I am just wondering if anyone has succesfully taken good large format photographs of animals such as their pets. I have tried to take some pictures of our cat and got one good one when she was lying down half asleep. (Good as in actually in focus). Has anyone else tried this and what techiniques have you used?
Give them a few sips of beer or puffs from a doob, it mellows them right out.
Lucas,
Hope you're keeping warm down there in Okotoks!
IIRC, I read in a book that it's usually easiest with an assistant... and a pocket full of cookies (assuming you're photographing a dog.)
Mind you... our English Bull Terrier probably wouldn't sit still for ALL the cookies in the world. He's just the stubborn type!
Cheers
Life in the fast lane!
I'm pretty green in the LF world, so I'm not sure if this qualifies as "good". The subject in this shot (my medium-sized dog) is pretty patient with me; my small dog always looks as if I've beaten her to force her stay in the composition; and my giant puppy (130-pound, 14-month old malamute) likes large format photography because the gear makes good chew toys.
http://www.purebredmutt.net/scrabble12.html
I think one's success (or approach) will depend largely on the critter.
Last edited by Eric James; 29-Nov-2006 at 00:02. Reason: typo
If someone can figure out how to do this with a cat, let me know - short of a narcotic that is.
what you don't see in my avatar image is the biscuits in front of the dog to try and keep her interested... For some reason she didn't see the point of making the image. Can't think why. We all thought it was a good laugh at the time. Maybe it had something to do with the beers...
Cats love hot lights, forget the strobes. Its a real test of how well you can let sleeping dogs (or the kittys) lie while setting up.
There's a saying of some sort about using the right tool for the job. I don't think a large format camera is the right tool for pets.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
The only way I got any photos of a cat was to very quietly set up while he was sleeping. Then when you are ready, wake him up and trip the shutter. Outside of that, you are more likely to get a photo of a tail than a complete cat, unless you find that rare cat that likes to pose.
http://www.allgstudio.com/gallery/portrait/Pepe.jpg
That was 35mm off a minipod at floor level. The particular cat Pepe was a complete spazz most of the time. I am really good with animals, but no way I want to try going through sheet film to get some portraits . . . maybe using a roll film back.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat
A G Studio
I am really new also, but here is my buddy on the porch in the morning about an hour after sunrise. Be nice!
Richard
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