Photo taken 9 April 2011
Even simple point-and-shoot cameras can take pretty good pictures sometimes.
The above and below were taken with a Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS, as were most of my pictures and videos featured on this blog. I got the camera in the Summer of 2008 to replace a Casio EXILIM whose telescoping lens and automatic lens cap had started to fail after about three years of use. The Digital IXUS was a step down, I’d say, though I’ve been quite happy with many of the 12,000 pictures and videos I’ve taken with it.
And having simple tools has forced me to keep my own aesthetic principles simple. I’m no professional photographer and have no aspirations to invest the amount of time, money, and labor to become one, though I’m definitely in awe of the pros (hi Lily!). When taking pictures of dogs, I’ve long followed these simple guidelines:
- Because I don’t know enough about lighting, natural light is best. I almost never use flash, even indoors at night, which is sometimes a problem…
- Front, back, side, top down, bottom up, near, far, eye to eye, nose to nose… Photograph your pet like the three-dimensional, moving creature that he is, not like a mural painted on a wall.
- Pets are naturally photogenic when they’re at ease and doing their own thing. I’d rather not keep a record of posed shots, but lived moments with my dogs.
That’s about it for me.
Bowdu appears miffed that this box does not contain food, unlike the previous box.
Today, I inherited my first Digital SLR. I have never played with one before, and it’s been over a decade since I’ve toyed seriously with a “real” camera. This is a hand-me-down gift from my dad, whose ability to purchase tech toys that are typically out of my price range means that I eventually benefit, even if it’s years after the fact.
I’m absolutely not snubbing a used camera! I have much to learn, so this is more than enough to get me started.
The Digital IXUS will still be around, as it’s got portability, unobtrusiveness, and video-making capabilities in its favor. And it’s going to take me some time to get through the instruction manual.
But for now, we welcome this new toy with an exuberant YODEL OF JOY!
What about you? Do you have any special equipment or personal aesthetic principles to help you take pictures of your pets?
The House of Two Bows 雙寶之屋 
Congrats on the new gear! You are absolutely right — the camera is just a tool and the 20D is a great tool. We look forward to seeing more pics of the two Bows.
I like your three rules of thumb. Natural light always works best for my Kodak or Canon point and shoot digital cameras.
I’m SO far from professional and most of mine are quite blurry… but I have a lot of fun trying.
Your banner picture is breathtaking!
I have an “old school” (non digital) Rebel that I love to take black and whites with, in natural light in the woods. I’ve gotten amazing shots with it of the dogs, running or stationary. I haven’t posted any in a while, the scanning process seems to ruin what I see in the prints. We do our prints by hand too, gotta love orange juice and amonia 🙂
What, Canon makes a NON-digital Rebel? *laugh* (just kidding)
I have to admit that I don’t even have a traditional camera here… the nice Nikon is back at my folks’. Back in high school I thought I wanted to get into photography, learn the dark room and all that, but I could not commit to being in one place for 4 hours at a time, especially not my high school. Ah, how I deprived myself of opportunities in my finicky adolescence…
I’d still love to take a short photography class sometime. A future goal, to be filed away with so many others.
Black and white film photography is amazing. I use a 30 year old Minolta XG-M my Dad owned. It’s a pretty good camera compared to a couple other film SLR’s I’ve tried. I’m still trying to find some developing supplies so I can kick start a little black room in the “basement”. I at least want to be able to develop my own film which doesn’t require the red lights and tons of trays of chemicals. You do need some know how but it’s one of my favorite things to do. With the film I buy for that camera, I wouldn’t trust anyone but myself with developing it.
That camera is especially fun when I whip out the 200X telescopic lens. You get the weirdest looks from people when you’re taking a picture of a light pole you’re standing underneath with a lens like that.
My digital point-and-shoot camera is supercrap now. It used to take really good pictures no matter where you were but it’s kinda degraded over the years. Every now and then I’ll get a good one out of the hundreds I take, but I much prefer my Minolta for taking good photos. Just one or two shots with that one instead of a hundred for one good picture.
Yay! I’m psyched whenever anyone around me gets an SLR. I love mine, and I want everyone else to have one, so I can see cool photos.
I purchased mine used, also, two years ago and it has been great! (I also sold my old D-SLR to someone else, and I’m pretty sure she is enjoying it. It was in good shape!)
I like animals or persons in my photos to be in action. And I like to get at least some (if not a lot of) background in so the photos tell stories. For this reason, I love wide angle lenses.
I’d love to learn more about lighting. I’ve seen some amazing photos with Flash for action shots or low-light situations. I have purchased a flash, but I haven’t really studied it enough to use it well. That has been my next goal, and I think I need to take a class for that, too.