Photographing Your Dogs

[lopolla]

i'm wanting to take some decent shots of my dog and friends dog and possible some with the dogs and my friends kids. i have a cropped sensor canon and am wondering what other people suggest and use to take portraits of this type. i'm looking at doing some self set up studio sort of thing as well as natural outdoors.

any suggestions?

[Kirislin]

What lenses have you got and what type of pics do you want to take?

[lopolla]

What lenses have you got and what type of pics do you want to take?

for portraits and some different set ups i mentioned above.

i have two standard kit lenses and 50mm1.8

[Kirislin]

What lenses have you got and what type of pics do you want to take?

for portraits and some different set ups i mentioned above.

i have two standard kit lenses and 50mm1.8

Probably the 50 1.8 then. You can get that shallow depth of field to isolate the subjects from the background.

[lopolla]

What lenses have you got and what type of pics do you want to take?

for portraits and some different set ups i mentioned above.

i have two standard kit lenses and 50mm1.8

Probably the 50 1.8 then. You can get that shallow depth of field to isolate the subjects from the background.

i'm looking for something new to work along side what i have, if you have any suggestions that would be great

[Guest Tess32]

Do you have a budget?

[kja]

You need to let us know what is missing from what you are doing now before we can point in a direction - there are a zillion options.

[lopolla]

Do you have a budget?

yes, under $1000

[lopolla]

You need to let us know what is missing from what you are doing now before we can point in a direction - there are a zillion options.

well that's what im trying to figure out, what i can get to compliment what i have and to do some nice portaits of dogs and dogs and kids together. something wider or sharper, im just interested in what other people use so i can get an idea of things

[persephone]

have a look HERE

there are some, I guess which would have more data with them.

THIS one has the camera used ...

and THIS one has heaps of info in the 'tags'

[rubiton]

lens is suitable. I use my zooms to take still shots, moving shots etc. You have to use the right settings for the camera - though the 40D you pretty much set it on ai servo and get the actual settings right wave it vaguely in the direction of the subject and it takes brilliant shots.

I prefer to use aperture F8 as it still isolates from the background and if the subject is moving its guaranteed tghe background is blurry when you freeze the dogs action.

The one that finally produced on the 7D was the old 70-210mm but I think my yard isnt big enough for the 100-400mm to be effective with the dog coming straight at the camera

[Kirislin]

What lenses have you got and what type of pics do you want to take?

for portraits and some different set ups i mentioned above.

i have two standard kit lenses and 50mm1.8

Probably the 50 1.8 then. You can get that shallow depth of field to isolate the subjects from the background.

i'm looking for something new to work along side what i have, if you have any suggestions that would be great

Oh sorry, I didn't realise you were shopping for lenses, I thought you just meant out of what you have what is the best to use.

[lopolla]

What lenses have you got and what type of pics do you want to take?

for portraits and some different set ups i mentioned above.

i have two standard kit lenses and 50mm1.8

Probably the 50 1.8 then. You can get that shallow depth of field to isolate the subjects from the background.

i'm looking for something new to work along side what i have, if you have any suggestions that would be great

Oh sorry, I didn't realise you were shopping for lenses, I thought you just meant out of what you have what is the best to use.

haha no problems i probably could have worded myself better!

[Luke W]

FWIW - I shoot nearly everything with a 70-200 2.8. The 70-200 f4 would be a great choice and more in your price range.

[kja]

While the 70-200 range is awesome, it will be of limited use inside as most of it will be too long for most people's houses. Still worth considering, though as it is just a really nice range and all of Canon's are excellent.

if you're looking for wider, here are two that are more or less in your budget:

Canon 17-55 2.8 IS - fabulous lens. My main workhorse because it just does what I need it to do.

Sigma 30 1.4 - omg this is so sharp and such a gem of a lens for next to no cash. adore it.

Honestly, I'm still not 100% clear on what you are trying to achieve so it's hard to really say YES get this one have you looked at the metadata from your two zooms to find out which focal length you use the most and which focal length you LIKE the most? Using those points will help you narrow the field and also help you visualize what they are NOT giving you which will also help immensely.

Maybe it's not your lack of lenses but a lack of direction

[PossumCorner]

...... i've used a 7d in store before, i work in a camera store so am lucky i get to play around with things. it's not something im looking at getting due to funds its just a dream, 5d mark 11 would be ultimate but thats definitely a dream haha

i get some pretty decent shots with my standard kit lenses and my 50mm f1.8 just looking at getting something new and fun to play with. ....

Do you intend buying from the store you work in (what do they recommend?).

If you are on a budget you would save by ordering from overseas, B&H or the like, if the store does not give you a good staff discount.

