How To Polarise Skies

This copies the effect of using a polariser filter on skies.

1.  Duplicate the layer - Layer / Duplicate Layer.

2. Select the Background layer and go to Image / Adjustments / Desaturate - yep it makes the image black and white.

3. Now go to Image / Adjustments / Invert and set the layer Blending Mode to Overlay.

4. Still on the "negative" layer go to Filter / Blur / Gaussian Blur.  Choose 25 to 30 pixels and click OK.

5. Go to Image / Adjustments / Levels and drag the white point slider to the left until the input level reads 215.  Take the Midpoint slider and drag to the right to a value of 0.23.  These numbers are for the tutorial I saw in the magazine.  Try them first but you might have to play a little.

6. Go to Layer / Layer Mask / Reveal All and paint with black on the layer mask (the white box next to the "negative" image) to reveal the foreground which we don't want to effect with the polarising effect.  Click on the white-filled layer mask in the Layers Palette.

7. Choose a hard round brush with the Opacity set to 100% and big enough to paint over the foreground.  Set the Foreground Colour to Black and paint over the landscape to reveal the original image without getting too close to the horizon.

8. Reduce the size of the brush and carefully paint over parts of the image that might poke into the sky and up close to the horizon.

9. You can intensify the effect - duplicate the layer, complete with it's layer mask.  Change the Blending Mode of the duplicate layer to Soft Light.

10.  Reduce the intensity by playing with the Opacity levels of the two masked layers.  Flatten and Save As.

7:02 PM - 29/10/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Orton Imagery - Soft and Dreamy

Here is the step-by-step recipe for making Orton images in Photoshop:

1. Open any image you wish to try the technique on. Make a duplicate of the image (Image>Duplicate). Close the original image.
2. Lighten the image as follows: Image>Apply Image… then in the dialog box that comes up change the bending mode to “Screen” and the Opacity to 100%. This will give you an appropriately overexposed image.
3. Duplicate this overexposed image (Image>Duplicate).
4. Blur this second image (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur… and in the dialog box use a Radius setting of 15 to 50 pixels – the higher the pixel setting the blurrier the photo and the more ‘painterly’ the image… but you can go too far!). Experiment with different settings, for my tastes and for the size of my digital files (50-100 megabytes) a radius of about 25 pixels works perfect.
5. Now select the move tool from the Photoshop tool bar (or just press “v” on your keyboard for quicker access to the move tool). Hold down the “shift” key and use your mouse to drag and drop the blurry image onto the sharp one (don’t let go of the shift key until after you release the mouse button or the images won’t be in perfect alignment).
6. Bring up the layers palette in Photoshop (F7 is the keyboard shortcut). Under the word “Layers” in the layers palette will be a menu box of blending modes. Change the blending mode from “normal” to “multiply”.
7. Now “flatten’ the two layers by pressing “CTRL+E” or by clicking on the sideways triangle in the layers palette to select ‘flatten image’.

There, you now have an Orton image - if you like your new masterpiece save the file!

http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0106/dw0106-1.html

1:18 PM - 18/9/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Soft and Dreamy Portraits

