by Alfie Entlebucher on April 27, 2012

When I first saw my review copy of Pet Photography for fun by Susan Ley, I directly spotted the doggie in the silly hat on the cover and though ‘Oh my dog, here we go. I hope My human doesn’t get any ideas!’

I fully expected to see dogs and cats dressed up and put in embarrassing situations – but just a few pages in I was was pleasantly surprised. This is a great book for anyone interested in taking better photographs of their pets (and there really is just one photo of a dog wearing a hat!)…

[ Continue to full review ]

Wait a minute… we only have two legs, and we don’t hobble around on them unless we just finished the Nastar course at Steamboat and our knees feel like jelly.

Let’s stay on topic here. To refresh our frozen brain…there are three “legs” to achieving a correct exposure. Shutter speed, aperture and the ISO speed.

Note that ISO does not refer to “I’m So Over” this lesson and I’m headed back to the slopes, unless you are using a point and shoot camera, in which case get back on that Nastar course and come back when you decide to upgrade to a camera with manual settings.

The ISO setting controls how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to the light that reaches it. A typical digital camera will have ISO values of 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 as a minimum. This means that if you have your shutter speed and aperture combination set and you still don’t have enough light to take the photo, you can switch to a higher ISO setting to make images in low light without a flash or a tripod.

However, remember to set your ISO back to 100, because the rule is to keep your ISO setting at 100 and only increase it if necessary for a proper exposure. That’s because each time you choose a higher ISO setting, you increase the digital noise in your images. Noise is the digital equivalent of film grain and it shows up as tiny colored dots which are particularly noticeable in the darker areas of your photo.

When in doubt about the exposure, remember that it is better to slightly overexpose rather than underexpose your subjects because there will be less noise in the final image. The noise is most prevalent in the shadow areas so when an underexposed image is lightened, it also lessens the noise.

Let’s look at these two photos of Morgan’s Easter bunny. The shutter speed and aperture were exactly the same in both images. The image on the left has an ISO 1600 setting, and the image on the right has an ISO 100 setting.

If you need to review the three legs of exposure, now would be the time. You can find information about the first two (shutter speed and aperture) in my previous blogs, or you can go whole hog and buy my latest book. The blogs are free, the book isn’t, but if you buy the book you will further my goal to become a full time ski bum, which is an oxymoron because skiing is now so expensive that there is no such thing as a ski bum. But hey…I can always dream….

Good shooting!

Ok, ok….er’…what the heck is aperture?

Well for starters, aperture is used to control the depth of field in your photographs, so it’s a very important component of any animal portrait where we want to blur out the background.

Secondly, it’s one of three elements in every photograph that is used to control exposure (shutter speed, aperture and the ISO speed). Obviously we need to have a good understanding of all three.

We studied shutter speed in several blogs, so let’s move on to aperture.

The aperture setting determines how much of the subject, in front of and behind the point of focus is sharp in the final photograph. This sharpness is referred to as the depth of field in the photograph. When you choose large aperture numbers, you are going to get a lot of depth in your photographs and when you choose small aperture numbers, you will get shallow depth.

As always, you get to choose. If you are making a scenic shot, you want a lot of depth in your image, but if you are making an animal photograph, you’ll want to choose a shallow depth so the animal will stand out. You want, in effect, that 3D Avatar look.

The concept is much easier to understand by studying photographs. Look at these two images of my favorite subject. I posed my Irish terrier with a fence directly behind his head and exposed two images, one at f 5.6 and one at f 11. See how much more the fence shows up in the photograph labeled f11? That’s the whole concept behind depth of field!

Irish Terrier f 5.6

Irish Terrier f 11

But be careful. Study these two images of the Great Dane. In the one labeled f 5.6 notice how the nose is in sharp focus, but the rest of the head is a bit too soft—it’s beyond the depth of field that the photographer chose to use.

Great Dane f 5.6

In the photograph of the Great Dane labeled f 11, the entire face is in focus.

Great Dane f 11

Beginner’s take note:

If you are not sure what camera settings to set, use your camera icons to help fine tune exposure. Choose the PORTRAIT icon for close up shots. The camera will automatically set your depth of field to a smaller number. Conversely, if you are taking a scenic shot and want a lot of depth in your photo, choose the LANDSCAPE icon. The camera will automatically set your depth to a larger number.

Practice playing with the depth of field in your portraits this month and next time we’ll throw in the ISO setting, the third “leg” in our exposure tri-pod.

Good shooting!

Making great images is another thing entirely. There are rules.

One of the most important rules is that you have to know how to use the auto- focus. Otherwise that delete the photo button will be your new best friend when you edit your images.

