Problems With Photographing My Dogs

[Rilmas]

Hello, my name is Mandy and I'm new to these forums. I've joined in hopes of learning more about photography and of course about how to take better pictures.

Almost a year ago (January of 2003) I purchased my first SLR camera, the Canon Digital Rebel. This move was an upgrade from my Sony Mavica CD1000. Although I'm pretty inexperienced with SLR's, I haven't regretted this move one bit. Most of the photos I've taken have been very pleasing.

Well most of the photos have been coming out quite well, I'm having a terrible time photographing my dogs. I have two boxers who I basically consider to be my kids since I don't have children. On a typical day, I'll take as many as 50+ photos and only a small handful come out to be satisfactory. I just can't seem to get the right settings in place.

Most of the trouble that I have seem to be when we're outdoors. Our backyard probably about 75% shade. Most of the still photos (when they're just standing still) that I take come out to dark. When they're running around playing, they come out to dark and in many of the photos to blurry. When I try a faster shutter speed, they come out far to dark due to the shade. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle here. Any ideas on what I can do differently to get brighter and sharper pictures of them playing would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!
- Mandy

[FlipsidE]

My suggestion, first thing to try...turn the ISO up to 400 or so, and try that. You should be able to get some better low light pictures that way.

FlipsidE

[PacAce]

Welcome to the Forum, Mandy.

Re your Digital Rebel, I guess you meant to say that you got it in Jan of 2004, right, since they didn't come out until Sept or Oct of 2003. :D

Anyway, getting back to your problem, can you tell us what settings you were using when you took the pictures of your dogs outside in the shade? And what lens? Were you also using a flash?

My first guess at your problem is backlighting. Does any part of the background under the sun also show up in the photos? And if so, does it look OK while the parts under the shade are coming out too dark?

[Rilmas]

Thanks for the info/advice so far. Yes, I did mean 2004 not 2003... my bad. :)

As of right now, I'm still pretty much a newbie to photography. I'm still learning about the different settings which can and should be used under certain situations.

I've been trying just about every combination possible. Using complete manual mode, Tv, Av, using different shutter speeds, ISO settings, etc. Maybe that's my real problem. I'm just so impatient and get frustrated that I can't just get it right. Yes, I do use a flash, but only the one on the camera. I haven't purchased an extra flash, but I'm giving it serious though now.

I think my realy issue is that I just need to slow down and take it one step at a time as apposed to going overboard with all of the settings. :lol:

- Mandy

[Scottes]

As FlipsidE said, turn up the ISO. This will allow you faster shutter when you need it, and more depth of field when you need that.


If the dogs are playing or otherwise active, set it to Tv mode so you control the shutter and the camera controls the aperture. Start out with 1/250th if they're somewhat active, up to 1/1000th if they're very active. Try to focus on their eyes - if the dog's out of focus it usually still looks OK, but if the eyes are out of focus it almost never looks good. (This part isn't easy on an active dog, but the eyes really matter.)

Get a feel for the shutter speeds needed depending on their activity.


If the dogs are calm or not active, flip it to Av to control the aperture and let the camera handle the shutter speed. Again, focus on the eyes. Adjust the aperture to a larger number in the display - the larger the number the more depth of field. Keep an eye on the shutter speed and don't let it get below about 1-1/2 times the length of your lens. So if you use a 100mm lens don't let the shutter speed got below 1/150th. Slightly faster is better.

Av mode will let you get used to the amount of DoF needed to get the entire dog in focus. (Or just more of the scene.)


If you have multiple lenses stick with one lens for a few days until you get the hang of things. If you have a zoom, try to keep it at one setting until you get the hang of things.

If you have multiple dogs try to concentrate on one only (or let only one out at a time). It can be very difficult to get 2 dogs completely in focus, so concentrate on one at a time until you get the hang of things. If more than one dog is out, focus on the one closer to you. It's better to have the dogs in the background be out of focus. If it's an action shot by all means focus on the dog doing the primary action. Again though, I recommend working with one at a time.

