ZRabbits Pictures

[ZRabbits]

Hi Mike,

I had another practice session. I worked on my just two settings. Automatic and Close up (the Flower Icon). I'm just really starting to play with it. I figured I'd get comfortable with these settings, and then others. I'd really like to get a good action shot. To be honest, the ones I did get that were true accidents.


What do you see that's good, or could be improved, like centering, or what should I be really looking at to get the right pic. Have really great advise here. My husband's really taught me a lot, but I like to get others opinions who really know how to get those good shots.

Black is so hard to photograph. The lighting really affects black. What do you do to photograph black?

Any comments, good or bad, and any guidance would be truly appreciate it.

K

 

[BunMommaD]

I used to work as a free lance photog, way back before the digital era... Well before it was so popular anyway lol I LOVE taking pictures! but currently only have my point and shoot... I must save up for a new "baby" soon tho... Maybe try and start my business back up again! I don't really have any suggestions for photographing black except editing afterward...

I will say the 3rd pic from the top is gorgeous! The way the lighting is hitting his back and the shadow from his ear is over his eye! Beautiful! I LOVE natural light photography!

 

[MikeScone]

ZRabbits wrote:

What do you see that's good, or could be improved, like centering, ... Black is so hard to photograph. The lighting really affects black. What do you do to photograph black?

First, I like the pictures - especially the third one - so these comments are in the nature of suggestions for improvement, rather than disparagement.

Taking centering first, I think maybe you're working a bit too much on centering. You tend to center the eyes, which leads to cutting off a bit of ears or feet - for example, in the second and last picture the tips of the ears are trimmed, and in the third picture the feet. There's nothing wrong with a close-up which focuses in on just the face, for example - but if you're going to cut off parts, make it look like you meant it.

As a general rule, unless I'm really getting close I try to include all of the rabbit's ears.

Actually, pictures are more effective if the subject isn't centered. A basic rule of composition is the "rule of thirds", which says to divide the picture in thirds (think of superimposing a tic-tac-toe board on the picture), and then put a point of interest on an intersection of two of the one-third lines.

So, take your first picture - the bunny's eye is exactly centered in the picture.

If you crop the picture by the rule of thirds, you get this:

His eye's now on a one-third line intersection. Opinions may differ, but I think that makes the picture more interesting. It also eliminates a lot of distracting detail in front and back of the bunny which I think detracts from the subject.

Photographing black bunnies can be problematic, as I learned when Natasha came to live with me. I have a thread in this Camera Corner on Photographing a Black Bunny, in fact.

The lighting is key - you have to have highlights in the fur, or the bunny's going to be just a black blob in the picture. That said, you have to be careful not to go too far in the other direction. Black fur should be black, not the neutral grey that most cameras will try to make it. I find I often have to play with pictures in post-processing to make the fur come out just right.

For example, on the two last pictures of your set, I wouldn't have known the bunny was black if you hadn't said so. The highlights have overcome the fur. However, a little work in post-processing, and the levels can be corrected:

What I did was to adjust the black level in the picture so that the darkest point really is black - if you look at the original image, the darkest point in the bunny's fur is actually grey. If it's adjusted (using "levels" in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements - other programs may have other names for it), the picture looks much more natural. The thread on black bunnies shows how to do this, and also the thread on Photographing rabbits with red eyes.

I also did some cropping on both of these - I thought they looked a lot better with less grass and more bunny (and with his eyes not centered - see my comments above about that).

So, good job - keep taking pictures and posting them in this thread!

 

[ZRabbits]

BunMommaD wrote:

I used to work as a free lance photog, way back before the digital era... Well before it was so popular anyway lol I LOVE taking pictures! but currently only have my point and shoot... I must save up for a new "baby" soon tho... Maybe try and start my business back up again! I don't really have any suggestions for photographing black except editing afterward...

I will say the 3rd pic from the top is gorgeous! The way the lighting is hitting his back and the shadow from his ear is over his eye! Beautiful! I LOVE natural light photography!

Thanks so much Liz for your compliment. Yea, I'm really proud of the 3rd pic.

Really hope you get that new "baby". Maybe that's the door that's opening for you. Would love to see some of your pics.

K

 

[ZRabbits]

Thanks so much Mike. Truly appreciated, the time you took explaining and illustrating your thoughts of my photos.

