Spice Up Your Pet Photography
Pet photography is nothing new.
Now though, you don't need to rely on a professional to take exciting portrait and action photographs of your pet.
Your point-and-shoot digital camera possesses all the capability you need to capture your pet in high-quality, memorable poses.
One of the most important things to consider in photographing your pet is to break the habit of only shooting them in traditional, potentially mundane poses and settings.
Let your imagination be your limit.
First, consider what your pet enjoys doing most.
Whether it's chasing bugs, eating ice, or enjoying a good old belly scratch, shots of your pet doing what they love most often create the most sensational pictures.
Next, mix up your shooting perspective.
Many great pet photos are taken from positions at or even below that of your pet.
Try getting down on the ground or floor and see things from an entirely new angle.
Also, when taking action photos, check to see if your camera has a burst mode.
Many cameras, especially newer models, have a setting for taking several frames with a single press of the shutter release button.
Once a series of frames is captured, you can simply review the set and delete all but the best frames.
Finally, consider abandoning the "Automatic" setting on your camera.
While auto is great for spontaneous pictures when no time is afforded to contemplate general settings, it greatly limits the ability to adapt your camera to specific conditions and circumstances.
Instead, try setting your camera to "Shutter Priority" mode.
This will allow you to designate your shutter speed.
By selecting a shutter speed of greater than about 600 or 800 (the shutter is open for 1/600th or 1/800th of a second), you'll freeze the action of your pet with little or no blur.
By experimenting and gradually slowing your shutter speed (lowering the shutter speed setting below 600), you can begin to create blur and use it artistically to enhance your pet action photos.
Digital imaging is great in that it lets you experiment and simply delete unwanted photos.
It's important to understand that by manually selecting a shutter speed in "Shutter Priority" mode, an appropriate aperture setting will automatically be chosen and assigned by your camera.
I'll cover "Aperture Priority" mode in a future article, so stay tuned.
Don't let pet photography intimidate you.
With some imagination, you can bring out the personality in your pet while honing your photography skills.
Don't be scared to try new things with your camera.
If things don't look right, delete and try again.
You'll be amazed by the power you possess!
Now though, you don't need to rely on a professional to take exciting portrait and action photographs of your pet.
Your point-and-shoot digital camera possesses all the capability you need to capture your pet in high-quality, memorable poses.
One of the most important things to consider in photographing your pet is to break the habit of only shooting them in traditional, potentially mundane poses and settings.
Let your imagination be your limit.
First, consider what your pet enjoys doing most.
Whether it's chasing bugs, eating ice, or enjoying a good old belly scratch, shots of your pet doing what they love most often create the most sensational pictures.
Next, mix up your shooting perspective.
Many great pet photos are taken from positions at or even below that of your pet.
Try getting down on the ground or floor and see things from an entirely new angle.
Also, when taking action photos, check to see if your camera has a burst mode.
Many cameras, especially newer models, have a setting for taking several frames with a single press of the shutter release button.
Once a series of frames is captured, you can simply review the set and delete all but the best frames.
Finally, consider abandoning the "Automatic" setting on your camera.
While auto is great for spontaneous pictures when no time is afforded to contemplate general settings, it greatly limits the ability to adapt your camera to specific conditions and circumstances.
Instead, try setting your camera to "Shutter Priority" mode.
This will allow you to designate your shutter speed.
By selecting a shutter speed of greater than about 600 or 800 (the shutter is open for 1/600th or 1/800th of a second), you'll freeze the action of your pet with little or no blur.
By experimenting and gradually slowing your shutter speed (lowering the shutter speed setting below 600), you can begin to create blur and use it artistically to enhance your pet action photos.
Digital imaging is great in that it lets you experiment and simply delete unwanted photos.
It's important to understand that by manually selecting a shutter speed in "Shutter Priority" mode, an appropriate aperture setting will automatically be chosen and assigned by your camera.
I'll cover "Aperture Priority" mode in a future article, so stay tuned.
Don't let pet photography intimidate you.
With some imagination, you can bring out the personality in your pet while honing your photography skills.
Don't be scared to try new things with your camera.
If things don't look right, delete and try again.
You'll be amazed by the power you possess!
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