Photo continued from page 47

One of the great things about

digital photography, whether with
a separate camera or the camera
built into a cell phone, is that you
can take lots of photos with no 
additional expense. For those of us
who used to worry about making
every shot count on a 36-exposure
roll of film, this is incredible 
freedom. Don’t worry about 
having photos that aren’t perfect.
Every serious photographer takes
lots of photos that no one else will
ever see (though I’ve included two
of my rejects here). Don’t ask me
about my “keeper rate.” The 
answer wouldn’t be pretty. These
days digital memory is cheap. Take
lots of shots, transfer them to your
computer and review them there, but don’t bother erasing
any but the most obvious duds (you wouldn’t believe how
many photos I’ve inadvertently taken of my feet!). Your time
is too valuable and — who knows — some day you may
want to write an article showing some things not to do. 

If you have a camera that permits you to control the lens

aperture, consider shooting close to wide open, using a
smaller (numerical) f/number or f/stop, such as f/4 instead
of f/11. This will allow for a higher shutter speed (for stop-
ping action and avoiding camera shake) and also result in
less depth of focus (depth of field), yielding a smoother and
more out-of-focus background. Having the background out
of sharp focus can be desirable, leading the viewer’s eye to
concentrate on the subject, which is, ideally, in sharp focus.
Keeping the subject away from objects in the background,
with you close to the subject, helps throw the background
out-of-focus. 

Try to focus on the eyes of the dog. Usually, you can 

let the nose and body be less sharp. But the eyes are key to
personality and usually we
want them in sharp focus.

Unless a dog is resting,

it can move, often 
unpredictably. Maybe the
dog will start to bark or
howl, as Bernie did when I
was photographing him
and Susie. Or just start
scratching. Assuming the
pose is okay, a higher
shutter speed or an 
“Action” or “Sports” 
setting on the camera 
can help capture the dog
without unwanted motion
blur or camera shake.

You will see from the

technical notes that I 
varied the ISO (sensitivity)
setting, sometimes 
because I found it was
higher or lower than 
I needed, or because 
conditions changed.

When used in good light, my cameras allow use of fairly
high ISO settings, allowing for higher shutter speeds, which
is helpful for stopping action. In general though, for best
picture quality you should use the lowest ISO setting you can.

The dog is your model. Unless you’re trying to show a

mischievous dog that’s been into stuff, if the beard is dirty
or if there’s a leaf dangling from the beard, clean it up before
taking pictures. Initially straighten up the hair/fur. It’ll get
in disarray soon enough! 

These days almost all cameras have autofocus. But it 

can be hard for autofocus systems to accurately track a 
dog running toward you. It’s a lot easier for the camera’s 
automation if the dog is moving at an angle to you or 
crossing your field of view. You may be able to preset focus
and other settings by pressing part way down on the shutter
release, locking those settings while you’re waiting for the
best pose or expression. Then press all the way. Press the
shutter release control smoothly, not jabbing it, so you’re
not moving the camera while taking the photo.

Every camera has shutter lag, the

interval between your activation of
the shutter release and the picture
actually being taken. In general, 
better cameras have shorter and
more predictable shutter lag, which
helps in capturing motion. But you
can learn how your camera handles
shutter lag and learn to anticipate
action, thus not missing as many
shots while the camera is taking 
its time analyzing the scene before

48

www.pbgv.org

Winter 2015   

I Saber Tails

Put A Stake In It. An example of not
paying attention to the background. I
suppose one way to keep a dog still is
to pin him in place with a fence pole!
But Bernie was pretty well-trained (he
had several rally and obedience titles)
and he could Stay if I told him to.
Sometimes, anyway. Another fault in
the photo is that the light is very 
contrasty and harsh.

Susie Running In Snow. Panning allows relatively low 
shutter speed to give a sharp photo of subject. Fairly cloudy, 
flat lighting. ISO 1250, f/5.0, 1/500 sec, 35-70 lens at 70mm.