Walkthrough - Dog Photography
- Mark White
- Nov 24, 2015
- 3 min read
A couple of years ago I went along to a Photography Workshop with Andy Biggar, renowned dog and equestrian photographer. It was a fun day, and I learned a hell of lot. This post is not to take credit for Andy's tuition, but more to share what I learned and how I photograph mans best friend.
To capture a shot similar to the one above, the camera needs to be on a very fast shutter speed. 1/1000sec was used here in Shutter Priority mode. Shooting in Shutter Priority lets the camera choose the right apature for you - if you shot in full manaul mode by the time you got your camera settings correct you would have missed the shot.
Believe me when I say you can take up to 500 photos very quickly when doing any kind of action photography, and maybe only get two or three that you actually want to keep. That's the beauty of digial photography, no wasting film any more.
Setting up the Camera The first thing to do is set you focus to Single Point, and Continuous. This way when you half press your shutter and follow your subject the camera will be continuely focusing.
Set your camera to Burst Mode/Continous Shooting Mode.
For action shot, set your camera mode dial to Shutter Priority and change your shutter speed to 1/1000sec or higher - this will enusre you freeze the moment (and hopefully get a sharp looking photo).
Depending on the light at the time, you may have to up your ISO to get the shutter speed you want - don't be afraid to go up to anywhere such as ISO 1600 if need be. Yes you will get some noise in the photo, but that can't be helped.
For portait shots, set your camera to Apature Priority and change your f/stop to around f5.6. Your camera will set the shutter speed automatically, so change your f/stop until you get a shutter speed around 1/750sec, again adjusting your ISO if need be to get the correct
By havinging both Apature and Shutter Priority set up, you can quickly change between action shots and portraits without having to set up your camera.
The above may sound complecated, but its isn't - just sit at home having a coffee and play with your camera settings until you are comfortable, and don't be afraid to get out your camera manual!
Depending on the colour of your subject, if you camera will let you adjust the Exposure Compensate. For example, if you a photographing a dog the same colour as Hans pictured above, change the EV to -1 or -2.
If your subject is darker like a dark brown or black, set your EV to +1 or +2 - by doing this you will be able to retain more detail in the fur.
Getting Out There Now that your camera is set up, make sure you are wearing clothes you don't mind getting mucky, grab your wellies, dog lead(s) and head out for some fun.
When photographing dogs (or any other animal for that matter), get down to their eye level by either kneeling down, or getting flat on your stomach - understand what I said about the clothes now?
Be prepared to get very muddy, wet, cold or all of the above - believe me though, when you get a wonderful action or portrait shot its very much worth it.
Let your dog be natural and don't stress them out just so you can get the shot you want. Throw a ball or toy to have them playing/running but don't force them to do something they don't want to do.
When you are ready to get some action shots, half press your shutter with your single focus point on the dogs head or eye area, and practice following them. When you are ready press the shutter button fully and keep hold of it to get multiple shots. It will depend on your camera buffer rate as to how many shots you will get before the camera needs to save to your memory card.
Be ready for when your dog takes a break and either sits or lies down to catch its breath. Quickly change from shutter priority to apature priority for portrait shots (just don't forget to change back again).
Really hope you found this walkthough of some use. Please leave a comment or two below to let me know what you think.
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