Challenge - Animals

Challenge Topic: Animals

Posting Date: Saturday, August 9, 2014

Online Background Information:

• Pet photography tips and examples
• Animal photography tips
• Tips for unique perspectives in pet photography
• Secrets to taking awesome dog portraits
• Tips for capturing animal attitudes

Additional Tips and Suggestions:

Now that we’ve had a bit of practice to sharpen our portrait photography skills, we’re going to specialize further this month and feature animals as subject matter. Domestic or wild, it’s your choice! The ultimate goal is showcase the personality of the animal with your photos.

Patience during photo shoots will be essential to ensure that you can capture quality images. For pets, use food treats, noise squeakers, or toys to get their undivided attention. Try to anticipate poses and actions. Strive for creative frames by choosing various perspectives (e.g., on the same level, above, below, close-up, etc.). For best results, you will want to take control of your camera and avoid an automatic setting.

Speed will be important because animal movements can result in image blur. Most digital cameras, even point-and-shoots, have a continuous or burst shooting mode. (Check your camera manual if you don’t know.) Creating a series of images, one right after the other, that shooting mode is helpful to catch expressions or poses that happen in an instant.

Focus on the eyes, but ensure that there is sufficient depth of field for other body parts (e.g., nose). Use exposure compensation to achieve proper exposure of animals that are white or black in color. Add a polarizing filter to your lens to reduce shiny glare from fur. Keep compositions simple and eliminate background distractions.

P.S. Photos of birds are permissible. They are classified as animals with feathers.

Instructions:

Prepare one to three of your own photographic images that feature animals. You may use photos from your personal inventory or take new ones for this challenge. You decide.

Please include any information or tips that may be of assistance to other participants (e.g., how you took the images, post-processing details, camera settings, what you learned). If you have more than one blog, please present your challenge photos on only one of them.

The linkup tool will be available the day before the challenge date (August 8) and a couple days thereafter. Don’t forget to set up a calendar reminder for yourself!