Creating "Dreamy" Portraits

bikeracer    says: After reviewing the photos from a headshot shoot I did for a friend, I took a stab at playing with some of them. My photoshop skills aren't refined enough to aim for "improving reality" so I never really tried. Here's the unreality I came up with: Basic shot and camera setup: * shot outside in nice, overcast light * simple, unobtrusive background * reflector for fill light and catchlights (I used a 20" x 30" foam board. It also came in handy for white balance) * wide aperture, on a normal lens (these shots are all f/4 on a 50mm) Photoshop steps: (I am by no means a PS guru, this is just the way I've worked on these photos - Feel free to suggest improvements and/or shortcuts.) * Start with a very high key conversion from RAW, pushing highlights to just below clipping, and allow shadows to block pretty far. * Duplicate the background and apply a healthy gaussian blur - no particular radius, but the image should look pretty blurred. * Change the blending of that new layer to multiply and reduce opacity to 50-75%. * Add a reveal all mask to the blurred layer and carefully paint out the eyes. This allows more of the underlying original layer to show through, lightening and sharpening the eyes in one step. Merge visible layers to create a new working layer. * Apply USM for local contrast at about 10-20% but over a wide radius (25 - 75 is a good starting point) * Curves to play with contrast, punching mids mostly. * Resize, sharpen to taste, done. =] First result: I especially like what the reflecting card did for this one; both filling her face with even light, and creating interesting catchlights in her eyes. For the second shot: * I did everything pretty much the same as shot 1, but all in smaller proportions. * not such a high-key conversion * smaller radius on the blur * less opacity on the new layer * less painting of the layer mask for the eyes * but, I picked a good face color with the eyedropper and painted out some highlights and shadows with the paintbrush at about 10% opacity. Second result: So, while still obviously PSed, I'd like to think this shot looks a bit more realistic in its dreaminess. Finally, in the last shot: * all the steps in the first two * but, I didn't like the brightness or color of the background, so select the entire photo with the rectangular marquee tool with the feather set to something like 100-200 px and then invert that selection. * create a curve layer and a color balance layer and use that selection to create layer masks on both layers. * adjust to taste - the selection keeps the curves or color play away from her face, but allows for some pretty dramatic vignetting. Final result: I hope you enjoyed this how-to. Feel free to add to it. Posted at 7:06AM, 7 November 2006 WST ( permalink )

5:30 PM - 17/9/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

I Hate Masks!

Masks are NOT selections!!!

Masks only help you REFINE your selections!

Okay let's say you have a landscape image where the foreground needs to be lightened and the background could be darkened.

Now you want to blend the line between the lightening of the foreground and darkening of the background otherwise they'll leave an obvious line where you've made the changes. 

Normally if you were just selecting one part of the image you would use your feathering option.  But if I select the foreground and feather it by 50-200 pixels then it would feather all the way around the selection making the sides and bottom of the selection blend in with the original pic, like this:

See how the corners of the selection are rounded off?  If I do a Levels Adjustment to lighten, the corners will stay dark creating a slight vignette. 

Again if I only select the top half of my landscape, feather it and do a Levels Adjustment to darken, the corners will remain light.

So I need to find a way to blend just the top edge of my foreground adjustment and just the bottom edge of my background adjustment.

Now this is where a Mask can help. 

Click on the Quick Mask button on the Tools Palette and this is how the same selection looks as a mask.

Now to change the mask (which means adding or subtracting from your selection) you paint in black, white and grey using the Paintbrush Tool.

Painting with Black adds to the selection.

Painting with White subtracts from the selection.

Painting in a midtone grey makes the area 50% opaque (50% see through and therefore BLENDED!).  But only the areas that have been painted with Grey.  Note:  Darker grey is more opaque (less see though) and lighter grey is less opaque (more see through).  I hate the word opaque - it sounds see through!

To move between Black and White first you have to set your Foreground and Background Colour Swatches found on the Tools Palette.  Click on the smaller version of the Black and White Boxes to set them to black and white:

To move quickly between black and white click on the little double ended arrow (or you can use the X key on your keyboard:

To select grey, click on the black colour swatch to bring up the Colour Swatch dialogue box.  Choose a mid grey from along the left edge:

Okay so now we paint!

Select your Paintbrush Tool and use a fairly large brush with a SOFT edge.   Set Opacity to 100% and Flow to 100%.

Select Black and paint (adding more red) around those corners and edges that the feathering caused.

Now select Grey and carefully paint along the top edge of your selection, remembering that Grey is 50% opaque and this will create the blending. 

Once you're happy with your painting click back to Standard Mode to see your final selection:

Now you can apply your Levels Adjustment Layer to the new, refined selection and it should blend nicely across the top.

Now to do the top half of the landscape and make it a little darker.

Make sure you click back on your Background Layer.

Remember you are creating a selection -

Select your Paintbrush Tool,

Click on Quick Mask,

Set the Colour Swatch to Default and start paint in black to create your red mask. 

Paint from the top down.  As you get to the bottom edge of where you want the selection to finish (ie where it will blend with the foreground) change to Grey and paint carefully along that bottom edge.

