How to shoot your kitties!!! OMG!!

watchcaddy

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Don't worry, I am talking about shooting them with a digital camera.
Many TCS members has asked me regarding Rupert and Stewie's pictures and I decide to write this mini guide to share with TCS.

We all love to take pictures of our beloved kitties with our digital cameras as they are just soooo cute and just want to share them with other TCS members.

As most us have experienced, our digital camera is not perfect and sometimes are not able to keep up with our little lighting fast tigers around house. You will either get a blurry shot of them or completely nothing as they have already left the frame as the camera is trying to focus. This is caused by low light conditions in the house/indoors and slow shutter speed of your camera. .

There are tips to improve your indoor/low light shots with your digital camera.

1. Turn up the ISO on your digital camera to 400-800 or even 1600 (if your camera is capable. Please be warned that the higher the ISO, the more noise it will be. But noisy picture is better than blurry picture).

2. Open up the aperture to the highest (if your camera is capable. Lower the number means the bigger the aperture is. for example, f/1.4 > f/11. f/1.4 has bigger aperture than f/11.)

3. Set your camera to burst mode (if your camera is capable.) This will allow you take a series (3-6 shots or more) of picture in rapid succession. Statistically speaking, one of the pictures will not be blurry. Also, the first shot is most likely to be blurry because you are pressing the shutter.

4. Turn off the flash. This will give the picture a natural look. Personally, I don't like to use flash at all as it destroys the picture by projecting an obtrusive head-on lights on your subject.

5. Take multiple pictures of the same subject. Since it is all digital, it does not cost a thing to take multiple pictures. I usually take 10+ picture of the same subject in multiple angles, distances, compositions..etc This will ensure you get the shots you want. This also holds true with all subjects not just kitties.
Give above methods a try even if your camera does not allow all of the adjustments. You may do it in combinations or just try method at a time. You really don't need expensive digital camera to take great pictures. Most of the recent digital camera are very capable. This will take some practice and I am sure all of your pictures will turn out great.

Oh, here are some more non-technical tips for the shooter.

6. Get up close and personal with your kitties. Try not to use zoom or zoom in too much as it gets shakier as you zoom in more.

7. Hold the camera with both hands. Hold them closer to you with the shutter button arm against your rib cage. This will further stabilize your shots.

8. Lay off the coffee.


I hope this little guide helps. Now, go take some pics and share it with us.


NOTE: If you already know all of the above, sorry for wasting your time.

example:

Taken around 4-5 in the morning, ISO 400, f/1.4, burst mode, no flash. Camera used Canon 20D.



Stewie under the bed. It is pretty dark underneath the bed. Turn the ISO to 400, aperture to f/1.4, set the camera on the floor, burst mode, no flash. Camera used Canon 20D



Stewie on table. ISO 400, set on table, no flash. Nikon Coolpix S1 (3 year old pocket size camera)

 

sarahp

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That's awesome!!! Just one question - what does it mean by a noisy picture?
 

renovia

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extremely sharp i think. like you can see every hair.


thanks watchcaddy, i'll try this!
 
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watchcaddy

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Originally Posted by sarahp

That's awesome!!! Just one question - what does it mean by a noisy picture?
Here is an example of a picture at high ISO 1600(noisy). You can see lots of digital noise/pixels in the picture. Of course, each camera is different. The pro cameras will perform better at high ISO than our average $200 camera.

Just in case the picture is too big and gets removed, here is the link


Here is an example of the same picture with low ISO 400. There is significantly less noise at lower ISO. Just in case the picture is too big and gets removed, here is the link.



Higher ISO allows you to capture at low light condition but you sacrifice picture quality. Low ISO allows you to capture better picture but you sacrifice shutter speed at low light condition. Hope this helps.
 

sarahp

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I'm trying to get a pic of Smudgey's little eyes using your tips, you'll see them in Fur Pics if I was successful.
 
