How To Shoot Pets

Camera set-up

Pets are unpredictable at the best of times, so you'll need to set your camera up so you can work fast and react quickly. Here are our tips on how to set your camera up...

Just like people portraits, animals also benefit from a shallow depth-of-field to isolate them from their background. An 18-55mm kit lens that comes with a DSLR is great as a starting point, but these don't offer a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8 or faster that's needed blow the background out of focus significantly. The good news is that there's a selection of affordable prime lenses out there for a range of systems, including the excellent Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II.

For shallow depth-of-field portraits, set your camera to Aperture priority and open the lens up as wide as possible - ideally to f/1.8 if you're using one of the lenses above, but f/3.5-5.6 will do a reasonable job if you're using a 18-55mm kit lens.

How To Process A RAW File

A step-by-step approach to getting the most from a RAW image file

RAW files are gaining interest among all photographers for good reason. In part, they hold a mystique as the "pro's format," which isn't completely true, as many pros also shoot JPEG. RAW files are notable for their processing potential to help you get the most from your shot.

RAW isn't for everyone or every sort of photography. In the past, I often hesitated recommending the RAW format for general use because the increased file size caused problems in storage, camera speed and processing effectiveness. That cost wasn't necessarily worth it because of the great results that are possible with JPEG.

Behind The Scene Modes

Understand what happens “under the hood” when using subject-specific automatic modes

Your camera's Scene Modes automatically adjust important camera settings for typical subjects and situations. Most entry-level DSLRs and many midrange models have Scene Modes, as do the new mirrorless, interchangeable-lens cameras and most compact digital cameras. For those learning the art of photography, these modes can help you better understand settings that you also can make manually, and all photographers—even experienced shooters—can use these modes to react quickly when there isn't time to evaluate the scene. Scene Modes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and from camera model to camera model—these are some of the most common.