Taking Photographs of Animals

Animal photography is challenging because it’s difficult to get your subjects to do what you’d like them to do, well, if you had a well trained dog, you might get him/her to sit still, otherwise you’re out of luck.

So, these are some things I’ve learnt over the years, and from classes, to help you take that ‘almost’ perfect photo! Hope they help

Get ready to say cheese:

If you have a cat or dog, or another animal, and you’ve had a go at taking a photo before, you might have noticed how they fear the camera. This could be because of it’s size, shape, the sound it makes, or flash, so it’s always best to introduce the two. By that I mean, when you’re not using the camera, let your pet sniff it, to break the ice if you like. Mose housepets can be trained to have their pictures taken, but it’s always good to give your pet a treat after taking a photo.

Know their personalities:

Most pets have, habbits, do things at one point or another every day over and over. Some get tired at one point, others get playfull, hungry. Whatever it is, if you know the moods of the animal, you’ll be able to tell if they are about to do something playful, funny or interesting, and that will hel you take that perfect shot.

Get closer: Another trick for good animal shots is to get really close to the subject. Try to get as close as your camera will focus and see if your pet looks interesting from that angle. Sometimes the texture of a pets fur, or even the details in the wings of a parrot are great subjects. Now don’t take this as, an ok to jump into a lions cage and get really close! that will get you in trouble, might even get you eaten, but zoom in as much as you can or even use a telephoto lens to make you picture appear close.

Clear out the clutter:

Like a lot of pictures, shots of animals sometimes have really distracting backgrounds. A problem that’s particular to animal photography is that animals are generally much shorter than people. As a result, a lot of photographs are taken from above the animal, which isn’t the best angle. Move around the subject to get that perfect angle, move up down, sideways, tilt the cam even if you must.

Freeze your subject:

If you’re taking a picture of an animal when it’s moving quickly, it’s good to use your camera’s flash. Even if it’s a bright day out, if the animal is moving quickly (and it’s not something dangerous like our friend the lion), turning on your flash will help freeze the animal in motion. Take a Frisbee-catching-doggy to the park and the little boost from your flash will help keep shots of your pet sharp, right down to the fur. It might be a little harder to get good pictures of animals, but using some of these tricks will get you some great shots of your furry, feathered, scaly, or curly-haired friends.

(Hope these tips help some of you, and happy photo taking )