Click on the Standard Mode button to see your selection:

And then do your Levels Adjustment Layer.  Here is the final image.

Save As!

12:23 PM - 15/9/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Make Photos POP!

Tip One:

#1: blur/overlay

Duplicate your picture layer by dragging the layer to the ‘new’ icon in the layers palette (ctrl+j).

Apply a gaussian blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur…). Blur it enough that the detail disappears but the shapes mostly keep their form.

In the layers palette, change the blending mode from ‘Normal’ to ‘Overlay.’

If you look at the before and after, you can see that this method makes the light tones lighter and the dark tones darker while softening it a touch. Basically, it softly boosts the contrast. If you want a more dramatic effect, try changing the blending mode to ‘Vivid Light’ instead of ‘Overlay.’

Try it on all kinds of shots: portraits, nature shots, you name it. I use this method ALL the time. It works so well with everything!

#4 easy blur

This one nearly passed me by… it’s a wonderfully easy effect to soften a picture. Try it on portraits.

Duplicate your layer and apply a Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) so that the details start to go, but not too much.

Set the opacity of the layer to 50%. This is a great, super-simple way to soften a picture. It can give it almost a dreamy look. Play with opacities until you find something that works really well with your shot.

Was This Post Helpful? Digg it Here

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/4-easy-photoshop-techniques-to-make-your-pictures-pop/

11:34 AM - 15/9/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Boost Blacks In Tritone

Tritone
By Matt Brandon

A few people have commented on a technique that I have used in my B&W conversion of Raw images. I have two confessions to make here. First, is it is not B&W. It is Tritone, a type of grayscale conversion found in PhotoShop. The second confession is I am still new to it. So, If you read this and have a better method, I am open to hear about it. I will say that what I am doing here seems to be working.

I learned this technique from a photographer friend I met on the net, Mitchell Kanashkevich <http://www.pbase.com/mitchellk81/> This guy has some fantastic images of India. You should check them out.

I am on a Mac, so all this applies to Photoshop CS2 for the Mac. I think most of this should be applicable to a Windows version of Photoshop and Elements. OK so how to make a Tritone image:

First open your image, either in RAW or JPG. Go through your normal workflow. Make all your layer adjustments, levels, curves, and any other adjustments you feel you need to do to tweak and balance the image. Now flatten the image.

Next, go to Image>Mode>Grayscale in the Menu. This will give you an unremarkable B&W image. Not much to look at, but unbelievably many people stop here and claim this as their finished B&W image. Not us, let’s go on. Now go back up to the menu and this time select Image>Mode>Duotone.


This will bring up a the Duotone options. Under the Type pull-down menu, select Tritone. Now you are given three options of ink to use. Here is where you can get creative. You can use the inks I am going to suggest in the next paragraph or use the preloaded inks under the Load button. If you click the dialog’s Load button you will be taken to the Presets folder. The Presets folder contains all kinds of fun stuff, but we are concerned just with the next folder called Duotone. Select the Duotone folder then the Tritone folder. Once in here you will be give a choice of three more folders; Gray Tritones, PANTONE® Tritones and Process Tritones. Open anyone of these folders and select any of the choices. If you don’t like what you get, try another one. If you don’t like any of them try my combination below.

What Mitch and I use for the most part is Ink 1: Black; Ink 2: PANTONE 1205 C; Ink 3: FOCOLTONE 5012. Select between Pantone, Focoltone and other inks by clicking on the square ink sample in the dialog box. Once you have three inks you like loaded, press ok.

At this point the lovely balanced image you had before is lost and the image looks pretty dark. Have no fear. Now go to Image>Mode>RGB to switch the mode back to RGB. Now go back to your Levels adjusment and crank up those highlights and mid-tones to a level you like. What I often do now is make a adjustment level for Selective Color. I then select the blacks from the pull down menu. I then boost the black level of the black color choice up 10 to 15%. This gives me some richer blacks and a nice contrast level.

And there you have it! Now just go back to your normal work flow for any last minute tweaks and sharpening.

I hope this helps and give you a “B&W” image you can be proud of.