Understand about my focusing on the eye. I don't know why I do it, but yea it's almost every time. lol Understand your tic tac toe mental pic. . Making sure the subject is the focus of the pic. Not the eye. Unless really, really close up. Also cutting off the feet vs the ears. I think I like the ears too.

I will definitely look into the suggested threads. Especially photographing Red eye rabbits. Luna looks likes she's possessed in most of my pics of her. I get lucky once in a while so really look forward to reading it.

Thanks again. And will post pics soon.

K

 

[ZRabbits]

OK, worked on not focusing on the "eye". Still had some that were constantly there. I guess it's hard to break a habit. But I do think I was successful.

This one I know was focused on the eye, but it worked in my favor. lol

I was trying to set this shot up to include both Neville and the Wheat grass

My focus was on Luna and the Tree Debris

Made sure I had Luna completely in the pic. Ears and all.

This one was just luck. Any suggestions on action shots are truly appreciated.

Thanks Mike for the suggestions.

K

 

[Bonnie Lee]

Hey Karen,

I was just curious does your camera do shutter priority?
and maybe even continuous shots?

I'm not an expert with photography but I did it all through high school and I found being on the website tumblr and deviant art help me a lot when I'm looking at different techniques and ways to photograph bunnies

I love all your photos though, they're really beautiful

 

[ZRabbits]

Bonnie Lee wrote:

Hey Karen,

I was just curious does your camera do shutter priority?
and maybe even continuous shots?

I'm not an expert with photography but I did it all through high school and I found being on the website tumblr and deviant art help me a lot when I'm looking at different techniques and ways to photograph bunnies

I love all your photos though, they're really beautiful

Yea it can go full manual. But it also has a setting under automatic status for action shots, which I'm going to pursue.

Thanks for the info on the the websites, but I have the best info sitting right here. My husband has over 38 years of photography in all conditions. But I will look the website up. Love to learn as much as possible. Learning from different sources helps me glean the best way to do something.

Thanks also for the compliments on my photography! I'm a blast with it. Hope all don't get bored of my subjects. I'll have to try focusing on other subjects. Once my flowers bloom, or even the baby birds in the nest at our kitchen window.

K

 

[Bonnie Lee]

Oh I see I see
Well I think your husband has showed you very well how to use it and the photos look great

 

[MikeScone]

Good job on the last picture - I like it.

You were panning with the running bunny, so she's in perfect sharp focus, but the background is blurred. It's hard to do that right - most people stop panning as they push the shutter, and wind up with blurry pictures. You have to follow through to get it right. Even her whiskers are tack-sharp.

Also, she's running into the picture. That helps the feeling of motion. If she'd been on the right side of the picture, she'd have been running out of the image, and that would have looked "wrong".

 

[Samara]

This conversation is awesome! I'm taking notes!

 

[ZRabbits]

MikeScone wrote:

Good job on the last picture - I like it.

You were panning with the running bunny, so she's in perfect sharp focus, but the background is blurred. It's hard to do that right - most people stop panning as they push the shutter, and wind up with blurry pictures. You have to follow through to get it right. Even her whiskers are tack-sharp.

Also, she's running into the picture. That helps the feeling of motion. If she'd been on the right side of the picture, she'd have been running out of the image, and that would have looked "wrong".

Thanks Mike. The first time she ran the course they were all blurry. But the second time I did pretty good, My timing was off on the first one (she was landing), but this second jump I got it.

I can see what you mean by the feeling of motion too.

Thanks again.

K

 

[MikeScone]

I enjoy using panning as a technique - as you get better at it, try using slower and slower shutter speeds. The slower the shutter, the more the background blur (and the harder it is to pan accurately).

Here are three (non-bunny) examples I shot at the Blair Atholl Scout Jamborette in Scotland, each at a slower speed than the last.

Relay race, shot at 1/60th of a second:

Muddy slide on the challenge course, shot at 1/30th of a second:

Horseback race, 1/15th:

With Boy Scouts or bunnies, the rule's the same - get the eyes sharp, and the rest doesn't matter.

 

[ZRabbits]

Wow Mike, thanks so much for sharing that. I was talking to my Husband this morning, I was showing him your comments. And he told me he will show me the action feature on his camera. He said yes, it is hard to keep panning, but with the action feacture, it does slow the shutter down, just like you explained. And with examples.

