taking photos

[kinnip]

I'm not a great photographer and I don't have a great camera, but I want some great pics. Asking too much? I hope not. I've seen some really good photos here. How do you convince your birds to pose? Or even hold still? How many shots do you take at one time? Where do you try to focus? Anything else you can think of?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

You focus on the subject (in this case the bird). As for getting them to pose.

I've never figured that one out. I just keep working until they sit still enough to get off a shot or two. I'm going to assume you're using digital so you will need to use the macro setting (looks like a flower) as you will be only an arms length at most from them if you have to keep handling them. Or if you have a helper then they can hold the bird where you want them until you are ready to take the shot and then they can move out of the pic. Some birds sit and some want to run off right away.

Good luck!

 

[goldnchocolate]

I just take a whole bunch of pictures and then later I check them on my computer so I can see which ones to keep and which ones to delete. That is the beauty of a digital camera--it doesn't waste film to take tons of pics.

I go in among my chickens, find a nice place to sit and wait for them to get used to me being in there. Once they start ignoring me then I can get some great pictures. Sometimes I can zoom in on a chicken across the yard and they aren't even aware that I'm looking at them. This works good for chickens that are skittish in their personality. My other chickens are so friendly that I have to wait until they get away from me

to get some decent pictures otherwise they are too close. Don't forget to post your pics for us to see!

 

[coffeemama]

An "assistant" helps a lot with photographing animals. A tripod is a huge bonus too. I take lots of pics so that I can weed through and choose my favorites.

 

[silkieluver_07]

On my camera, there is a ''burst'' setting. Just hold down the button, and it takes multiple shots. I also do what goldnchocolate does...zoom in from afar on the skittish chickens.

 

[tomstephens]

That's the trick --- lots of pictures. Pretend the bad ones never existed.

A photographer friend of mine always said: The main difference between a photographer and a person taking pictures is that photographers only show the good shots.

 

[kinnip]

Thanks. I think the tripod would help out a lot. I have a lot of blurry, shaky photos. I also have a lot of photos of chickens sticking their beaks right in the lens. I haven't been using the macro because the run is so shady and it doesn't use the flash, but I think I'll try it. I think an assistant would be invaluable, any volunteers? Every time I go in the run or into the goat pen, I get rushed by my poor neglected animals

.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Quote:
Maybe take out a treat (give them something besides you to concentrate on) and then sit off to one side and keep shooting those pics off.

 

[kinnip]

Quote:
Maybe take out a treat (give them something besides you to concentrate on) and then sit off to one side and keep shooting those pics off.

I fear it's the treats that have put me in this situation to begin with. Of course, it could always be my winning personality.

 

[AllChookUp]

You should ask FisherMOM. She takes some GREAT pictures. I know she has a decent camera, but I think a lot of it is how she frames the picture in the lens.