First Aid For Photographing animals
Please, don't let the numbers and terms scare you off. It's just
like a light-switch. You don't need to know how it works as long
as you know how to push a button.
1. You have a digital SLR camera, and you know how it works.
Main-Setting |
Put the camera in "P". This way it works like
a semi-automatic. Now when you change a setting, the camera
will adjust the other settings to the one you just changed. |
ISO |
On a sunny day, your ISO should be set on 100, on a cloudy day 200. Don't set your ISO higher than 400 for this purpose, because that will cause too much distortion. ( a grainy picture) |
Aperture
( diaphragm) |
Look at the aperture number in your display. It should be 5.6 or higher for this purpose. |
Shutter-speed |
Look at the shutter-speed number in your display. It should be 1/60 or higher. A lower number will cause a "motion-blur" caused by yourself or the animal. Is your ISO not lower than 400, and the aperture number is not higher than 5.6. and your shutter-speed is still 1/30 or lower? That means it is too dark to take a good picture. |
White-balance |
Is not necessary, but it would be nice. Set your camera on "sunshine" ""clouds" "lamplight" etc. |
Sharpness |
Leave it up to the camera. Most cameras are not perfect
doing this, so take a lot of pictures while you "beep" focus
again and again every time.
Back to top |
The settings are easy to identify in your display, if you know what to look for:
ISO is always a round number, like 100, 200 etc. Shutter-speed has a "slash" like 1/60 or 1/125 and the aperture number has a dot in it, like 5.6 or 2.8.
ISO is not always displayed, it depends on the camera.
2. You have a digital SLR camera, and you know nothing about cameras
Main-Setting |
Put your camera on automatic (usually a little
green square, or the word auto. |
|
"Do look in your display to see what the camera is doing. ISO not higher than 400, aperture around the 5.6 ( not lower).
Is the shutter-speed still 1/30 or lower? it means it is too dark to take a good picture.
|
Sharpness |
Leave it up to the camera. Most cameras are not perfect doing
this, so take a lot of pictures while you "beep" focus again
and again every time.
Back to top |
The settings are easy to identify in your display, if you know what to look for:
ISO is always a round number, like 100, 200 etc. Shutter-speed has a "slash" like 1/60 or 1/125 and the aperture number has a dot in it, like 5.6 or 2.8.
ISO is not always displayed, it depends on the camera. If your camera wants to use flash, it means it's too dark to take a good picture.
3. The influence of lenses on the settings
for digital SLR cameras.
(35 mm is about the same as the human eye.
In The old analoque way that was about 50 mm)
17 tot 55 mm lens =
Standard
|
Do not turn your lens under 35 mm. This will cause
a "wide-angle-effect" and it will cause a distorted picture
of the animal. You can use the above settings for this lens
concerning shutter-speed, ISO and aperture. |
70 tot 200 mm lens =
( tele-zoom) |
For this lens you will have to use other settings: Shutter-speed:
at least 1/100
( more sensitive for "motion-blur") but the aperture can be
lower: 4.0 ( because this lens "flattens" the image. ISO stays
the same. |
Fixed Focal Length Lenses |
You can use the above settings concerning shutter-speed,
ISO and aperture within the range of the particular lens in
mm. You will have to change your own position in relation
to the animal in order to make it smaller or bigger, because
you cannot zoom in. Do not use a "wide-angle" FFLL ( less than
35 mm) for this purpose. Fixed Focal Length Lenses often make
sharper and better images.
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4. The animal in the
frame using an SLR camera
Be sure the animal fills up the frame as much as possible,
without pieces being cut off. Avoid a "wide-angle-effect" so
don't turn a standard 17-55 mm lens under 35 mm. Take as much
distance it takes to make the animal look "normal" without deformation.
For a small animal, this would be about 1 to 3 metres, for a
bigger animal like a horse, this would be more of course. When
using a tele-zoom lens, the distance will be always more.
Take the picture at eye-level!!
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5. Is my digital viewfinder camera suitable?
