Photographing Dogs in Action!
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2024
- Whether running toward you, jumping a log or splashing through water, there's something special about photos of dogs in action. While I'm 100% a pet portrait photographer, photographing a client's dog on the run, or taking some photos at an agility trial is a nice change!
However! We know that action photos are NOT easy! It's easy to get really discouraged and feel like you're failing when your photos are blurry or out of focus, no matter what you try.
Here are 5 tips for taking photos of dogs in action, but remember that practise and repeatability are KEY. Hopefully some of these tips will help set you on the path to success with your action photos, but if you're still struggling, make sure you check out the webinar series we're hosting at Inspawration Photography throughout 2024, with Chris van Riel.
Chris is going to cover EVERYTHING action, from action fundamentals in February (tonight! At 19:00 CET - there's still time to join as I write this!), to sideways action in April, then head on action, an equipment masterclass, editing, and something we haven't decided yet in December!
All the information and sign-up can be found here: inspawrationphotography.com/d...
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Affiliates and Gear I use:
Amazon Storefront: amzn.to/46gEzAL
Sony a7iii: amzn.to/3MQJXlj
Sony 135mm f/1.8 G-Master Lens: amzn.to/3MQJXlj
Sony 85mm f/1.8 Lens: amzn.to/3eTIy0E
Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4 lens: amzn.to/3gvJNnC
My favourite for dog training advice: spiritdogtraining.com?aff=eabrahams
Let me know in the comments what kinds of dog photography videos you want to see next!
I never thought about how having the dog running sideways to the camera instead of straight towards you means that the camera can track the focus, because it's not having to adjust the subject moving closer. No wonder those shots always have a higher hit rate. Thanks for the reminders and new tips, too!
Just to say 'Thank you'. Under Gear I would also recommend a very fast memory card 😊
excellent help thank you!
In the Nikon camp the Z9 and Z8 are the cameras designed for action
My number 1 fear is when the customer asks for a running shot, I have the A7R4 with the Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN it's probably the best portrait lens I've ever used but for running shot's it struggles maybe 2 or 3 in focus each run, great tips tho thank you 🙏
Thank you, Emily. Your videos are amazing❤and I love how encouraging you are☺️
Thanks for the great advice ❤
Thanks for being here! 😍
Love your videos! Thank you for sharing 🥰
So glad you enjoy them! I’m trying! 😅🙈
Good points you made I would also add high res camera for the ability to crop in post I have found the A1 to be the perfect camera
Unfortunately the a1 is not really in most people’s budgets. I think people who are looking for these tips will more likely have a prosumer camera or portrait-type camera. And I’ll say, even without high res, I’m doing just fine. Yes if someone is wanting to get into sport photography then as I said, they’ll want a sport specific camera and in that case, higher resolution may come in handy so they can be further from the agility or disc action and crop in. But like I said, for most people watching this video I suspect an A1 would be overkill :)
In Canon, it's EOS R3 and R1 (when the R1 is updated, the current one is well outdated), with L series lenses. R5 will get the job done with similar or marginally lower hit rate to the author's Sony A7III (Sony still has a bit of an edge in AF). Canon R6 mark 2 does better than R5 and is comparable to the much more expensive R3, but its lower resolution means that if you don't fill the frame, any substantial crop will damage your ability to print large and it can be hard to fill the frame with an action dog without getting flops because your framing messed up.
Great suggestions for Canon gear. Personally I use an R3 and most commonly for most sports the 70-200 2.8mm. For Herding and other large distance shoots I often use the Sigma 150-600mm, but may change to the newer Canon 200-800mm.
I use a Sony a7C Mark II with a Sony FE 70-200mm f2.8 GM V2 Lens
Hey, love your photos! I've been trying to capture my friends dog running in the forest and it is proving tough. May I ask what focal length you recommend? I'll start with that and see if any other questions come up for me. Thank you!
A 135mm lens is a great focal length. Many people use 70-200mm zoomed in quite far too. The job of the camera to focus on the dog running becomes much more difficult, the closer the dog gets to the camera. Keep in mind forests tend to be low light and low contrast too so that's also going to make things much more difficult
Thanks for all that!@@InspawrationPhotography
For those of you in Europe where apparently the leash laws are pretty lax, having a dog running down a path is a no brainer. Those of us who live in the U.S. who live in areas that have strict leash laws, running down a narrow path off leash is just not possible unless one can find fenced in private property. The fines can be fairly expensive plus some dogs (clients) might have a tendency to run off which presents all kinds of problems.
It’s important to obey any local laws. The point about repeatability still stands however, whether that’s down a path or something else you set up which allows you to repeat the action. It’s going to be rather difficult to capture action photography with dogs on leash in general, in which case portrait photography may be more appropriate. Not everyone has to do action, if it isn’t possible for one reason or another. But many people like to, or want to, hence the video.
@@InspawrationPhotography Okay so what you're saying is that we can't do action shots on leash. Okay. I get it. Apparently this video is not for those of us who have to obey leash laws. Okay. Thanks!
@@pattymattes7124 I’m not sure why you seem to be annoyed at me making this video. As I said, you should obey local laws. As I said, it’s going to be DIFFICULT to do action shots on leash. This is a simple fact because you would need someone running alongside the dog in that case (presuming you don’t want to go to an off leash area, or hire a private area, as you stated in your comment, the only two options left are to keep the dog on leash and therefore presumably run with the dog in action, whether on a long line or normal leash …. Or not do action). I’m not sure what you want from me 😅 I know plenty of pet photographers in the US who do action shots. Maybe it takes some finding of areas where being off leash is allowed. Maybe it takes hiring a space. Maybe it takes a leash or long line. I really can’t think of another option for you. As someone from Australia, where we also have incredibly strict leash laws and dog restrictions, I would relax leash laws if I could but unfortunately I can’t. So those are the options.
@@InspawrationPhotography No, I just don't want to waste my time with a video seminar that would not fit with doing action shots typically in U.S. Thank you for your time.
@@pattymattes7124 I would say the webinar series would be suitable for any type of action since it’s not specifically focused on running down narrow paths, although it’s not going to focus on on-leash action specifically either, if you’re looking for an action webinar and want to know more specifically if it would suit your needs you could always contact Chris directly since he’s running the webinars, but of course if it’s not for you then that’s perfectly reasonable as well :)