What do you use for Pet Potraits?

[Guerry Dalrymple]

What lens do you use for pet potraits? Do you approch lighting the same as for people portraits?

[Jon]

Lighting, yes. Lenses - 24-70, 70-200 or (if out of range for the 24-70 and too close for the 70-200) 24-105. I mostly do environmental, hence the lens mix.

[deci]

Home work - Lenses - Prefer to use the 50L, but nifty or 85 1.8 will do me fine. Lighting - prefer natural light (hence the 50L), but will use flash, provided its bounced off a bit of cut out plastic milk bottle I have strapped to the back of my flash and the flash pointing straight up.(beats a stofen, hands down)

For shelter work, I use either the above arrangement or, for the more scared furries, one of the zooms in my sig. I don't use flash at all in shelter, I figure the poor buggers are scared enough.

[rushnp774]

By far, my best pet portraits are from my "nifty fifty" f/1.8 lens. Check out my pics on Flickr if you'd like to see them. I only have that lens and a crappy Sigma 28-105, so I tend to leave the 50mm on there most of the time.

[Boogedy]

Another vote for the 50 f/1.8! I use it almost exclusively for any kind of portraits. My Flickr page has some pet shots taken with it (link in siggy).

[macro_shooter]

And yet another vote for the nifty fifty!

[queenbee288]

I used the nifty fifty for some close ups of some kids this weekend. Nice and sharp but the bokeh looked like crap.

[RPCrowe]

I once used a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens but have shifted to a 24-70mm f/2.8L for studio work and a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens for outside work.

In the studio, I like two old White Lightning 500 "Coffee Can" units bounced into umbrellas. One from directly above using a white umbrella and one from camera position using a silver umbrella to get detail in the animal's coat. I have more sophisticated lights but, I like the quality of the White Lightnings for dogs, especially white dogs.

I don't use a tripod but will usually sit on a roller desk chair so I can move around but be at the level of the animal.

Outside, I use sun with a 420EX or 550EX (depending on which is on my camera at the time) for fill lighting.

By the way, I use the white stuffed animal for lighting and exposure tests so I am set up and ready to go when I have the dog in front of my camera.

[uphillslide]

I use my Tamron 17-50. Sometimes I try to keep distance though and use a canon 70-200. This allows my cat to ignore me better.

[deci]

Originally Posted by uphillslide

............ This allows my cat to ignore me better.

First time I heard of a cat needing any help to ignore someone

[RPCrowe]

Actually, just bouncing a flash often does the trick, especially for those photo opportunities which are fleeting. My wife is a neat-nick... Everything has its place but, the only things she doesn't mind lying around are my cameras. I keep two set up in different rooms for opportunities like this...

[Meanderthal]

Originally Posted by uphillslide

I use my Tamron 17-50. Sometimes I try to keep distance though and use a canon 70-200. This allows my cat to ignore me better.

+1. Depends on what gear one has, the circumstances, and the pet, of course. For DOF my Canon 50mm 1.4 is very nice. Fill flash with EX420, as RPCrowe, if needed. Most of all, patience and good humor, or the pet won't be at the best .

[cincojoe]

24-70L, 50 1.4, 85 1.8 are all good ones. Even the canon macro lenses are great for portraits.

[deci]

I'd forgotten all about the 60mm e-fs

[rebelchard]

nifty fifty definitely gets the job done for me.