Size DOES matter in this case. How large can this camera make
the picture? The photograph must have the minimal size of 960
x 1280 pixels. ( use as less compression as possible!) If your
camera can't do this, it's not suitable. View finder cameras
without an optical zoom will most likely not fit the profile
as well, and taking a pic with your mobile phone is absolutely
not an option.
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6. You have a digital viewfinder camera, and you know how it works.
Using a digital view-finder camera, you
can use the same settings as for the SLR camera, but some of the
settings might not be visual in your display.
Main-Setting |
Put the camera in "P". This way it works like
a semi-automatic. Now when you change a setting, the camera
will adjust the other settings to the one you just changed. |
ISO |
On a sunny day, your ISO should be set on 100, on a cloudy day 200. Don't set your ISO higher than 400 for this purpose, because that will cause too much distortion. ( a grainy picture) |
Aperture
( diaphragm) |
Look at the aperture number in your display. It should be 5.6 or higher for this purpose. |
Shutter-speed |
Look at the shutter-speed number in your display. It should be 1/60 or higher. A lower number will cause a "motion-blur" caused by yourself or the animal. Is your ISO not lower than 400, and the aperture number is not higher than 5.6. and your shutter-speed is still 1/30 or lower? That means it is too dark to take a good picture. |
White-balance |
Is not necessary, but it would be nice. Set your camera on "sunshine" ""clouds" "lamplight" etc. |
Sharpness |
Leave it up to the camera. Most cameras are not perfect doing
this, so take a lot of pictures while you "beep" focus again
and again every time.
Back to top |
The settings are easy to identify in your display, if you know what to look for:
ISO is always a round number, like 100, 200 etc. Shutter-speed has a "slash" like 1/60 or 1/125 and the aperture number has a dot in it, like 5.6 or 2.8.
ISO is not always displayed, it depends on the camera.
7. You have a digital viewfinder camera, and you
know nothing about cameras.
Using a digital view-finder camera, you
can use the same settings as for the SLR camera, but some of the
settings might not be visual in your display.
Main-Setting |
Put your camera on automatic usually a little
green square, or the word auto. |
|
"Do look in your display to see what the camera is doing. ISO not higher than 400, aperture around the 5.6 ( not lower).
Is the shutter-speed still 1/30 or lower? it means it is too dark to take a good picture.
|
Sharpness |
Leave it up to the camera. Most cameras are not perfect doing
this, so take a lot of pictures while you "beep" focus again
and again every time. |
The settings are easy to identify in your display, if you know what to look for:
ISO is always a round number, like 100, 200 etc. Shutter-speed has a "slash" like 1/60 or 1/125 and the aperture number has a dot in it, like 5.6 or 2.8.
ISO is not always displayed, it depends on the camera. If your camera wants to use flash, it means it's too dark to take a good picture.
Back to top
8. The animal in the frame using a digital viewfinder camera.
Small pets ( like cats and dogs)
Digital view-finder cameras without an optical zoom are most
likely not suitable for this purpose. Using a camera with optical
zoom: Take 4 to 5 metres distance, and zoom in until the animal
fills the frame as much as possible without pieces being cut
off.
Bigger animals ( like horses)
Take enough distance ( to avoid a "wide-angle effect) . about
8 to 10 metres, and zoom in until the animal fits the frame
without pieces being cut off.
Take the picture at eye-level!
Back to top
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9. Using the flash!
Well, if you HAVE to use flash, we have a little problem.
Flashlight is not a problem in itself, it just ruins the eyes.
The flashlight is being reflected by the cornea of the animals
eye and that results in a weird white or red spot where the
nuances of the eye should be visible. Those eyes are very important
for a good portrait. BUT if you have made a "flash-pic" and
you have a non-flashed pic of the animal's eyes in about the
same position as well( sharp) that might be an option. Photographs
a little too light or too dark I can adjust. I just cannot fix
blurry pictures, weird expressions and "flat-flashed eyes" (
without an additional photograph)
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F :)
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