Let's Talk Photography

[DLLNP]

Hi everyone!

Who has good methods or tricks for taking good photos of your animals? I have a pretty good Olympus E-PL3 digital camera (has a removable lens, but not a full sized SLR type), but its definitely a lot of camera for me and I don't have a lot of success with it. I also have been using my iPhone SE... which actually has a really incredible camera and takes beautiful 4K video.

I thought maybe we could start a thread sharing photos that you are proud of taking (or not proud of and want help with how it could be improved), maybe include the equipment you used and/or techniques.

Olympus E-PL2 w/Flash:


iPhone SE:




iPhone SE with HDR:


iPhone SE with flash:




Dillon

[eminart]

I've done a fair amount of photography. I'm still using an old Nikon D80 dslr. I have three main lenses that I do nearly all my herp photography with : Nikon 50mm f1.4, Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro, and Nikon 70-210mm f4-5.6. I'm not a pro, but I've gotten some decent shots.

[Ian of Oldham]

When you use your flash on close up put some white paper thin over the flash , the white paper will act as a diffuser and stop and unwanted shine or brightness, also stop red eye.
Remember that the F stops, speed and ISO all work together in a triangle.
your best F stop for long snake shots is F8 , F11 or F 22 this will give you greater depth of field and sharp finish.

0.1.1 Royals 1.0Corn 1.0Boa 1.0Carpet and a mad Cat.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I had a Canon PowerShot, don't remember the model, for most of the time I've been photographing. It was wonderful for macros, not so much for anything else. Just a regular point-and-shoot, so not very versatile but I have taken quite a few shots I was proud of with it.

My iPhone 5 camera has its lucky days but usually the quality of the color and sharpness of the photos leaves much to be desired, I am quite glad I'm no longer relying on it. Now I've got a Canon Rebel t3i that I plan on selling to get a t5i or t6i when I can set aside the difference, and I kinda want to get my own Nikon D3200, too since it handles a bit differently.

Right now I pretty much exclusively use the auto settings, I have no real need to go beyond it. I do like the DSLRs because the lenses allow me a greater range of distances for photographing than a simple PAS. For now I'm not getting any other lenses, but once I upgrade I plan on getting a small assembly of them.

Here are some of my favorite PowerShot photos:









And some from my Canon Rebel

[Ian of Oldham]

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

I had a Canon PowerShot, don't remember the model, for most of the time I've been photographing. It was wonderful for macros, not so much for anything else. Just a regular point-and-shoot, so not very versatile but I have taken quite a few shots I was proud of with it.

My iPhone 5 camera has its lucky days but usually the quality of the color and sharpness of the photos leaves much to be desired, I am quite glad I'm no longer relying on it. Now I've got a Canon Rebel t3i that I plan on selling to get a t5i or t6i when I can set aside the difference, and I kinda want to get my own Nikon D3200, too since it handles a bit differently.

Right now I pretty much exclusively use the auto settings, I have no real need to go beyond it. I do like the DSLRs because the lenses allow me a greater range of distances for photographing than a simple PAS. For now I'm not getting any other lenses, but once I upgrade I plan on getting a small assembly of them.

Here are some of my favorite PowerShot photos:









And some from my Canon Rebel

They are really good shots, If you go for the Nikon dont get the 3200 go for the 5200, the 32 can only do 3 frames per second on burst but you will get 5 per second with the 5200, and when you use burst it will stop camera shake. and the Iso is so much better and alot more pixs.


0.1.1 Royals 1.0 Corn 1.o Boa 1.o Carpet and a mad Cat.

[DLLNP]

Thanks for all the tips!

Awesome pictures Bigsnakegirl!

[dannybgoode]

Light is everything. If you use a flash consider getting a wireless one then you can keep it off the camera and position for best effect.

Otherwise natural light and plenty of it is your friend.

Oddly for someone who loves photography I haven't actually done a proper shoot with Auntie Rachel but may have a go today.

Ian's tip to learn about the exposure triangle is a good one and the more control you have over your camera (ie get it out of full auto move and use Av, Tv or full manual).

If you can shoot in RAW mode then by all means have a play but it is another step having to 'develop' your own images. RAW straight out of the camera generally looks pretty flat and disappointing but that's actually the point - you then decide how the final image should look.

Even shooting in jpeg some very simple adjustments in something like photoshop elements can make a huge difference. I wrote a quick tutorial once for another forum which I'll dig out.

Experiment and have fun!

Any specific questions let me know. I'm pretty comfortable talking about photography!

[Pareeeee]

If you have an external flash, point it at the ceiling (or try different angles for effects). Pointing at the ceiling diffuses the light so you don't get harsh shadows. You can get pretty cheap external flashes on eBay and Amazon. I never use the built-in flash if I can help it, it tends to ruin most shots.

Buy a black sheet and a white sheet for nice indoor backdrops. One half of the sheet should be angled up so distracting objects in the background aren't seen in your photo.

Manual settings:

ISO:

Higher the number, the brighter - but more grainy - the photo. Every camera handles ISO differently so take a few test shits on different ISO's to see how high you can go without noticeable grain.

Aperture:

f-stop with a higher number = clear foreground AND clearer background. Also darker - better for using in bright light. If you are in a darker room you will have to either use a high ISO (grainier) or lower shutter speed to compensate (more chance for motion blur in low-light situations).

f-stop with a lower number ie f2.8 = clear foreground and blurry background. Your picture will be brighter as well allowing for a lower ISO (less graininess) and higher shutter speed (less motion blur).

Shutter Speed:

fairly simple. Higher the speed, the lower the chance of motion blur. High speeds also let in less light so you may have to compensate by either being in a well-lit area, using a flash, or raising the ISO / using a lower f-stop.

[SnoopySnake]

I don't really have any other tips to provide but this article is pretty helpful, I thought.
The Manual Photographer?s Cheat Sheet: A Comprehensive Infographic for Beginners

I was using the Nikon Coolpix L810, which isn't bad but I often had to adjust the color of the pics on my computer. Recently I upgraded to a Sony A290 with the standard 18-55mm lens and really like it. Here's some of the pics I've been happy with..these ones are with the Sony.

[SnoopySnake]

I've got more that I like but these are some of my favorites

[DLLNP]

Wow these are all great tips! Can't wait to try them on during my next "photo shoot" haha!

Very nice pictures, Snoppy! Love that Python