• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Photographing Rabbits

orangediva

Mama Doe
I wondered if anyone could help me with attempting to get some decent bunny shots as all of mine are blurry, too dark or too light or just too.... gah !

I have a decent camera - the base level Canon EOS 120D SLR and I've just invested in a mini tripod which I though I could set up in the runs/shed/ garden/house and just get lots of shots and see what I end up with. Does anyone have any tips on camera settings/lighting or anything else that might help me please?

I'd also love to see any pictures you are especially proud of especially if you can share how you got them/ camera settings etc?

Thanks in advance for any advice :wave:
 
Unfortunately a tripod won't help much in this instance because you need a fast shutter speed to capture the rabbits' movement rather than stopping camera movement. You'd be better off investing in a flashgun for indoors, or ensuring there is always plenty of light when shooting, outside is usually best. The other option is to bump up the camera's ISO, this will result in grainier shots but at least then the subject won't be blurred.

You need three things for correct exposure; aperture (the funny numbers, usually they start at 4, then 5.6, then 8, etc) that's how big the opening is to let light in; shutter speed (usually something like 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000) this is how long that opening is open for and ISO (200, 400, 800, 1600) which is how sensitive the sensor, the thing recording the image. Each of these will have a pay off... You can make the aperture bigger (so the 4 end of the scale) but this means you have to be more accurate with focusing. Or you can lower the shutter speed but this will mean any movement will be blurred. Or you can up the ISO but this will increase graininess.

For capturing rabbit movement I'd go for a bigger aperture and higher ISO over shutter speed. The best thing is to increase the light, if possible. So outside or with a flashgun. Or in front of a big, bright window on a sunny day helps as well.

This was taken indoors in a light part of the house or a bright sunny day and with a big, big aperture. Aperture f/2.0, shutter speed 1/125, ISO 800, no flash. I love it because the big aperture has limited what is in focus, and I got this one bang on with where I wanted the focus to be.



*sigh* I miss her :cry:
 
I'm such a lazy photographer :oops: I have a DSLR but I just stick it on auto and snap multiple photos a minute. They're not photographer standard, sometimes they're a bit blurry around the edges, but it works for me :)















Sorry for the photo overload :oops:
 
I love it, it's perfect! Beautiful, beautiful picture and just what I'd like to take - with the bun in focus and everything else fuzzier :love:

I'll get the camera out tomorrow and study what you've written and see what I can get. I believe my dad has a hand held flash - would that work?
 
Mine is camera shy... he's a nightmare. And I'm studying natural history photography :lol: I've just sorta given up, he hides when I get the camera out.
Fast shutter speed and fast focussing is a must. Lie on the ground to get eye level, this works a treat! I've literally just uploaded a wildie image on a new thread :)
 
I've just seen it - beautiful!


Yes lying on the floor, will try that too. I'm loving the tips, thank you.
 
I love it, it's perfect! Beautiful, beautiful picture and just what I'd like to take - with the bun in focus and everything else fuzzier :love:

I'll get the camera out tomorrow and study what you've written and see what I can get. I believe my dad has a hand held flash - would that work?

Flash can get a bit complicated, first thing I'd make sure is that it's a modern flash, not an old one. I've heard stories of old ones frying hotshoes, that's the bit that attaches it to the camera. If it's a new one then yeah, give it a go, if it's not Canon it won't be able to automatically adjust to the lighting but I normally point it at the ceiling and then adjust the camera settings until I get what I'm after.

The lens I used for that is a good lens; cheap, but decent. It's a Canon 50mm f/2 lens, cost me about £90 which is about the cheapest you can get. No zoom ability, have to use your feet instead, but I find as soon as I get on the floor they get nosey anyway!
 
Definitely agree with getting down on their level, the majority of my photos are taken whilst I'm eye to eye with them :)
 
Ohh I'll definitely be following this thread :) Got a camera for Christmas and have been wanting to get some nice pictures of the buns. So far they've been a bit fuzzy or blurred which i think it could be due to inside being quite dark? All the pictures above are amazing :love:
 
I love it, it's perfect! Beautiful, beautiful picture and just what I'd like to take - with the bun in focus and everything else fuzzier :love:

I'll get the camera out tomorrow and study what you've written and see what I can get. I believe my dad has a hand held flash - would that work?

Instead of a flash, try using a reflector. This can be as simple as an A4 piece of paper, but it will help highlight your rabbits from different angles. I am always reluctant to use flashes with animals, as they can be so strong and I don't like the idea of using a flash on something that can't say otherwise!
 