Using the built-in flash will often result in "green-eye" (just like red-eye with people) so I'd stay away from it. If you need more light just adjust the ISO up. It will still look good, and a grainy shot is better than no shot at all, right?


Good luck, and keep us posted with some pics in Share!

[nosquare2003]

What exposure mode, M, Av, Tv, P...did you use?

Was it under the backlighting situation like PacAce said?

[Conk]

I get the impression that you aren't sure when to use certain iso speeds, aperture setings etc. My suggestion is to learn which settings do what. We can tell you all the right settings for the conditions they apply, but unless you understand what aperture works with which condition or what shutter speed applies to certain situations and conditions, you will always be guessing like you have been. You need to study some basics.

[snibbetsj]

Hi Mandy,

You've got some nice photos on your website, particularly the whales.


You might try using partial metering and setting the center focus point, I find that works much better when the subject is in the shade and there is light in the background.

Jeff

[Jon]

I'm going to suggest something that varies just a little from what everyone else has said. Try setting the camera on the Green Box, or in Sports mode. Work on capturing the dogs that way, getting so you can see, and anticipate, when to get the picture. This will help you get your timing down. Then check over the EXIF information (you can read it in ZoomBrowser) and see what settings the camera used (shutter speed, ISO, aperture) so you can get an idea what settings work. From there you can go on to trying shutter/aperture settings, manually setting the ISO, and the like. I must agree - you won't want to use flash. The Eos cameras all set off a pre-flash to gauge the correct exposure, and that'll slow things down, causing you to miss more shots.

[nosquare2003]

I must agree - you won't want to use flash. The Eos cameras all set off a pre-flash to gauge the correct exposure, and that'll slow things down, causing you to miss more shots.


How can a pre-flash slow things down?

Edited: Normally, we can't even distinguish two flashes (preflash and flash). Exception is that we drag the shutter with a second curtain sync. I don't believe that preflash is a cause for missed shots.

[Jon]

I must agree - you won't want to use flash. The Eos cameras all set off a pre-flash to gauge the correct exposure, and that'll slow things down, causing you to miss more shots.


How can a pre-flash slow things down?

Edited: Normally, we can't even distinguish two flashes (preflash and flash). Exception is that we drag the shutter with a second curtain sync. I don't believe that preflash is a cause for missed shots.

When you're shooting a fast-moving subject, like a dog at play, it doesn't take much to miss the peak. You may not be able to distinguish between the two flashes, but it will cause a lag. And when you're trying to learn what to do, you don't want that complicating things. Granted, an Eos pre-flash won't slow things as much as the preflash on a PowerShot, but . . . And even more, you don't want red-eye reduction on.

[JasonMX]

I knew that you need a high ISO for action shots, and low ISO for slow moving/night shots, but I never knew a higher ISO would brighten up a picture.,

[chris.bailey]

Mandy

You have started with a very hard subject to capture and it is made worse by them knowing you.

Try to start with an aim i.e. a picture of them side by side or whatever and work on that. Its very easy just to pick up the camera and snap away hoping that some of them will work. As someone above mentioned, start off in the creative modes side of the camera. Its the results that are important, not how you got them.

[sGu]

Show us some samples together with shot settings in detail, we'll have a much better idea exactly what went wrong and how can it be improved, with everyone guessing, it'll only get messy and confusing.

[RichardtheSane]

Do you have any examples we could look at?

I do a bit of Dog photography here and there and I am sure it would be a lot easier to help if we saw some picture, along with the camera settings used for each.

Start with the sitting still type shots... Set the camera to AV and set the aperture to F5.6, also I recommend setting ISO 400. Your shutter speed should be above 1/60th then, and since you have semi still dogs then this is enough, although the higher you get the better!

Get down to their eye level and get shooting before you get doggie investigated!!!

My Dogs Gallery (incomplete) (http://www.richardlindley.co.uk/gallery/show.php?gallery=dogs)

[Persian-Rice]

I have two dogs myself.

The only thing I recommend is not to use flash. I notice that I always overexpose the white on my JRT and if I underexpose you can't see his eyes because he has two dark brown patches around them.

