Tips for Photoshooting Fifis and Fidos

I’ve been recently trying to create a photo book starring my new puppy and myself as a gift for my mom’s upcoming birthday. Having PhotoHand as a design company behind this project should have made it easy but I got stuck at step one – taking pictures of my beloved mongrel.

I have a lot of nice pictures of him sleeping but taking action pictures proved to be a difficult task. As I was falling behind my personal production schedule it suddenly hit me – I should have checked with the ultimate pro – Cesar Milan, the Dr. Spock of the canine world. And, of course, CesarWay.com had a list of simple common sense directions on how to take good pictures of dogs.

In a nutshell:

1. Dogs sense energy. Be positive.

2. If s/he won’t sit and stay, focus on what s/he DOES want to do.

3. Shoot lots of photos and sift through them later.

4. Use props – treats, toys, squeakers, balloons.

5. Late afternoon or overcast weather will give you the best lighting.

6. It’s about them – focus on their favorite places, habits, toys…

7. Lower the camera to your dog’s level.

These dog photography tips are based on the advice from Cesar Milan’s friend, photographer Seth Casteel who became famous after his photos of dogs swimming underwater went viral.

Link to the entire article »

Point-and-Click Tips: Taking the Red Eye Glow Out Of the Picture

Red eyes (red glow in pupils) in photos is a common phenomenon when taking pictures of people or animals using a flash.

Some cameras support a “red eye reduction” mode.  In that mode the camera fires the flash a few times before taking the photo. Although this helps reducing the red-eye effect, it can also result in photos of people with their eyes closed (as they blink when blinded by the pre-flash).

There are a few things that you can do to prevent red-eyes.

1. Take the pictures with sufficient light in the environment so that your subjects’ pupils decrease in size.
2. Tell them to look to the side of your camera – not straight at the camera.
3. Have someone divert babies or pets’ attention so that they look away from the camera.

Some cameras include built-in image processing software that automatically removes red-eye from the photos, or you can use Picasa or other online photo editing software. Make sure that the software only effects the eye area and doesn’t change the color of other elements in the picture that happen to have the tint typical of the red eye effect. Software trips in such cases as it works on formulas and doesn’t exercise common sense.

Another option is having it done by professional photo retouchers for as low as $3.50, especially in case you have captured a close portrait in a dark environment and now the whole eye retina is glowing red.