Looks like the weather is going to be nice this weekend. Look forward to trying it out. Will definitely post the pics.

Again thanks so much Mike.



BTW, think the Boy Scouts is an amazing organization. Something we were looking into forour Son.

K

 

[MikeScone]

ZRabbits wrote:

but with the action feacture, it does slow the shutter down, just like you explained.

I suppose it's possible that some of today's smart cameras might be able to detect that you're panning and slow down the shutter accordingly, but I haven't heard of any which do that. Actually, the "action" mode almost always speeds the shutter up, rather than slowing it down. The idea of an "action" or "sports" mode is to freeze action, not to induce motion blur, which is what you want to do when panning.

You'd probably want to use shutter-priority mode to choose a slow shutter speed for panning, rather than any of the PhD modes (PhD for "Push here, Dummy"). Shutter priority would let you set a fixed shutter speed, and the camera would change the aperture and sensor speed to get the right exposure. Start at about 1/60th, and then as you get better, slow down to 1/30, 1/15 and so on, until you can't get a sharp picture any more.

BTW, think the Boy Scouts is an amazing organization. Something we were looking into forour Son.

Yes, it's well worth while. I've been at it for quite some time, as a Scoutmaster and now District Commissioner - I'm getting my 40-year veteran pin this evening. I've taken Scouts to Scotland to the Blair Atholl International Scout Jamborette every other year since 1996, and I'm looking forward to this summer's trip.

 

[ZRabbits]

MikeScone wrote:

ZRabbits wrote:

but with the action feacture, it does slow the shutter down, just like you explained.

I suppose it's possible that some of today's smart cameras might be able to detect that you're panning and slow down the shutter accordingly, but I haven't heard of any which do that. Actually, the "action" mode almost always speeds the shutter up, rather than slowing it down. The idea of an "action" or "sports" mode is to freeze action, not to induce motion blur, which is what you want to do when panning.

You'd probably want to use shutter-priority mode to choose a slow shutter speed for panning, rather than any of the PhD modes (PhD for "Push here, Dummy"). Shutter priority would let you set a fixed shutter speed, and the camera would change the aperture and sensor speed to get the right exposure. Start at about 1/60th, and then as you get better, slow down to 1/30, 1/15 and so on, until you can't get a sharp picture any more.

BTW, think the Boy Scouts is an amazing organization. Something we were looking into forour Son.

Yes, it's well worth while. I've been at it for quite some time, as a Scoutmaster and now District Commissioner - I'm getting my 40-year veteran pin this evening. I've taken Scouts to Scotland to the Blair Atholl International Scout Jamborette every other year since 1996, and I'm looking forward to this summer's trip.

Not a smart camera, a person behind the camera that's just learning all the bells and whistle. Talked to my Husband again, and he say's yes Mike is right. That's what action is, you keep clicking and you can get consecutive pics. Like follow the action. Shutter is faster.

Again, thanks so much for the explanation regarding shutter priority.

Congratulations on your 40 year veteran's pin. What an accomplishment that is.May you have a safe and excitingtrip this summer.

K

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:clapping:

 

[ZRabbits]

Beautiful day yesterday, and by the time Kreacher was out in the run, the sun was shining. Here's what I got.

Looks like he's in a spot light.

Was focusing on Kreacher and what he was marking.

Would have been a good pic, but definitely centering on the eye and cropped off top of Kreacher's ears.

Regarding action and panning, deleted most of them. I posted a few action shots on my blog, but not really what I like. Definitely not a good day of panning. lol

K

 

[MagPie]

Ooooh I love that first shot of Kreacher, tho I would have liked seeing it a little off center. Hmmm like cropping off some of that gate. Beautiful image either way

 

[MikeScone]

MagPie wrote:

Ooooh I love that first shot of Kreacher, tho I would have liked seeing it a little off center. Hmmm like cropping off some of that gate.

I agree - nice shot, but better off-center, like this:

I also adjusted the levels just a bit to get more detail in the grass and make his fur just a bit blacker.

I like the "marking territory" shot, too. I'd have cropped it a bit tighter (and tried to include the tip of his tail, which unfortunately I can't add back).

Like the first picture, it needed some help with levels to get the fur black, and I sharpened his eye just a little.

Good job!