Aspiring Wildlife Photographer

[September]

Hello all! I'm hoping to become a wildlife photographer, although I've only just started to learn all the mechanics of photography. I'm hoping to be getting a better camera in the near future, but for the moment, I only have my moms digital camera But I thought I would make this thread to share with all of you my best pics (imo). Enjoy and, more importantly, critique! (Bear in mind that it's rare for a pic of mine to 'resonate' with me, so you might not get as many pics as your hoping for when you open this thread lol).







I'm *hopefully* going on vacation to Hawaii next year, so be looking forward to that If I can work up the courage, I'm going to go in the water and take pics of the aquatic life. But you might just get pics from hikes and such, as I'm terrified of the ocean. I'll work on it.

[September]

I debated on putting this one on here, because the top of his head is almost cut off, but I decided to share it with yall, because his face is just priceless

[September]

This is in Turtles thread (which I'll be updating with more pics later tonight, in case anyone cared to know that lol) but since I absolutely fell in love with it, here it is again!

[Biscuit]

His face is hilarious!!!

And turtle is adorable. Very good pics. x

[September]

Thanks!! I'm hoping the old adage practice makes perfect will prove true though. I'd love to take pics that looked more professional. My dream is to be hired by National Geographic

[souffle]

A good start there.
Things to think about that are very important are lighting, focus and background. It is better to hand focus and get the subject pin sharp. Use the natural light and position the subject to take the best advantage of this. Background is critical. The garden shed and computer in your pics are very distracting to the eye. I would have set up a cloth or backdrop or changed the depth of field to blur out these objects. Don't just think of the subject but look closely at what is around it. Move position and change angle of shot. Use props to get the animal to do things (like food!) Be patient and take hundreds of shots but be ruthless and discard any that are not first rate in your eyes. Beleive me you will never look at them again if you don't feel happy with them!
Good luck and hope you can live your dream

[September]

Thank you souffle!! Posts like yours are the reason I started this thread I'll work on the lighting and background sort of things, though focusing will really have to wait until I get something better than a $90 camera. I think I'll go get Turtle out right now

[souffle]

Can you get a black cloth - these are easy to work with and then use a little box and some treats to get him to pop up his head. Wait till he does then snap away. Make sure the camera is set on the close up setting (usually a flower symbol) or keep back then crop the photo to the subject. Turtle is a fab model

[Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters]

Souffle has pretty much said anything I would have said The last one of Turtle is great, its a really sweet shot of him!

For the pictures above of the little one in the glass I really recommend making a mini studio and trying the same photos inside it. Mini studios take seconds to make, here are the instructions for one -
Build your own mini studio

Instead of using the orange glow lamp though I recommend putting the studio by a large window on a sunny day instead, it will look much better. Try the wine glass photos again in the studio and try to focus on your pet's eye(s) over everything else. See how the results differ, I promise you wont be disappointed

[September]

Haha I agree, he's a wonderful model. Though most of my photography is done with Doodle, one of my mice. I always just seem to get such wonderful pics of him. (He's the brown one).

I have a dark blue cloth, so I can use that as a back drop. I'll try to get him to cooperate with the treats and such.

Add: Erin, thanks!! I'll set up my own studio. I can't wait to share more pics with yall, trying all these new tips