19/10/2012
10 Tips for Pet Photography
As the old saying goes never work with animals or children. Never mind a model in the middle of a diva fit, try a cat who has had enough of your teasing them with a toy and decides to sink it’s teeth in to let you know they are having a bad day.
Photographing pets is hard work. it requires patience, respect and effort from you as a photographer. It is also something that is important to pet owners, especially to look back on when our faithful companions are no longer with us.
How do you do it though? Here are some tips that will help you get a more rewarding pet portrait.
1. Plan
As with photographing people you have options when photographing your pets. Do you want a formal posed portrait or do you want a natural candid shot of them sleeping in their favourite spot in front of the fire? As with any other form of photography, have a clear idea of what you want to achieve from the shoot. This pre planning will make it easier to get the final result.
2. Be patient.
Photographing pets takes time. You may need to abandon a shoot without getting the shot. By pushing it all you do is upset the animal more and make them associate the camera with something negative. Remember, if you start out annoying them, or even worse scaring them with the camera, then you will make every other photo shoot you do with them something they hate and therefore harder for you. If the animal really doesn’t want their photo taken or seems visibly scared, then leave it. Give them a cuddle and a treat and try again another time.
If your pet seems to hate the camera, try and introduce it into fun activities. Just have it around with you when you and the animal do fun things. Get them used to it, let them sniff it if they want (hint: watch out for lens slobber). Then slowly work your way from this into getting the camera in front of you and shooting. It may take time, but slowly they will get used to the camera being around and will associate it with fun things and you should be able to get a better photo of them. Of course there will always be the pets who do the animal equivalent of turning their back on the camera, squealing and covering their face whenever you press the shutter button. Stealth and candid shots are your friends here.
3. Make it Fun
Animals do not understand what is happening when you take their photo. They do however understand getting fuss and attention lavished upon them, so make sure you do. As I said above, make a photo shoot the most fun that animal could have at that time. It will show through in your images, but also when you want to repeat the process in a few weeks or months time the animal will remember the fun part and be a more willing participant.
Also never underestimate the power of the bribe. Most animals will react for treats and toys. Use this to your advantage and make sure you have plenty with you.
4. Lighting
This is a tricky one. Many people will swear by only using natural light when photographing pets. It is a sensible option as they will be less likely to be freaked out by the flash firing. Get outdoors for a location portrait or shoot by a window and use a reflector to get a well lit indoor portrait.
That being said, many animals do not get phased by using a flash and will be fine with you using it. As with using flash on many subject though, if you want a flattering portrait try to get the flash off the camera, or at least bounce it. Animal eyes have an equivalent of red eye that is equally as unflattering. If in doubt stick with natural light.
5. Check your exposure.
If you are using metering in camera make sure you check your exposure. Animals that are largely white or black can play havoc with the internal metering system of a camera and you may need to tweak the exposure a little. There is nothing worse than capturing some great shots and then realising you have messed up the exposure. Sure you can fix it in post processing, but there is no substitute for getting in right in camera.
Fire some quick test shots, check them on the rear of the camera and then go in for more. If you are feeling brave try shooting in manual so that your exposure will stay the same throughout and, as long as you remember to check and change it when the lighting changes, you will get a consistent exposure that can make post processing easier.
I would also advise a high shutter speed when shooting animals. They can move as quick as a flash and using a higher shutter speed will allow you to freeze them.
6. Get on their level
Just like shooting with kids (another group you should never work with) getting down to the eye level of your pet will dramatically change your portrait for the better. It gives your photo a glimpse of life on their level and your photos will have a more intimate feel. That isn’t to say to only shoot from this angle. Shoot wide, shoot low, shot tight crops, shoot from above, shoot from below. Experiment and get a variety of shots. This will lead to a series of photographs that show all of your animals personality and also allow for a bit of play while you change lenses and set up the next shots.
7. Helper on hand
If you can get someone to help you on a shoot it can make things so much easier. Not only can they help keep the pet interested, but also they can help focus them. Your helper can keep the animal entertained, help get their attention and look after rewards for the animal, such as treats and toys. A good tip to help get the animal to look into the camera is to get your helper to hold a treat above the lens to get the animal to look straight down the camera. Said helper can also help protect you when a slobbering animal comes right over your head to claim the treat that they were unable to wait for.
8. Know the animal before you photograph it.
Again, as with anyone you photograph, it makes sense to get to know a little about them first without the camera around. If you are asked to shoot a animal you have not met before, spend a few minutes introducing yourself to them. A few minutes spent bonding and playing before you begin can save a nightmare when you begin to shoot.
9. Add context
It is easy to get caught up in concentrating on the pet and creating a lovely portrait, but for capturing memories adding some context can make some incredibly personal and beautiful shots. Try including the owners in a shot, or the animals favourite toy. These things are part of who the animal is. I photograph my dogs a lot, but my favourite image is still an out of focus, blurry iPhone shot my wife captured of our dog sleeping lovingly at the feet of our son.
10. Like Animals.
This may seem like an obvious one, but possibly the most important. If you are not an animal lover then photographing animals, even for a pay cheque, will not work. Animals have an innate sense of reading people’s feelings and they will know if you don’t like them or feel nervous etc. This will then come out in odd behaviour and they will be a nightmare to photograph. It may sound like the words of a hippy dog lover type (it is), but it is the truth. Just try it if you don’t believe me.
