Photographing rescues, pets and sanctuary animals

[shawngibson]

<p>Hi all, Happy New Year (I can still say that, right lol?).</p>

<p>I've recently moved from human subjects to animals as my focus. I've done this in a very small way, namely by shooting lots of images of my cats (been doing this for years) and, lately, doing a lot of microscope images of, well, very small animals (i.e. zooplankton, largely). I'm looking very forward once the weather warms up, to going to the zoo with a 300/4 Canon:)</p>

<p>I'd like to be able to photograph rescue animals in my area, sanctuary animals, and pets.</p>

<p>All of these, of course, have very different demands. For example, rescues probably need shorter lenses (confined space) and maybe artificial light, with no financial compensation (doesn't bother me in the slightest); sanctuary animals probably require longer lenses, available light, and also no compensation (also, no problem); pets are probably anything from short to long lenses, available light and/or flash, with maybe some money in my pocket (or lots of money, if it's petzilla and her chihuahua).</p>

<p>In all cases, I'm 'selling' an animal as much as a portrait photographer is 'selling' a human subject, namely, bring out the character, be flattering, etc.</p>

<p>If anyone here at PDN can offer any advice that might be helpful for such a venture, I'd be very, very happy to read about it.</p>

<p>Gear-wise, my goal is to shoot all primes with a FF and an APS-C body. To wit:</p>

<p>1) I have the Sony A7II with Metabones IV (Canon) adaptor. This is the best camera I've ever used, personally. It's not leaving my hands until I'm dead and cold. Focus sucks when using AF/Metabones (good to non-existent, never great), but I'm pretty good with MF.</p>

<p>2) An APS-C body; I'm not committed, but IBIS and focus peaking are pretty much mandatory (with Canon glass). </p>

<p>3) Lenses: I'm pretty committed here, all Canon: 24/1.4L (36 crop); 50/1.2L (75 crop); 135/2L (200 crop); 300/4L (450 crop). Caveat is, I'm expecting a 1.5 crop, otherwise the () numbers change, obviously.<br>

<br>

4) Flash; a basic powerful manual setup that can be triggered off the camera and not weigh a ton. With people, I prefer to work with available light and, if needed, a strong dose of bounced flash sculpting the subject and, when necessary, a background flash to separate the subject. I don't go for 'artificial' setups (like key/fill/hair, etc.). </p>

<p>So, as always, I'd like your advice, or more appropriately, your experience, here, please and thank you:) I know I've focused on gear here, but I'm really more interested in your experiences with these subjects, not gear-talk unless it's part of the fundamental experience of photographing these subjects (rescues, sanctuary creatures, and pets).</p>

<p>Merci Beaucoup:)<br>

Shawn</p>

 

[SCL]

<p>My daughter does a lot of work with two animal rescue groups, so I've had an interest in how they are presented. What I've observed in both is that almost all the animal shots are taken with smart phones, and then posted to their web pages. The ones I've seen, especially the ones where an animal is ready for adoption, after being nursed back to health, have usually included video as well as still shots, and sometimes, when an animal is featured for adoption, special video footage is done often for the potential foster parents. I gather that each organization has its own guidelines on what they they want to use - so best to contact the groups of interest to you to learn their expectations and capabilities for presentation to the broader public.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<blockquote>

<p>An APS-C body; I'm not committed, but IBIS and focus peaking are pretty much mandatory</p>

</blockquote>

<p>this is gonna be a tough one, because your criteria is so specific. i think you may be asking for a camera which doesnt yet exist. Fuji's APS-C mirrorless bodies dont have IBIS; Olympus/Panasonic mirrorless aren't APS-C; Sony's E-mount bodies dont have IBIS, either. Nikon APS-C doesnt have IBIS or focus peaking. i think the Pentax offerings do have IBIS, but not focus peaking, and it just seems silly to use Canon lenses on a Pentax body. Looks like you have some decent glass, so why not just get a Canon body? They won't be stabilized, but the AF should work better than your Metabones adapter, so you dont need focus peaking.</p>

[Dieter Schaefer]

<blockquote>

<p>Sony's E-mount APS-C bodies dont have IBIS, either</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Quite likely going to change in the very near future - probably with the A6000 successor.</p>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>I've photographed rehabbed birds that go on to a different life as avain educators. Granted I've only done this in 2 locations, but the experience applies here. Many rescue/rehab/sanctuary organizations are on limited budgets, so it's good that you don't expect compensation. But, you never know. Check and see if they have a publication where your photos could be useful. Petzilla and the tooth filled creature could be interesting ;-)</p>

<p>It may be useful to develop a relationship with the organization. Find out when animals are fed. This may not be useful for dogs, but it is for raptors. Are the animals taken from enclosures on a regular schedule? Are the animals actually on display? Some are not. Rehabbed animals that are used in educational programs can often be photographed up close, so it may be useful to look into this. If those programs are outside, then look at the location with regard to position and time of day for lighting. If you can, spend time with the animals and watch them. Observing animals can give you ideas on how best to photograph them, or an aspect of personality may reveal itself. Spend time thinking about the kind of photographs you want to take. Use the gear in hand, and see how it works out. Maybe consider getting a used Rebel for the Canon glass. They are competent and inexpensive. Best wishes with the endeavor.</p>

<p> </p>

[shawngibson]

<p>Thanks everyone, and sorry for the delay.</p>

<p>Stephen, that's a very good point; every organization will be different. In the case of video, I'm not so sure I can do that, not my specialty.</p>

<p>Eric, I'm actually waiting for the Sony A6000 replacement. It makes sense to me that it would have IBIS and be much better at APS-C than a 10MB crop on my A7II.</p>

<p>Laura, thank you, very good experience you've given me. I need to look at animals as portraits, i.e. friends I get to know. That's not a problem, it's actually my favourite part about photography, i.e., getting to know my subject and THEN making images. It's all about personality. Having said that, how much time will I have in a setting where I'm trying to get to know my subject? Maybe not much, as not only do animals move around/get finicky, but in an environment like a shelter or sanctuary, you are competing against light and employees and animals which are naturally responding to all movement within their eye/earshot...</p>