Digital Photography Tips

Taking photographs of animals
Animal photography is challenging because it’s difficult to get your subjects to do what you’d like them to do. Sure, a well-trained dog is more likely to sit or stay than your average hamster, but even Lassie doesn’t follow directions as well as your average human. But by following just a few helpful tips, you can take animal photographs that say a lot more about your pet than, “Gosh, he’s sure blurry!”

Get ready to say cheese
A lot of animals, whether they are house pets or barnyard creatures, don’t like cameras. Perhaps it’s something to do with the size or the shape of the camera that frightens many animals. Add in the loud click of a shutter and the bright light of a flash, and you can seriously spook some animals. The end result is a blurry, out-of-focus shot.
Many household pets can be trained to get used to cameras. Let your pet sniff or smell the camera when you’re not using it, and give them special treats every time you take their picture.
He might be a cute cat, but this picture is blurry. This could have been eliminated with the use of the camera’s flash.

Know their personalities
Most pets have certain rituals, and the same is true for wildlife. They are sleepy part of the time, foraging for food at other times, and playing or fighting the rest of the time. If you know the moods of the animal, you’ll be able to tell if they’re about to do something playful, funny, or interesting.

Get their personalities
A good animal picture is not that different from a good person picture. You need to capture their personality in the picture or you’ll just end up with a boring snapshot. If your cat likes to play, try to photograph it running around. If your dog has a sad face, try to take a close-up shot of his expression. If you’re trying to photograph a lion at the zoo, aim for the big moment when she’s doing something straight out of The Lion King instead of when she’s taking a nap.
Get closer

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