Matt Brandon Bio

2:44 PM - 11/9/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Brush Definition in BW Imaging

Brushes for Definition

After playing with Brushes for a signature / logo, a conversation with a fellow Photoshopper led to an idea to use Brushes to help add depth to black and white photos.

Here’s an example:

The original photo was taken in colour.

The jetty was blue so I went to Select / Colour Range and using the eye dropper selected and added the hues of blue in the jetty.

I Copy and Pasted the selected area onto a new document with a Transparent Background.

I then converted both the original image to black and white and the selected image as well. 

I then used the Layer  Style tools to add definition to the selected image of the jetty.  I used a mild bevel and emboss and a tiny drop shadow.  I didn’t need to Rasterise this as it’s not a Text Layer.  I just dragged it back to the original image (which is now bw) and placed it back in the right position.  The bevel and embossing adds extra dimension to the jetty as it goes back into the image.

I didn’t save the selected image as a Brush as it wasn’t something I will use again.

6:58 PM - 9/9/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Brush Signature / Logo

6:45 PM - 9/9/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Still Subject, Moving Background

Still Subject, Moving Background

Jim Miotke

Here's something fun to try: next time you have a still subject and a moving background, try using a slow shutter speed. That's what I did here for the image of my wife when we recently visited Boston. If you'd like to try this, just mount your camera on a tripod, use the Shutter or Aperture priority mode to set a slow shutter speed (like 1 or 2 seconds, depending upon the speed of your moving background) and ask your subject to stay perfectly still. It's a lot of fun.

http://jim.betterphoto.com/archives/2007/08/still_subject_m.html

5:04 PM - 13/8/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Use Blending Modes to Add Drama To a Portrait.

Use Blending Modes to Add Drama To a Portrait.

Duplicate the Background Layer.  Desaturate this layer.  Set Blend Mode to Multiply and the colour comes thru again.

Add a new layer and fill with white.  Go to Filter / Noise / Add Noise.  Use Gaussian Blur and the Amount to around 35%.  You can use the keyboard arrows to make fine adjustments to the amount figure.  Check Monochromatic box.  Click Okay.  Set the Blending Mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Select the Background Layer.  Go to Image Adjustments and choose Hue / Sat and increase the saturation up to about +35.

Now to reduce the background detail and add more contrast and drama.  This technique is like painting light onto your subject.  Click on Background Copy.  Add Adjustment Layer – choose Solid Color and select a very dark brown.  Click ok.  Set Blend Mode to Multiply.  You will actually be able to see through it very very slightly.  Reduce the Opacity a bit so you can see the subject underneath.  Judge how much to reduce the Opacity by looking at the background.  You're looking to make the background inconspicous so adjust the Opacity until you're happy with the background.  Now we paint light onto the subject to draw them out of the murky background. 

Select the Brush Tool.  Make sure Foreground colour is set to Black.  Choose a soft brush.  Set Hardness to 0 and the brush Opacity to 20%.  Paint over the subject’s head keeping in mind where the “light” is coming from ie the direction like you would in a painting.  Keep painting over face, neck and details of clothing in front, not forgetting sides of ears, etc.  If you go too far swap the foreground/background colours to white and paint the light back out (or Ctrl Z to undo).  Increase the Opacity of the brush as you go, even up to 50% and more, and build up the light on the image.  Really take your time here.  Be creative and subtle and have fun.

Flatten Image.

Open a template border.  Select All, Copy.  Paste over photo.  Change Blending Mode to Screen.  Scale the border to fit over the image neatly.

Flatten. Save.

10:16 AM - 11/8/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Advanced Mono Conversion

Advanced Mono Conversion

Yay!  Finally found something with a bit more depth!

Use Channel Mixer on an Adjustment Layer to convert to bw.  You can go minus on the sliders.  The example I saw went to -35 on the blue slider to get more punch out of the blue sky.  I’m assuming it would be the same for a green landscape – go minus on the slider to really get some depth to the greens in the image.  Still make sure the three slider adjustments add up to 100% approx – doesn’t have to be spot on.  The eg I saw used +47, +86 and -35.  (The Constant slider is apparently not used very much.)

Flatten the image.

