Dog Shows

[Michael_2010]

The annual Woofstock event is coming up soon in my town. What is the trick to getting good shots at something like this?

[Photologyst]

I would say, lots and lots of photos on burst.

Be sure to capture pix of the people who look like their dogs.

Ask Jim Poor, he's the resident professional dog photographer.

[navcom]

What do you have against dogs and why would you want to shoot at them??

LOL!!!

[Michael_2010]

Some times ya just gotta take your shot.... lol

Who was that guy that made a whole career out of shooting his Weinheimers?

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

Some times ya just gotta take your shot.... lol

Who was that guy that made a whole career out of shooting his Weinheimers?

That’s “Weimaraner” after the city of Weimar in Germany. lol

Great dogs and so gorgeous! Not a good family dog though.

William Wegman takes those amazing pixs.

[Michael_2010]

lol Well, I was close.

Yeah, I did some reading about that breed. From just looking at Wegman's photographs, one would never know that it is a super hyper breed that needs lots and lots of running room. He sure did master that art though.

[Michael_2010]

Originally Posted by Photologyst

I would say, lots and lots of photos on burst.

Be sure to capture pix of the people who look like their dogs.

Ask Jim Poor, he's the resident professional dog photographer.

When you say photo burst, is that the same as setting the camera for continuous shooting? What other settings should I use if I go that route? It will be mid-afternoon, crystal clear blue sky and very bright autumn sun. The humidity is low this week and the natural color saturation is very good right now.

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a bunch of old cars coming down a particular street headed to a registration point. I had no idea what camera settings to use, so I just put the camera on the "sports" notch and fired away. I got some pretty clear pictures, but in many cases I would have rather the background blur into a colorful backdrop because of all the clutter, etc. I assume I would have to switch to M mode to achieve those results and maintain a fast shutter speed.

What settings would you start with, considering these dogs will probably be wired up and in most cases the backgrounds will add nothing?

[Photologyst]

Hi Michael:

I am not a professional dog photographer, like Jim Poor. However, I do photo my own animals and wild ones as well. I used to show dogs and know that dog show people can be very er—”interesting.” Don’t get in their way, bug them or their animals. Get a catalogue so you can identify the breeds and be friendly to everyone.

A fast telephoto lens with a fixed aperture is a good thing to have, IS/VR and at least 200mm.

If you don’t have any experience at this take some of people’s pets before the show. Get to know the animals before you shoot so that they don’t freak at the camera lens. However, dog show animals are often used to the cameras.

Shoot RAW of course. The lowest ap is probably about F/4 , shutter @ 1/500 or 1/1250. Try using your Program mode and continuous shooting mode. Set your autofocus to a single area before the shoot. Use bracketing for exposure. Try to focus on the eyes if the animal is not in motion. Use the panning technique for moving animals.

Take test shots before the show starts.

Don’t worry about the backgrounds. You can fix those PS processing.

I am sure that Jim Poor will have tons of info. He does this for a living: Jim Poor - The Dog Sport Photographer - Jim Poor - The Dog Sport Photographer

Hope that helps a bit.

Good luck!

[Jim Poor]

What do you plan on shooting at Woofstock?

Action / Games?

Posed?

Candids?

Each will require something different, but a good starting point for all of them is GET ON THE GROUND! Down at doggy level.

Give some more details on what you're trying to do, and we'll go from there.

Also, keep in mind that the event may have it's own official photographer which could impact what you may be trying to do.

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

What do you plan on shooting at Woofstock?

Woofstock!?

LOL

Thanks for coming in Jim. I too am interested in learning more.

I should probably delete my post now.