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watchcaddy

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Originally Posted by sarahp

I'm trying to get a pic of Smudgey's little eyes using your tips, you'll see them in Fur Pics if I was successful.
Sounds great!!! Post a link in here too. We will all check it out.
 

natalie_ca

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What is an "ISO" and how do I know if my digital camera has something like that? I use a Kodak Easy Share and trying to take a picture of a moving anything results in a huge blur!
 

renovia

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i can set my AP to 2.8 for the lowest. I can't find anything for iso though. i have a finepix s3100 (fujifilm). I did set the EV to really high so when i take pics without the flash they aren't too dark, hopefully it will come out when i download them. can't find burst mode either.
 
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watchcaddy

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

What is an "ISO" and how do I know if my digital camera has something like that? I use a Kodak Easy Share and trying to take a picture of a moving anything results in a huge blur!
In film photography, a measure of a film's "speed" or light sensitivity. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the film. The sensitivity of digital camera sensors are also rated using the ISO scale. ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization (or, International Standards Organization, if you want an acronym that fits better) the people who define, among many other things, the spec used to gauge light sensitivity.

You may try to go to menu-sensitivity and set the ISO there. Every camera is different so your camera might or might not have the ability to adjust the ISO.

If you can't adjust the ISO, try using burst mode (if available on your camera). This should give you somewhat of a better result over single shot. If the room is really dark, try burst mode with flash (again, if it is available on your camera). Hope this helps.
 
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watchcaddy

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Originally Posted by Renovia

i can set my AP to 2.8 for the lowest. I can't find anything for iso though. i have a finepix s3100 (fujifilm). I did set the EV to really high so when i take pics without the flash they aren't too dark, hopefully it will come out when i download them. can't find burst mode either.
finepix s3100 has an auto ISO (64-250). I do not believe it is adjustable and I don't think it has a burst mode either. However, you can adjust the shutter speed. Anything above 1/60 or 1/100, the picture should not be blurry. But, depending on your lighting situation, the picture might/might not turn out dark. From what I can recall, Stoli/Luxor pics were great without flash.
 

renovia

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Originally Posted by watchcaddy

finepix s3100 has an auto ISO (64-250). I do not believe it is adjustable and I don't think it has a burst mode either. However, you can adjust the shutter speed. Anything above 1/60 or 1/100, the picture should not be blurry. But, depending on your lighting situation, the picture might/might not turn out dark. From what I can recall, Stoli/Luxor pics were great without flash.
yeah i looked up the burst mode and they had gotten rid of it for the camera. And yes I found out the ISO is unadjustable. And about the shutter speed, where should I look for that? Or is there a special name to look for in the menu? Maybe it's 'sport's mode?
 

duchess15

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Wow..great! Thanks for the tips! I have a minolta konica diamage A2 and a Nikon Coolpix P1. Any suggestions on what I could do on either to take better pictures?? I'd love to learn more about the technical side and wonder if you have any good sites that can help learn to take better pics.
 

jaffacake

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Oh! I can`t wait to read through and have a go!

I`m favouriting this so I don`t lose it. Must make time tomorrow!
 

zissou'smom

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Would this apply to regular cameras? Mine is older than me, and you adjust the light, shutter speed, etc, yourself. (It's a Canon AE-1) It goes up to 1000 on the shutter speed... So you would recommend trying that instead of the flash? It's flash is one of the ones you can adjust to aim it indirectly and such but sometimes it gets too indirect! Usually even when I set it to 1000 it is still too far out of the 'acceptable' range on the light meter in the viewfinder.

Sorry if I'm talking about random archaic stuff.
 

bonnie1965

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Originally Posted by Renovia

Or is there a special name to look for in the menu? Maybe it's 'sport's mode?
On my Canon, it is called "sports mode". Doesn't work with flash, but is great if you have enough light. I got great photos of my nieces and nephews skating and boarding.
 
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