Can you tell me how you get good pictures...

[Pumpkinpup]

I have found that I can make clucking sounds or other chicken sounds about the time I am focused in and they usually will pause and look at me long enough for me to click the shutter but it still takes alot of patience!!!!

 

[banter]

I run around like an idiot with a camera glued to my face throwing out treats with my free hand, then trip and bash myself up on some rocks!
It's FUN!

 

[lesliet]

so I am not the only one that trips over stuff trying to take pictures

 

[Appytaz]

I use "Sport" on my digital for the animals. I also have a settling that takes multiple photos in a row very fast. You just hold the button down and I think it takes 6 or 7 in a row. There is usually something good in there. I like that one for taking picures of animals.

 

[ursusarctosana]

I look at details. I take hundreds of photos. I wait for light conditions to change. I sit still for long stretches of time. I mimic the chicken clucks and chirps. I'm calm. I have a good camera. I have a zoom lens. I sometimes use the macro feature (for extreme close-ups, then I crop my photos in PhotoShop or iPhoto) and other times I use the zoom with a fast shutter speed (action setting).

Try different angles. You'll be surprised. Move around the subject a bit and then sit still and wait to get more photos with different lighting.

 

[rebecca10782]

You don't need a professional camera but this is how I take pictures.
I like very clean photos and having a shallow depth of field. You'll need a manual camera. Open the aperture all the way so you blur the background out completely. I don't know if you know these terms, but with the aperture wide open, you don't have much depth of field, so the backround is out of focus. For small subjects like chickens, I like to use a magnifying lens. It also blurs the background even more. These are some I took with a magnifying lens.

It is confusing at first but there are a lot of websites that can help you. Here are a few I found.

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=39&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=6338

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/

http://www.popphoto.com/

http://www.shutterbug.net/

If you don't have a manual camera, make sure that the subject is in front of a very clean background. So if you're taking pictures of your chickens take them out of the coupe and into the garden. Make sure there is nothing in the backround to mess up the pictures. With most subjects, the garden yard, or park is best in my opinion. No matter what type of camera you are using, lighting is one of the most important things. You get the best lighting in early morning or late afternoon. Because the sun is low. Always make sure the sun is behind you so that it is lighting your subject evenly. Cloudy days are great too because you get even lighting. When you are photographing animals, it is best to get down on the ground on their level. So, don't wear your nice clothes

Chickens move quickly, so if your using film, make sure it is high speed. Although, when using high speed film, you can get grainy pictures. It is best to have someone to help you when your photographing animals so that they can stand where you want the animal to look and get their attention. Take a lot of pictures, you will probably get 50 amazing pictures out of 200 when taking pictures of animals or children. Set aside a lot of time. That's about all I can think of right now. The only way I learn anything is to go out and do it and learn from my mistakes.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

What they all said.

I just take tons of pictures. I also try to go out later in the day when the un is coming in at an angle. Pictures are flat when the light is from directly overhead. Plus the color temperature of the light is usually warmer in late afternoon. I never use the flash, ever on indoor and late afternoon shots. I just figure is there isn't enough daylight it is time for me to stop with the camera. The flash will flatten things as well.

Use the zoom. Many of mine freak out when I get the camera close to them. If I throw out treats then it is a feeding frenzy and all my shots are blurred. I generally just let them go and then I sit still and zoom in at them. Babies are harder than grown chickens as they are really zippy. You have to be quick. Holding the button halfway down to get it to focus was a great suggestion. That way you can catch stuff as it happens.

The key really is just mass though. For every hundred shots I take I maybe get 2 really, really good ones. Most I just delete.

GOod luck!

 

[DDRanch]

Well, I was going to give you my tips, but learned so much from the others on this thread. Thank you for asking the question and thanks for all the tips.

Mine include getting down on the ground sitting with my back to the sun and being very patient. I usually take some 30 and often more to get one I keep.

Anne

 

[HorseFeathers]

Take a LOT. It helps to have a quick camera (I

my Nikon D60 SLR) or at least one with continuos mode or sports mode. The chickens move so fast about 9 of 10 will be blurred.
Treats are great, but it helps to have them out of the picture so it looks more natural.
Taking them inside to a well-lit studio and putting them against a backdrop is good too.
Here's my photos, there's tons of chicken ones in there: http://picasaweb.google.com/olivesphotography/PhotographyByOliviaCollins#

A shallow depth of field is nice but not TOO shallow or your pics will look kind of funky. Here's what I consider perfect DOF:

Sometimes you'll want PART of the bird to be blurred. You can do that on photo editing software or just get lucky. The latter is what made this photo of Olympia so appealing.

Light is also key. Morning is when my best photos were taken, as everything in the background seems sort of gray:

Snow makes for great pics too, even your chickens hate it like mine. But they stand very still in it and when they flap they make beautiful patterns.

Of course, they might get vengeful and come and kill you. Olympia below, charging:

Two or more birds doing the same thing makes for pleasing pictures too. (Please excuse Rita's scruffy back and the ugly background.)

Hope this helps. I do think it is nice to have a professional camera. The D40 is only about $400 on Amazon . (My D6o was about $600.)

 

[HorseFeathers]

Aw man I killed the thread