A Beginner’s Guide To Pet Photography

One of our most treasured personal belongings is always a family album that chronicles the best, most joyful moments spent with loved ones. Our fur children, our pets also deserve a central place in our picture gallery. Pet photography, however, may be quite a challenge even to a versatile photographer. Here are some useful tips to get you started –

The greatest challenge that you are likely to face when it comes to photographing pets is that they are unlikely to stay still. The perfect shot can easily be missed. Your pet is like a baby; he/she will hate it when your face is hidden by a camera. The best way to get around this challenge is by giving your dog a bone or your cat a ball to play with. Alternatively, you may ask your child or a friend to play with your pet and click some really good candid photos.

• Pets rarely stay still. Their constant movement may create focus issues. A pet with a long snout may be difficult to shoot because focusing on the nose may leave the face out of focus and focusing on the eyes may leave the rest of the face blurred. For a proper depth, using a small aperture shot and also clicking side profile shots of the pet may be effective techniques. Enrolling in some good photography workshops will help refine your skills.
• When you are looking at memorable shots of your pet, you may want to capture some of the tricks he/she does or shoot him/her mid-jump. Capturing your pet in action need not be as difficult as it sounds. In fact, some of the best pet shots are when the pet is at play. This action can be captured best by using high shutter speed. Most good cameras such as the Canon EOS 1D X Mark III come with automatic high shutter speed modes. If you are clicking indoors, select a mode with high shutter speed and flash.
• Choosing the perfect background can make all the difference when it comes to pet photography. When you are outdoors you may want to blur out the background so that it doesn’t clash or distract from your pet. If you are shooting indoors or capturing posed shots pick a single coloured background. If your pet’s coat is dark, pick out a light pastel colored backdrop and if it is light, a dark color will provide the necessary contrast.

Always shoot your pet from its eye level. This gives you a lot more to work with. In an indoor studio setting, a 50mm prime lens will work quite well but when it comes to capturing pets in an outdoor setting, you may want to try the different long lens. Focusing on the eyes of the pet may be a good idea but it leaves the image prone to red-eye shots. Pet shots may require quite a bit of after shoot editing work. Look up upcoming photography workshops in Delhi to learn more tricks and tips for pet photography.