this one that looks clearer and I managed to get this by finding a position where I thought she would look good and waiting until she showed up. Sometimes this can be quite a long time so have patience with pets. I have several pets who really like having their photos taken to the extent that they keep coming towards the camera !
Most digital cameras now have a setting for backlighting but sometimes this will destroy the effect too so experiment with other objects rather than miss a great shot of your precious pet. Feathers and fur usually look great against the light so use this to your advantage.
Black or dark pets are difficult to photograph as their eyes often seem to disappear into their heads and not show up. Try some sort of screen to bounce light off - a fence in the right place or the side of a white house will make a huge difference to the light and give an overall even light. I have a range of hens and poultry that I often photograph and the ginger hens come out looking great almost every time and the white hens look amazing but the black ones I feel a bit like a sleuth creeping around trying to get a good shot of them.
- Tips:
- leave the flash off,
- experiment on times of the day when your pet shows up best in a photograph
- experiment with other objects to get your lighting right
- move close in to fill the entire frame to focus attention on your pet
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