So let’s get out our manual (the most important piece of camera equipment you own), and turn to focusing. I’ll give you the rules, but every camera is different, so look up the section on how to focus using your camera. Otherwise, your camera that takes excellent images…yes…even that one …may focus on the wrong thing when you shoot.

Start by being careful to aim the focusing frame (the small bracket or rectangle in the center of the viewfinder) at your main subject. Once you have it on the subjects, press the shutter release button HALF WAY down. This will tell the camera what you are focusing on. Most cameras have a green light at the bottom of the viewfinder frame, or emit a beep (check your manual) to tell you the camera is focused. Wait for that signal before pressing the shutter all the way down to complete the exposure.

So far so good. That’s the easy one, two, three of how to focus.

Here’s the problem. The focusing frame is in the center of the viewfinder, so if you aren’t careful to be sure the frame is on your subject, the camera may focus somewhere else.

As always, it is easier to understand the concept with pictures.

I wanted to capture an image of this horse’s head, but my focusing frame was pointed at the horse trailer behind the horse.

Now I’m paying attention, and I make sure the focusing frame is on the horse. I push the button half-way down, wait for the beep that tells me it is properly focused, and expose the image.

Remember that every lens has a minimum focusing distance so it won’t focus if you are too close to your subject. To keep from being too close, you need to carry a small tape measure in your pocket that you can whip out to measure the distance from your subject. Attach one end of the tape to the subject, and walk backwards focusing on that subject until it is in sharp focus. Voila! Now you know the minimum focusing distance for that lens!

Or…pull out your trusty manual and look up the minimum focusing distance for your lens.

Now that’s easy!

SLR lenses will have this distance printed on the barrel of the lens.

Good shooting!

Although it has just been published, my book sales are doing very well. Here’s a recent review that appeared this month in USA Today. Ok, ok…maybe it wasn’t USA Today, but I can dream can’t I?

Hope you enjoy the article. I’ll be back with more tips for great animal photographs next month.

Good shooting and Happy New Year!

Susan Ley

Click image for full-view, or download this article as a PDF.

So to capture great images, the first thing you need to do is go out and sign up for a tai chi class! Ok, ok…I’m getting off subject, but there is a message, which is to relax before you begin to make photographs.

No multitasking. Keep your mind focused on the present moment. Sit down and take some deep breaths, then use your camera to watch the animal action through the viewfinder and figure out what you want to capture. Try writing or sketching out your concept for the image. Planning is an integral part of a good photograph….you need to know what you want to capture before you begin.

When you are ready to capture that great concept, set your controls first. Start by setting the shutter speed to 1/250 of a second to stop the action. Remember, animals breathe, so even if they are perfectly still, there will be some movement. So unless you want some intentional blur in the image, always set the shutter speed on 1/250 of a second for crisp images and leave it there.

If you are using a point-and-shoot, no worries, just put the command dial on the action icon.

As always, it’s easier to explain with photographs.

The shutter speed was correctly set to 1/250 of a second to stop the action in the photograph.

Here, the shutter speed was set to 1/60 of a second which is too slow to stop the action in the image.

Good shooting!

So I’ve got the light. Now for the composition. Jeez, my house is perfectly decorated for me not for pet photography! But with a bit of planning I think I can make this work.

Then too, digital cameras make this so easy. I just click off some shots of my indoor location and review them on the LCD screen. Now I can see what is causing problems in the background where I want to shoot. My wonderful Chinese vase has to go. That’s a quick fix.

The chair and chest behind the dog have been eliminated by squating down, moving in close and filling the viewfinder with my subject.

The antique chest is another story. I can’t move it, and I can’t change the location because this is where the good light is. So, I have to move in close and fill the viewfinder with my pet. This is the most important thing about indoor shooting—move in close. Very close.

Once I get the distance down, and I’ve removed anything from the background that’s possible to move, I’m ready to introduce my pet into the “location” and start playing. Right now, I’m just going to take photographs and see what I’m getting. Making an image comes next.

Stay tuned,

Well I could work on creating a great portrait of my cat’s face. First I need to find a spot to take the photograph that has some good light going for it. I want to use light coming through a window—that’s the best kind. No artificial stuff for me, although I may use a bit of flash to give the photo some pop.

Another place that will work, is a porch, where the light will be good and you will be protected from the outside elements.

OK. I’m scouting out a good indoor shooting location with good natural light. I’ve got some great windows in the guest room, so that means good light coming in through those windows.

But, yikes! There’s a purple bedspread in there (don’t tell the fashion police), so the walls have a bit of a purple cast. You know about color casts right?

