Help with zoo shots
- Thread starter clairec
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- Steve
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1. Aperture Priority (Av)
2. Wide Open (probably f/4 or f/2.8 depening on your lens, this will maximise your shutter speed and provide separation between you subject and its background, and minimise the disruptive effective of glass or wire between you and the subject)
3. Set your ISO so your shutter speed is twice your max focal length (e.g. if you've got a 70-300mm zoom, set you ISO so that you get a shutter speed of 1/600 or above)
4. Fit a lens hood if you've got one
5. Get as close to the wire fence as you can (so it goes out of focus)
6. Carefully make your lens hood touch the glass and try and shoot into the glass (not across it) to reduce distortion from the glass and reduce the chance that the reflection of a toddler's bright pink coat doesn't create a cast on your shot.
7. If your subjects are high and small and against the sky, use an incident light meter if you've got one and shoot in manual - that way you'll reduce the chance of your camera's light meter giving you a silouhette.
8. If you can, shoot the animal at the animal's eye level e.g. don't stand up and shoot down on a leopard, crouch.
9. Select single AF point, and focus on the animal's eyes (or the nearest eye if your DOP is very small)
10. Shoot when the animal shows an emotional reaction, or at peak action if it is moving
11. Don't shoot in burst mode if you are close enough to startle the animal
12. Set your autofocus mode to AI Servo so it will track as the animal moves whilst you wait for the decisive moment.
[I'm gonna follow Darren's links now and learn how the BBC do it]
Good luck
Steve
2. Wide Open (probably f/4 or f/2.8 depening on your lens, this will maximise your shutter speed and provide separation between you subject and its background, and minimise the disruptive effective of glass or wire between you and the subject)
3. Set your ISO so your shutter speed is twice your max focal length (e.g. if you've got a 70-300mm zoom, set you ISO so that you get a shutter speed of 1/600 or above)
4. Fit a lens hood if you've got one
5. Get as close to the wire fence as you can (so it goes out of focus)
6. Carefully make your lens hood touch the glass and try and shoot into the glass (not across it) to reduce distortion from the glass and reduce the chance that the reflection of a toddler's bright pink coat doesn't create a cast on your shot.
7. If your subjects are high and small and against the sky, use an incident light meter if you've got one and shoot in manual - that way you'll reduce the chance of your camera's light meter giving you a silouhette.
8. If you can, shoot the animal at the animal's eye level e.g. don't stand up and shoot down on a leopard, crouch.
9. Select single AF point, and focus on the animal's eyes (or the nearest eye if your DOP is very small)
10. Shoot when the animal shows an emotional reaction, or at peak action if it is moving
11. Don't shoot in burst mode if you are close enough to startle the animal
12. Set your autofocus mode to AI Servo so it will track as the animal moves whilst you wait for the decisive moment.
[I'm gonna follow Darren's links now and learn how the BBC do it]
Good luck
Steve
cowasaki
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- Darren
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Steve,
This is some very good general stuff that some newer photographers miss. Sticking the camera in aperture mode and ending up with a 1/2 second shutter time is a classic example. Shooting the same thing lying down, sitting down, standing up or standing up and shooting down can change the picture. Although I would use a narrower aperture if I can get away with it in order to hit the lenses sweet spot and make sure the subject is fully in focus f5.6 etc if the subject is slow moving/still but this is one of those judgement things.
Oh and welcome to TP
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Thanks Darren, appreciate it.
Your links to the BBC are excellent. I've downloaded the PDF. Wonderful article.
Your links to the BBC are excellent. I've downloaded the PDF. Wonderful article.
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Good luck Claire.
Pleasure. Let us know how you get on
Pleasure. Let us know how you get on
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Good one Ingrid!
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I'm glad you started this thread Claire. I'm going to London on Monday with the wife and if I'm lucky enough to get my camera then (my birthday) I'll have the train journey to read the manual...lol
So I sort of have one chance not to cock it up too much.
Got a few questions if you don't mind Claire? Its all related.
I'm vaguely getting the idea with the aperture etc. As I understand it the wider the aperture the faster the shutter speed. And you need the shutter speed to be quick enough to capture something moving. Is that basically right?