He is a hard dog to shoot

Best bet is to get them in a soft but well lit area and catch them with a fast shutter speed.

[RichardtheSane]

Fill flash is recommended though, but only from a seperate flashgun.

When I photograph dogs I have my 550ex shoe mounted set for high speed sync and 3 stops under, gives a lovely catchlight and illuminates the eyes better (even very dark eyes) without giving green eye. Also helps to lighten the shadows a little... worth a try.

[lmelendez]

Hi there
I'm new to all this stuff as well, and just got my DRebel. I know a bit about shutter speeds and aperture, but I couldn't understand this:

Keep an eye on the shutter speed and don't let it get below about 1-1/2 times the length of your lens. So if you use a 100mm lens don't let the shutter speed got below 1/150th. Slightly faster is better.

Why do I have to keep the shutter speed below 1-1/2 times the length of the lens?

Just curious....

Leo.

[Jon]

You need to keep it above 1 1/2 times the lens focal length. In 35 mm photography, it's pretty well established that the slowest the average photographer can hand-hold a lens is at a shutter speed = 1/ focal length. Slower and you get camera shake showing up in normal prints. Since the D30/D60/10D/DR/20D have a 1.6x crop factor, you need to multiply the actual lens f.l. by this to get the safe handheld speed.

[lmelendez]

Interesting!!!

Thanks Jon... I didn't know that...

Leo.

[Jon]

When I got my first DSLR after years of film I forgot all about that, too. I carefully allowed for the 1.6x crop on my lens choices so I had the angular coverage I knew I used, then went ahead and used 1/f.l. on too many shots, especially at the tele end. Ouch!

[djtowle]

Hi Mandy, I hear your problems It took me months to get it right with my cats, They are quick, small and never sit still. Others have given some great advice here already. I would go with the sports mode to start with, the camera is pretty good at figureing things these days. When you are feeling bold.... Here's my against the grain suggestion:

For the blurry pictures:
Set your camera to AV mode ... aperature priority. and pick an aperture that will give the depth of field you would like to see. (this depends on many things: focal length of lens, distance to subject, and how blurry you want the background and foreground to be) Try f 8 to start, f5.6 if it is really dark. Then use the camera to meter a few spots in your yard and see what shutter speeds are coming up. To freeze the motion of the dog you probably want over 1/500th sec. 1/1000 is better. If the shutter speeds are too low turn up the ASA on your camera until they are in line with what you want. This will give you a consistant depth of field (part of picture that is in focus) while letting the camera pick the highest shutterspeed for the lighting conditions. If you want more of your pets in focus use a smaller apature f11 f16 etc. If you just want just a face (or eye <g>) in focus open up the lens f 4.5, f 2.8. Take a bunch of pictures at one setting and study them before trying the next setting.

for the Underexposed dogs:

You will need to use the correct metering mode, I don't know what settings there are on the Rebel. If they are dark colored (or very light) you can dial in some exposure compansation, this will tell the camera to overexpose (for a dark subject) or under expose (for a light subject). If they are Dalmations, you're out of luck <g> just kidding.

If some of this doesn't make sense, ask and I will try to explain better.

[Jon]

"...Since the D30/D60/10D/DR/20D have a 1.6x crop factor, you need to multiply the actual lens f.l. by this to get the safe handheld speed..."

The crop has NO effect upon focal length. Despite the supposed "focal length equivalent" mumbo jumbo, all a crop factor determines is the angle of view and how much of the image circle the capture medium will record. A given focal length lens paired with a CMOS which is smaller than 35mm will produce the SAME focal length characteristics as it will on 35mm film. A 24mm lens is still a 24mm lens whether the film is 4"x5",
2 1/4 x 2 1/4 or 35mm.

Read what I said, not what you thought I said. I made no representation that the focal length of the lens would change. What will happen is because you need to enlarge the image more from the 1.6x crop, for a given print size, the camera shake will be magnified more than when you enlarge from a full-frame original. We're talking about the safe handheld speed not the lens' actual focal length.