Quick review. Whatever colors are in a room, they are bouncing around casting color on the walls, so if I try to photograph my white cat on a purple bedspread, he will be a slightly purple white cat.

I won’t notice this when I’m photographing because human eyes adjust for color casts. So my slightly purple cat will probably look perfectly wonderful to me until I view the image on my computer screen and wonder what the heck I did wrong.

There is good outdoor light falling on the subjects from a nearby window and photographing them against a white wall has minimized any problems caused by color casts in the room.

We now have two requirements for good inside light: An outside source (window or glass door that casts enough light into the room so you don’t need to use a flash) and a room without color casts (not your red kitchen).

Now for your pet. Go find that darling and start getting him relaxed in your new shooting location. Most pets already like to sit by the window, so this probably won’t be a deal breaker. But perhaps some treats?

If you have a dog that’s the size of a small horse, and not much light coming into the room, you may be out of luck with this assignment–shooting an animal in both shadow and light never works. The idea is to find an area where you can get the whole pet properly illuminated.

It's always fun to keep your camera handy and use flash to illuminate your pet playing... in the kitchen? Just put your camera on auto flash mode, move in close, and shoot!

Once your pet is relaxed and likes hanging out there, the rest is easy. You can set up shop and amuse yourself and your pet working on indoor images while it snows. Take notes. What you learn about photographing inside will transfer nicely to your outdoor photography in the spring.

Stay tuned,

Here’s a question I’m often asked. “What kind of camera did you use to take that fantastic photograph?”

Quite frankly it’s the wrong question. Professional photographers know that beyond basic techniques, the skills needed for great images have little to do with the camera that is used but with the skill and vision of the photographer behind the lens.

Here are ten dynamite tips to improve your animal photography that don’t have a thing to do with the camera you use to make the photograph.

1. RELAX. Before you begin to make photographs, concentrate on slowing down. Take some deep relaxing breaths. Look thru the viewfinder and make that little window your whole world. Keep your mind focused on the present moment and only that moment.

2 READ. Read your manual and study it. The manual is your best source of information about your camera.

3. SET THE SHUTTER SPEED. Animals move, so you need to stop the action to produce crisp images. Set your shutter speed to 1/250 of a second or faster.

Always shoot at a shutter speed of 1/250 of a second, to freeze the action.

4. MOVE IN CLOSE. For pictures with impact, move in close and fill the viewfinder with your subject.

For pictures with impact, move in close.

5. FOCUS ON THE EYES. Always focus on the eyes. One of the best camera positions for small animals is to lie flat on the ground, weight on your elbows with your camera propped up to your eye.

Always focus on the eyes.

6. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Keep your pictures simple. Concentrate on one idea and one idea only. Do you want a photo of the flowers around your pet, or your pet? Decide. It is usually impossible to capture two ideas in one photo.

7. AVOID HARSH LIGHT. Shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the harsh glare of noonday sun.

Shoot when the light is right.

8. ANTICIPATE ACTION. You know the cute things your pets do that you want to capture, so get set up, put your camera on auto focus, and watch. Now you are ready to push that button when the action starts.

Get down on the ground when you are photographing small animals.

9. USE PROPS. To capture dynamite expressions, use props. Try a battery-operated toy, a bright cloth flapping in the wind or a whistle. Be ready! Props only work until the animal acclimates to them, so you have to work quickly and have other props in reserve.

10. KNOW YOUR FLASH RANGE. Memorize the flash-to-subject distance range for each ISO speed, and stay within the range.

Stay Tuned !

One thing that will really improve your photography is to move in close and fill the viewfinder with your subject. In effect, you are cropping out anything that doesn’t contribute to the final image before you take the photograph.

To do this effectively, know what you want to capture before you begin to shoot. Then strive to keep it simple. Concentrate on one idea and one idea only. Watch the action, set your shutter speed on 1/250 of a second and don’t press the shutter button until you have moved in close.

It’s hard to move in close with a point and shoot camera, but keep trying and you’ll get some good images. Just remember that you are not after a scenic image – you want your pet to be the center of attention, so always strive to have your pet fill the frame.

If you are using a camera with interchangeable lenses, put on a longer lens and watch how much it will strengthen your close up shots. A long lens (or a zoom), will magnify the subject and give the viewer a sense of being right there.

Advanced students – remember that you need to set your aperture for at least f8 to be sure to get enough depth of field with a long lens. Otherwise, when you focus on the eyes, the depth of field at the maximum apertures is so small that the nose will be out of focus.

As always, studying the concepts in photographs will help so take a look at these and notice how the photographer moved in close. There is an added bonus—many times a poor background will be eliminated or minimized when you move in close.

Good shooting!

Stay Tuned !