The part that's messing my head up is the ISO. Doesn't it have to be low when outside and higher when dark? But surely if you adjust this, won't that mess up the other adjustments that you've just made, or vice versa? :bonk:
That focal length part sounds like a shocker
One last question. Zoos and other related places often have indoor dark areas where the public is but the enclosures are lit. So do you adjust the settings for where the camera is, or the area of the subject?
So I sort of have one chance not to cock it up too much.
Got a few questions if you don't mind Claire? Its all related.
I'm vaguely getting the idea with the aperture etc. As I understand it the wider the aperture the faster the shutter speed. And you need the shutter speed to be quick enough to capture something moving. Is that basically right?
The part that's messing my head up is the ISO. Doesn't it have to be low when outside and higher when dark? But surely if you adjust this, won't that mess up the other adjustments that you've just made, or vice versa? :bonk:
That focal length part sounds like a shocker
One last question. Zoos and other related places often have indoor dark areas where the public is but the enclosures are lit. So do you adjust the settings for where the camera is, or the area of the subject?
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- Steve
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Hi Marcus
I'll try and help you out.
1. If you're birthday is Monday and you want to shoot Monday, perhaps you can plead with your good lady to CHARGE THE BATTERY before she wraps up your camera.
2. On the 450D you have various automatic modes, picture modes, semi automatic modes and manual mode.
3. The little green square is a totally automatic mode. You can use this out of the box without knowing anything, but neither can you change anything. It'll even flip up the flash if it thinks it needs it - which can be really annoying.
4. "P" mode is a better version of the little green square. It doesn't flip up the flash automatically. It will always expose reasonably well and you get to move your finger wheel to pick which combination of aperture/shutter you wish. You can push the Av button whilst moving the finger wheel to make exposures slightly brighter or darker (EC).
5. The "picture" modes (landscape, portrait, sports) tailor things a little better but only allow you to shoot in jpeg only - you can't shoot in RAW. Once you get going you'll find this a real draw back. If you want to shoot in a picture mode at a zoo: SELECT SPORTS. It'll put it in Av, with a big apperture, a fast ISO, multishot, AI Servo autofocus mode...just what you want.
6. The semi-automatic modes really get where its at, but they probably take longer than a day to get to grips with. Tv lets you select the shutter speed with your finger wheel and you set the ISO with a menu. It then looks at how much light you've got and selects the right aperture. Av lets you select the Aperture with your finger wheel and picks the right shutter speed depending on the ISO you chose and the available light.
7. Manual mode is fabulous, but we can talk about that in another thread perhaps.
So I'd go for "P" and you'll get nice shoots. But "nice is way short of fabulous" as they say, so I'd go for SPORTS or Av. Perhaps the most sensible choice for Monday is SPORTS because it is your first day...but as quick as you can after that, read the manual and start to use the semi-automatic modes.
Have a lovely birthday Marcus - wish I was on a zoo shoot Monday
All the best
Steve
I'll try and help you out.
1. If you're birthday is Monday and you want to shoot Monday, perhaps you can plead with your good lady to CHARGE THE BATTERY before she wraps up your camera.
2. On the 450D you have various automatic modes, picture modes, semi automatic modes and manual mode.
3. The little green square is a totally automatic mode. You can use this out of the box without knowing anything, but neither can you change anything. It'll even flip up the flash if it thinks it needs it - which can be really annoying.
4. "P" mode is a better version of the little green square. It doesn't flip up the flash automatically. It will always expose reasonably well and you get to move your finger wheel to pick which combination of aperture/shutter you wish. You can push the Av button whilst moving the finger wheel to make exposures slightly brighter or darker (EC).
5. The "picture" modes (landscape, portrait, sports) tailor things a little better but only allow you to shoot in jpeg only - you can't shoot in RAW. Once you get going you'll find this a real draw back. If you want to shoot in a picture mode at a zoo: SELECT SPORTS. It'll put it in Av, with a big apperture, a fast ISO, multishot, AI Servo autofocus mode...just what you want.
6. The semi-automatic modes really get where its at, but they probably take longer than a day to get to grips with. Tv lets you select the shutter speed with your finger wheel and you set the ISO with a menu. It then looks at how much light you've got and selects the right aperture. Av lets you select the Aperture with your finger wheel and picks the right shutter speed depending on the ISO you chose and the available light.