Duplicate the layer.  Set the Blend Mode to Linear Burn which really makes it dark and crappy.  Reduce the opacity of this layer to around 20% where it will be much lighter but still pack some punch into the shadows and midtones.

Add an Adjustment Layer / Solid Fill – and choose a colour to tint (the eg I saw used royal blue).  Reduce the Opacity to around 25% or however much tint you want for the image.  Set the Blend Mode to Color.

Choose the Background Layer.  Select the Dodge Tool.  Set it’s Exposure options to 8% and Highlights Option and paint over highlights in the image that are still a little lack-lustre to boost them.  Look for highlights mixed in with midtones such as rocks, maybe wet wood/jetty etc where there are highlights if you actually look for them.  Not the obvious ones such as clouds and other light areas.

Flatten – Save – TaDa!

10:14 AM - 11/8/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Portraits of Bigger People

A lot of people in my family are a bit bigger and although they put up with me shooting them at family do's, they still don't like photos of themselves.

This is a link to help take photos of bigger people that they will like!

http://www.sublime-light.com/index.php/2007/07/30/9-ways-to-make-your-portrait-subjects-look-thinner/

10:07 AM - 1/8/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

LAB Conversion to Monochrome

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Converting-colour-to-black-amp-white-using-the-Lab-mode

I did end up downloading this action.  I like it on people's faces but it's not for everything.

5:16 PM - 30/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Double Exposure

The example I saw of this was done with RAW images.  I'm still not keen to use RAW because it means you have to process every single image you take - bit silly coz I process them all to some extent anyway!  Anyway I believe this can be done with jpeg files as well.

This technique works to boost contrast or create better exposure in your foreground and background areas.  The example I saw was a shot taken of beach shacks (taken with the photographers back to the water).  In other examples I've seen the photographer has taken two photos one exposing for the sky and one exposing for the background and merging the two together.  I think that's the whole point of RAW in that this works on just the one photo being taken.  I'll have to try it out with a jpeg....

Open photo.

Using Adjustment Layers (so you can go back in at any time to readjust your settings) use Levels, Curves, Shadows & Highlights, etc to get your background just the way you want it.  This will make your foreground look crap and probably completely blocked in black!  Don't stress, Save As "Background" for eg, then reopen the original image.

The second time around use Levels, Curves, Shadows & Highlights, etc to get your foreground just the way you want it.  This will turn the background to crap.  Flatten layers.

Copy and paste this final image (Ctrl A, Ctrl C, Ctrl V) onto the saved "Background" image.

Use the lassoo tool and loop around the foreground and feather about 150 pixels.

Making sure the top layer is selected click on Add Layer Mask (at the bottom of the Layers Palette).

To edit the foreground a bit further using Levels (using an Adjustment Layer), hold down Ctrl and the Layer Mask on the top layer at the same time and the marching ants will reappear.

Choosing the second layer with the mask - to blend the foreground and background better, select Brush, set the colour to Black, set the Opacity to about 20% and brush over the area where the two layers meet.

4:02 PM - 25/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Advanced Duotones Conversion

Open photo.

Change to 8 bit. - Image / Mode / 8 bit.

Convert to Greyscale - if you don't do this the Duotones options won't be available - Image / Mode / Greyscale.

Open duotone dialog -   Image / Mode / Duotone.

Select duotone from the dropdown box.  Here you can also choose monotone, duo, trio and quad - so up to 4 colours in the image.  It would also be a good place to choose a chocolate brown in mono for a chocolate bw conversion!

Click on the coloured box to choose one of the 100's(?) of colour options.  You can scroll thru them if you leave one highlighted in the dropdown box to give you more of an idea how the final image will look.

Click on the diagonal lined box next to each colour box.  This is a curves style adjustment.  Play until you like it.

Change the image back to RGB - Image / Mode / RGB.

Flatten and save.

The two colours used here were black and peach:

7:00 PM - 24/7/2007 - comments {1} - post comment

Tritone

Open photo.

Adjust all your levels, sat, contrast etc and flatten image.

Duplicate background twice so you have three layers of the same image.  It doesn't matter at this stage if they are colour or bw.

