Proud Photography Blog

Photographing animals could be one of the most satisfying experiences you could ever have. The picture of an eagle effortlessly gliding through the air could give you confidence. A deer darting through a field could be breathtaking. A tiger walking through the jungle could be invigorating. A cat asleep on a rug could be soothing, and a dog catching a Frisbee in mid air could be amusing. Animal photographs evoke a wide range of emotions. In a well-shot picture, you can almost hear the kite flapping its wings, or the lark singing its song. Catching these instinctive creatures doing what they do best is every photographer’s dream.

If you are planning on photographing animals, you could start with your own pet dog or parrot. Although taking good eye-level shots can bring out that bond you share with your pet, it may be difficult. Crouching or sitting in order to take a picture is good, but see to it that your pet is not in a playful mood. Stay away from striking distance if your pet happens to be a bird, and don’t allow your dog to lick your camera lens. Pets are not comfortable with new objects like your camera, or the sound of the shutter, or the autofocus motor drive. They understand voice tones, so use a calm and soothing tone and put them at ease. When it comes to action shots, photograph what your pet does best, thus bringing out its character. Using a higher shutter speed can avoid the blur caused by sudden erratic movements.

Although taking pictures in a zoo may not be demanding, it’s a good way to practice your animal photography. Visiting the zoo early in the morning is best, since there are fewer people around, and the morning sunlight will appear warmer and also cause less shadowing. Moreover, most animals are active in the morning and tend to get sluggish in the afternoon.

Once you get the hang of it, you can go in for wild life photography. This is difficult as you have to catch the animals in their natural habitat, but this could be the most thrilling thing you could ever do. Wild animals are unpredictable, so getting close to them or following them into the jungles could be dangerous. Using long lenses will enable you to get good shots from a distance. A 300mm zoom lens could give you good pictures. If your budget permits it, you can even go in for a 500mm telephoto lens. Using long lenses result in camera shake, so using a tripod may help. For good hand-held shots, you will have to use a good shutter speed. For example, if you are using a 300mm lens, using a shutter speed of 1/300^th of a second in combination with a fast ISO setting will give good pictures.

If you want to further fine tune your abilities, you can go in for macro photography and photograph tiny insects and creatures such as colorful bugs, butterflies, bees, caterpillars or spiders in your backyard. You can use special macro lens for the purpose. One of the problems with macro photography is getting the whole subject into focus. If you are shooting a bug and the entire bug is not in focus you may want to focus on the most attractive part. So use manual focus with the smallest aperture size. You may set the camera to shutter priority and set the shutter speed to the slowest it can go without allowing camera shake.

Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get it right the first few times. Taking multiple shots and retaining the best picture may help. Also, if your subject is shy, approach it slowly, or else it may disappear out of sight. So make the best use of your camera, and you will soon see that there is more to your ecosystem than meets the eye.