[Linda K]

do you intend to use natural light setup with the studio type background, or are you intending on using lights - if you are using natural light, and wanting to include multiple subjects that will potentially be on different planes, you most definitely will need a lens that wil let in lots of light. Your 1.8 would be ideal for this, but depends on the amount of space you have to wok with, and whether you are also after being able to do full body length shots, or just head / shoulders type stuff. If you are using studio lights, then as they are providing all the lighting, the maximum aperture is not quite as important IMO, as you could shoot at F8 to ensure all bodies are in the focal plane, and not worry about how much natural light is coming in, here you just need to keep the ISO at 100, set the aperture to what you desire, ensure the shutter speed is suitable to work with lights (mine needs to be less than 1/250 otherwise I have problems synchronising with the lights, and the shutter curtain will appear in the photo), and then adjust the flash power to ensure perfect exposure. A lot also depends on what ISO you can work up to and still have little noise - generally the cheaper bodies will not work as well as a pro body over about ISO 800, so you will need to bear that in mind too if using natural light. Are you intending on trying to get to this being a business for you - if so, would certainly do what others have said about looking first of all at what you are doing now, and what focal lengths you mostly use, and then consider if the aperture your current lens delivers suits your needs or not, and then look from there. Maybe also look at some other sites to see what others whose work you admire are doing, and study that t see how you could break that sown and put your own twist onto it (afterall, no one wants to simply be a copy cat) If you have no intention of doing this for anymore than just taking these shots now for fun, then would personally not really be buying anything further, as what you have would be sufficient for a hobbyist, and anything much more might be overkill, and expensive on the wallet.

As to what I use myself, in my business setup - for kids and animals, I have 2 bodies that can work in low light (Nikon D700, in conjunction with 50 1.4G and 85 1.4G & Canon 5DII with a 50 1.4, 24-70 2.8L. 70-200 2.8L, and 135 2L , and also have both studio lights and flashes that I can use off camera if natural light is not sufficient for me, as well as a backdrop stand with a variety of backdrops (both paper rolls and muslin and you do not want to know what all of that cost, but I have used the business to fund it over time, did not start with all that in one hit)

[lopolla]

While the 70-200 range is awesome, it will be of limited use inside as most of it will be too long for most people's houses. Still worth considering, though as it is just a really nice range and all of Canon's are excellent.

if you're looking for wider, here are two that are more or less in your budget:

Canon 17-55 2.8 IS - fabulous lens. My main workhorse because it just does what I need it to do.

Sigma 30 1.4 - omg this is so sharp and such a gem of a lens for next to no cash. adore it.

Honestly, I'm still not 100% clear on what you are trying to achieve so it's hard to really say YES get this one have you looked at the metadata from your two zooms to find out which focal length you use the most and which focal length you LIKE the most? Using those points will help you narrow the field and also help you visualize what they are NOT giving you which will also help immensely.

Maybe it's not your lack of lenses but a lack of direction :D

i rarely use my 55-250 lens but the 18-55 and 50mm i use often. i think i will try something along the lines of the 30mm or even a 28mm.

[lopolla]

...... i've used a 7d in store before, i work in a camera store so am lucky i get to play around with things. it's not something im looking at getting due to funds its just a dream, 5d mark 11 would be ultimate but thats definitely a dream haha

i get some pretty decent shots with my standard kit lenses and my 50mm f1.8 just looking at getting something new and fun to play with. ....

Do you intend buying from the store you work in (what do they recommend?).

If you are on a budget you would save by ordering from overseas, B&H or the like, if the store does not give you a good staff discount.

yeah i'll be buying from my work place i get a pretty good staff discount, they have suggested a few, similar to what im getting here. i was just interested to know what people with dogs use.

[lopolla]

do you intend to use natural light setup with the studio type background, or are you intending on using lights - if you are using natural light, and wanting to include multiple subjects that will potentially be on different planes, you most definitely will need a lens that wil let in lots of light. Your 1.8 would be ideal for this, but depends on the amount of space you have to wok with, and whether you are also after being able to do full body length shots, or just head / shoulders type stuff. If you are using studio lights, then as they are providing all the lighting, the maximum aperture is not quite as important IMO, as you could shoot at F8 to ensure all bodies are in the focal plane, and not worry about how much natural light is coming in, here you just need to keep the ISO at 100, set the aperture to what you desire, ensure the shutter speed is suitable to work with lights (mine needs to be less than 1/250 otherwise I have problems synchronising with the lights, and the shutter curtain will appear in the photo), and then adjust the flash power to ensure perfect exposure. A lot also depends on what ISO you can work up to and still have little noise - generally the cheaper bodies will not work as well as a pro body over about ISO 800, so you will need to bear that in mind too if using natural light. Are you intending on trying to get to this being a business for you - if so, would certainly do what others have said about looking first of all at what you are doing now, and what focal lengths you mostly use, and then consider if the aperture your current lens delivers suits your needs or not, and then look from there. Maybe also look at some other sites to see what others whose work you admire are doing, and study that t see how you could break that sown and put your own twist onto it (afterall, no one wants to simply be a copy cat) If you have no intention of doing this for anymore than just taking these shots now for fun, then would personally not really be buying anything further, as what you have would be sufficient for a hobbyist, and anything much more might be overkill, and expensive on the wallet.

As to what I use myself, in my business setup - for kids and animals, I have 2 bodies that can work in low light (Nikon D700, in conjunction with 50 1.4G and 85 1.4G & Canon 5DII with a 50 1.4, 24-70 2.8L. 70-200 2.8L, and 135 2L , and also have both studio lights and flashes that I can use off camera if natural light is not sufficient for me, as well as a backdrop stand with a variety of backdrops (both paper rolls and muslin and you do not want to know what all of that cost, but I have used the business to fund it over time, did not start with all that in one hit)

thanks for the info. i am not really looking at going into a business but would like to get into it more for myself and friends/family. i will be getting a better flash and some sort of studio lighting in the future to play around with. the 50mm i have is great and suits most things, but i think i would like to try something with a wider angle so am gonig to look at advice from here and from what i know at work to look into it more