On each layer go to Image / Adjustments / Hue & Sat.  Click the colourize box and select a hue for each layer.  I did almost true greyscale for the bottom layer, sepia for the middle layer and blue for the top layer.

Double click on top image layer (blue one) to open a Blending Options box.  Slide the This Layer slider to the right to expose only the highlights in the image to the blue.

NOTE: Use the Alt key to SPLIT the triangle for a smoother blend.

Double click on the middle image layer (sepia one) to open the Blending Options box.  Slide the This Layer slider to the right to expose only the midtones in the image to the sepia leaving the bottom layer (grey) for the shadows.

6:38 PM - 24/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Noise Not Sharpen

A friend took a photo of both our kids together and her resulting image had nice smooth skin tones on the faces.  I asked her what she'd done post processing.  Apparently she'd Reduced Noise.  Might try that on my portraits from now on to see if I can get a softer skin tone. 

1:01 PM - 23/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Overlay Blend Mode

There doesn't seem to be too much around about using Blend Modes for photography so when I found this I've grabbed on with both hands!

Apparently not all Blend Modes are suitable for photography but here a couple of ways they can be used.

1. To create a foggy landscape add a cloud image over a landscape image and set the blend mode to Screen.  It's supposed to create an authentic looking mist over the landscape.  You can reduce the impact by reducing the opacity of the top cloud layer.

2. This is a GREAT one for blown out skies and dark foregrounds when you've had trouble with your exposure metering.  Create a new layer over the top of your image.  Fill the layer with a black to white gradient.  Use the gradient tool and draw a line from top to bottom.  (I found that if you draw from bottom to top the gradient will reverse as well.)  Swap to Overlay mode to create a dramatic effect!

3. Contrast without Curves!  Create a new Levels Adjustment Layer, but don't change the settings.  Now just change the Layer's belend mode to Soft Light.  Very funky!  I found you can go back into your Levels Adjustment Layer and play with it too!

12:52 PM - 23/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Portrait BW Conversion - 3 Layers of Hue & Sat

Open your photo.

Open THREE adjustment layers of Hue & Sat.

Top Layer - set Saturation to -100 and Blending Mode to Color.

Middle Layer - Startng with the Reds vary the Lightness of the six colours in turn.  Don't be afraid to make big changes.  Click OK and toggle the eye icon to preview the effects. 

Bottom Layer - set the Master Saturation to +10.

Click Layer / Flatten.

Use the Dodge Tool set to Highlights / Exposure 4% to make the eyes really pop.

Use the Burrn Tool set to Shadows / Exposure 4% to darken the eyelashes.

10:10 PM - 17/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

How to Photograph Pets

How to Photograph Pets

Photo by mommamia

Grant (a reader) sent me an email this week asking for a some tips on Pet Photography.

Here’s my top ten tips on taking great photographs of your pet:

1. Start with Your Pet’s Personality

Before you start photographing your pet ask yourself ‘what sets it apart from other animals?’ Think about what type of personality it has and then attempt to capture some of that in your shots. For example if everyone knows your pet as a sleepy, lazy or placid little thing set up your photo shoot around it’s bed or where it goes after a meal to lie in the sun and you’ll have every chance of capturing a shot that sums your pet right up. Alternatively if your pet is hyperactive, inquisitive and always on the move it might be better to do your shoot at a local park where it’s racing around, jumping for balls or playing with other animals.

Photo by annia316

2. Think about Context

In choosing the location to photograph your pet you might want to consider a variety of other factors also. For starters choose a place where your pet will be comfortable and at ease. Also consider the familiarity of the location and the emotions that it will evoke in you as the pets owner. For example you might have a place that you and your pet have had some special moments together that will mean a lot in the future as you look back over your shots. Lastly consider the background of your shots. Ultimately you don’t want your backgrounds to be distracting from your photo - sometimes the best locations are the plainest ones - a large patch of green grass, a well lit room with white walls and plain carpet etc can be ideal. Of course this can also be tool plain and sterile - my motto is that if the different elements in the background of the shot don’t add to it avoid them.

