Photo Tips: How To Take Good Calendar Photos
— Denise Barley
You know you have the most beautiful, the cleverest, the most photogenic Beardie in the world, don't you? Well, soon you'll once again have a chance to prove it. It's time to get those cameras out and get snapping — it won't be long till we'll be asking for submissions for the next Beardies of the World Calendar.
Getting a photo into the Calendar is partly luck, but also partly knowing how and when to take a shot that's likely to appeal to the judges. We would love to include everyone, and we try hard to, but inevitably some submitters are disappointed. Each owner may send up to 12 photographs — we limit the number in order to make the selection process more efficient. Here are a few helpful hints to set you on your way to success:
- Have a point and shoot camera that does all the fancy stuff for you. A Beardie is not going to sit around waiting for you to work out the exposure readings and the focal distance.
- Have the camera, loaded with film (if you use a film camera) and freshly charged batteries, in a location where you can get to it quickly. You want to be able to grab it at a moment's notice when you see a good shot presenting itself.
- Be prepared to take more pictures than you need. If you are using a film camera, this might mean having to pay to develop multiple photos. Only a great (or lucky) photographer can create a wonderful picture in one attempt. If you find a really promising situation, take several shots. They won't all be good, but maybe one or two will. Move around from one angle to another, to give yourself some choice.
- Try to avoid shooting looking toward the sun or having a window as the background. Back lighting is used only for special effects and usually messes up the details in the foreground, making them far too dark.
- Don't try too hard to pose your dog. Posed pictures tend to be "oh sooooo boring" — the background and lighting are superb, but by the time you've finally got your Beardie sufficiently tranquil to stay still, the look of disdain on his or her face will spoil the shot.
- If there is time, look at the surroundings and decide on a suitable background before focusing on the Beardie(s). Move around from one situation to another — don't let all your hopes rest on one shot. Get close to the Beardie before clicking the shutter — no point in taking a photo of acres of empty grass with a tiny dog in the far distance. If the dog is moving, focus on an area of ground that he will arrive at in a second or two — then you might catch a Beardie and not just a fuzzy blur!
- You already have some idea of your Beardie's cutest moments. Lie in wait for such situations — be prepared! Try to get in close for the shot, but most of all — seize the moment and take it! Whether your Beardie is best at counter surfing, sleeping in weird poses, bouncing, playing with toys, getting dirty... whatever, if you know it's going to happen, then have your camera ready!
- If you're using a digital camera, make sure you save a good quality copy with high resolution that will produce a clear image. Submissions must be sent as hard copy, but you want the best possible image.
- If you have a lot of shots, don't submit them all. Do a bit of judging yourself — take a critical look at them, and discard the ones that aren't in focus, or the Beardie's too far away, or the colour's washed out, or there's not enough light, or they just aren't interesting. Remember that each person can submit up to twelve pictures, but will only have one accepted (or not) — so make the photos you send in something special that will catch a judge's eye. Send photos for several different categories, rather than a whole heap of photos for one category — that gives you a better chance of success.
- If the photos are precious to you, please get copies before sending them off, as they are non-returnable.
- When getting prints made from a digital camera, make sure that the photos are at the highest resolution possible. This results in higher quality, sharper photos. 72 dpi (screen resolution) photos from online are not sharp enough for prints (300 dpi minimum).
- it's better to send photos printed in landscape format, since everything in the Calendar is set out that way. There would be less likelihood of sections of the photos being cropped off to get the right shape.