7. Manual mode is fabulous, but we can talk about that in another thread perhaps.
So I'd go for "P" and you'll get nice shoots. But "nice is way short of fabulous" as they say, so I'd go for SPORTS or Av. Perhaps the most sensible choice for Monday is SPORTS because it is your first day...but as quick as you can after that, read the manual and start to use the semi-automatic modes.
Have a lovely birthday Marcus - wish I was on a zoo shoot Monday
All the best
Steve
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Thanks Steve, thats awesome and very much appreciated 
Only Monday will tell whether I have the camera or not (getting excited now...lol) but I have already mentioned about the battery.
I'll give the Sports mode a shot. Either way it will still be better than my current camera and I'd just like to get acceptable shots on the day to record the occassion. Once I get back I can start playing around with all the other modes and functions. Plenty of pets here to photograph and practice on.
I think the main thing that will hold me back is knowing how to use the camera, rather than finding photo opportunities, but hopefully that will come with time and like everything else, experience.
Is 'Multishot' where you hold the button down and the camera fires off loads of photos in one go? Not really up on the terminology yet.
Only Monday will tell whether I have the camera or not (getting excited now...lol) but I have already mentioned about the battery.
I'll give the Sports mode a shot. Either way it will still be better than my current camera and I'd just like to get acceptable shots on the day to record the occassion. Once I get back I can start playing around with all the other modes and functions. Plenty of pets here to photograph and practice on.
I think the main thing that will hold me back is knowing how to use the camera, rather than finding photo opportunities, but hopefully that will come with time and like everything else, experience.
Is 'Multishot' where you hold the button down and the camera fires off loads of photos in one go? Not really up on the terminology yet.
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- Steve
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Yeah, you got it. But there will be a maximum number you can shoot in one go and you run out of buffering. You can tell how many you've got left whilst shooting by looking in the bottom right hand corner of your viewfinder. Fire in short bursts and try never to let that number get to zero. Because the number gradually climbs but it is slow. And if you then see the perfect shot, you won't be able to shoot for few seconds - amazingly frustrating. So it is worth drilling for multishots whilst watching that number.
MG TF 135
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One other tip for shooting in a zoo is to survey the subject and the enclosure before trying to capture it.
Walk around the whole enclosure to see where the best shots could be. Spend few minutes watching the animal to see if it moves to a particular area of the enclosure more often. You are then in a better position to get a shot that you want. I now carry a small stool (3 legged fold away thing) on my camera bag. Makes things a little more comfortable when waiting for the shot.
This tip can be applied to all wildlife photography.
Walk around the whole enclosure to see where the best shots could be. Spend few minutes watching the animal to see if it moves to a particular area of the enclosure more often. You are then in a better position to get a shot that you want. I now carry a small stool (3 legged fold away thing) on my camera bag. Makes things a little more comfortable when waiting for the shot.
This tip can be applied to all wildlife photography.
Nod
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Beware of cats reversing towards you if you're near the wire. Lion and Tiger pee stinks and can really ruin your day (and that of anyone who gets close!).
A Circular Polarising Filter can help reduce (and almsot eliminate) reflections from glass and can increase the saturation of colours. The downside is that it'll also reduce the light getting to the sensor but the camera's metering will still work fine.
When shooting through wire fencing, move around a little to see where the lens is pointing - you might think you're shooting through a gap but the lens could be pointing at a crossover.
There's often a board just inside the entrance which shows the feeding times. If there's an animal in particular you want to shoot while it's feeding, it's usually worth getting there early to get a good place (before the bawling snots get there!).
A Circular Polarising Filter can help reduce (and almsot eliminate) reflections from glass and can increase the saturation of colours. The downside is that it'll also reduce the light getting to the sensor but the camera's metering will still work fine.
When shooting through wire fencing, move around a little to see where the lens is pointing - you might think you're shooting through a gap but the lens could be pointing at a crossover.
There's often a board just inside the entrance which shows the feeding times. If there's an animal in particular you want to shoot while it's feeding, it's usually worth getting there early to get a good place (before the bawling snots get there!).