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3. Get in Close

Pets come in all shapes and sizes but in most cases they are smaller than a human and as a result they tend to end up getting a little lost in photos unless you make an effort to get up close to them. Of course getting close is not always easy, especially if you have a pet that likes to move around, but it’s worth making the effort as the detail that can be gained and the personality that can be captured by an up close and personal photo shoot with a pet can really lift a photo to a new level. If you can’t physically get close to your pet get your camera equipped with a zoom lens. The added benefit of a long focal length is that it will help with isolating your pet in terms of depth of field (ie give you a nice blurry background so that your pet is centre of attention with no distractions).

Photo by swardraws

4. Get On Their Level

Get down on your pets level where you can look upon them eye to eye. Images taken by a photographer standing up and looking down on their level not only leave you too far away from your subject but they also mean the shots end up having a very ‘human perspective’. Getting down on your pets level means you enter their world and get a glimpse of what life looks like from their angle - you’ll be impressed by the results as they are more personal and have a real element of intimacy.

5. Mix Up Your Framing

Pets, like human subjects’ look different from different angles and framing them in a variety of ways can bring out different perspectives to your shots. In your photo shoot take some tightly cropped facial shots (even focussing right in on single features like eyes, noses, ears, whiskers etc) but also make sure you take three quarter body shots as well as full body shots. In this way you end up with a series of shots that give viewers of your photos a full perspective on who your pet is.

Photo by markdanielowen

6. Lighting

Light makes any photograph what it is and when it comes to pets it’s especially important. In general I wouldn’t recommend using a flash as they tend to distract pets and in some cases will even frighten them. The other issue with flashes is that they can create spooky red-eye problems with some animals (in the same way they do with humans). Natural light is a much better option than using a flash and so where possible outside photo shoots tend to work best (or at least in a well lit window inside). The only exception I would give for using a flash is when your pet has very dark (or black) fur as it tends to absorb light and a flash can add detail. With dark fury pets you might want to slightly over expose your images for this same reason. Alternatively with white pets you run the risk of over exposing shots so try to find a location out of direct sunlight and definitely avoid a flash.

7. Include People

One of the best things you can do to add context to a shot is to include the special people in the life of your pet in the image. Shots with the owner or other family members interacting with your pet can make the images incredibly special for years to come. You might like to try posed shots but sometimes it’s the candid shots of owner and pet at play (or snoozing together in front of a fire) that really capture the character of the pet and evoke emotion.

Photo by Kevin Steele

8. Freeze the Action

Many pets present a challenge to photographers because they are active and always on the move. The key with any subject that’s on the move is to freeze their action by using a fast shutter speed. Most digital cameras these days will allow you to shoot in full manual mode if you feel confident to get the mix between shutter and aperture right - alternatively you can work in shutter priority mode where you set the shutter speed and the camera automatically does the rest by picking a good aperture to work with your shutter speed. The last alternative is to use ’sports’ mode which will mean the camera will select the fastest shutter speed possible for your situation. Once you’ve got your shutter speed nice and fast make sure your camera is always at the ready so you can anticipate the actions of your pet. If they are a fast mover you might also want to consider shooting in continuous mode (burst mode) to take a quick series of shots in a row. This can also lead to a wonderful sequence of shots that work well together.

Photo by Andrew Morrell

9. Be Playful

Pets can be playful little critters and rather than attempting to contain this to get them posed for that special shot it’s often very effective to go with their playfulness and make it a central feature of your image. Include their toys, stimulate them to look longingly into your camera by holding a special treat above your head or take a picture with them sitting on top of you mid wrestle etc. Make your photo shoot a fun experience for both you and your pet and your shots are likely to reflect it.

10. Catch them Unawares

Posed shots can be fun and effective but one thing I love to do (whether it be with animals or people) is to photograph them candidly paparazzi style. I have very fond memories of stalking a friend’s dog as he played in a back yard one day. I took shots while he dug up flowers, as he buried a bone, as he fell chased a bee around and ask he sat contentedly with his head sticking out of his dog house. The whole time I photographed him he was barely aware of my presence so the shots were very natural without me distracting the dog from his ‘business’.

5:35 PM - 17/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

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