I'm not a very good photographer and only ever use my phone as I don't own a camera but I'm happy with most of the pics I take when I get to their level, although I think it depends on the bunnies too! It was a lot harder to get a pic of Boris (black bunny) then the others, also Jake (black and white) is difficult too!
 
Instead of a flash, try using a reflector. This can be as simple as an A4 piece of paper, but it will help highlight your rabbits from different angles. I am always reluctant to use flashes with animals, as they can be so strong and I don't like the idea of using a flash on something that can't say otherwise!

That's another reason why I always point them into the ceiling ;) Much subtler, softer and diffuse light.
 
I'm not brilliant at photography, but sometimes come out with shots I love. I have a Samsung bridge camera and always say it's not about the equipment, but how you use it. :)

These are a couple of my shots. Time, patience and good lighting - I usually aim for good, natural lighting - are often key, in my opinion.

4tx5hx.jpg


29ap8r5.png


Also, Zara. Not a rabbit but a black cat - also very hard to get shots of. But I have adored this one for years. :love:

mawket.jpg
 
For indoors I love to use sunshine bulbs when photographing pets. So just a lamp, no shade, with a therapy bulb in for SAD. It gives great lighting but isn't sudden like a flash ;)
 
Oh wow!!!!! Great advice and simply incredible photos in this thread. Surely you must all have loads of photos of your rabbits on your walls ? Which is what I'd like to do - get a lovely clear shot of each of them for my walls.
 
I'm such a lazy photographer :oops: I have a DSLR but I just stick it on auto and snap multiple photos a minute. They're not photographer standard, sometimes they're a bit blurry around the edges, but it works for me :)
Me too ;P I tend to only bother to use the settings for astrophotography :lol: Though I do use the No Flash setting all the time.

Time, patience and good lighting - I usually aim for good, natural lighting - are often key, in my opinion.
I 100% agree: a flash is a last resort, but great for indoors (always paint your ceilings white!). I use a diffuser on my flash too, made out of masking tape XD Do check it won't burn though, as mentioned! I also turn the rangefinder (autofocus assist) off with animate subjects too, as it's like flashing a torch.

Most of my photos here are done with my point&shoot Samsung because you lot care more about fuzzies than artistry ;P It's rare that I traipse out in the garden with the Nikon D90!
 
I don't think a Tripod will be off any use, it would be more of a hassle to use it. Tripods are brilliant for set up shots, where by you have things in position, have good rule of 3rds (composition) and it doesn't move quickly lol. I use them in the studio sometimes and almost always for Landscapes and Still life.

Good lighting is the Key and the basis for good photography because after all Photography means "Painting with Light". A lot of the times though we don't get great or good enough lighting for many different reasons so then we have to either set the camera to match those conditions or reposition your subject nearer a light source. You can use a Speedlite (ON Camera Flash) or use Reflectors, I tend to use my reflector a lot and most of the times because even if the lighting is good I can play around with how the light direction hits my subject and they are very cheap on Ebay and as said above you can use white card or A4 paper if you do not have one.

If your using a point and shoot camera then I would look at it's various settings and see which is best. I don't work with a point and shoot camera other than my phone camera so i am not sure what you get on them in terms of settings.
If your using a DSLR or A Bridge Camera then they will have manual options in your settings. Manual is so much better because you can control how you would like your picture to look and you can get so much more creative with that setting. I would advise to go for Aperture wide open so on it's lowest number, bump up your ISO 400 or more and set shutter speed to 1/125 0r 1/60. The more ISO you use, unfortunately you will then get more grain and more noise but at times this looks great. I work with film too and spend hours in the Dark room and I make my pictures grainy on purpose! :lol: Then it is a matter of how you choose to focus, whether you use auto focus or Manual focus. I use auto focus a lot of the time but sometimes with moving subjects this becomes extremely challenging, so I tend to use Al servo and track my subject or Manual.

I think the best advice i can give is for you to go and play around with your camera, shoot any thing, experiment, read lots, make more pictures and more pictures lol.

Photography is not only my career but my passion and i never learned it over night it takes years of practice, experimenting and most of all enjoying it :D I am still learning and i learn something new every day. So stock up on lots of memory cards lol and go off and play with your camera. Do not forget to share your results with us :love:
 
Obviously my post above is only really about natural light and when lighting is not so good. It is a whole different ball game when lighting is good but you are very welcome to ask me for advice in the process. x
 
Back
Top