Capture the Cute Expression of Pets

[Peter_S.]

When you photograph your pets, the most important thing is a trusting relationship with them. Just pointing the camera at your pets may make them too cautious. So, first let your pets get used to the camera little by little in a relaxed environment such as your home.
Let's start with the P-mode to shoot with the settings automatically selected by the camera.

Focal length: 120 mm / F-number: 4.0 / Shutter speed: 1/100 sec

Shooting a relaxed expression of the pets in the room is the owner's privilege. As well as shooting lively shots of your pets, try to shoot as many shots as possible, and leave various expressions.

Shooting from the eye level of the pets

First, get down and shoot from the eye level of your pets. When shooting from human eye level (as we often do), the camera is pointed downwards. Therefore, only the ground or floor is included in the backgrounds, and it is difficult to get the defocus effect. By shooting from the same level as your pets, the new world seen from the pets' eyes can be captured, and you can find your favourite cute expressions from various directions or angles.
To shoot from the same level as your pets, use the tilt function of the monitor at the back of the camera. (*)

You can easily see the scene from the eye level of your pets just by looking down at the monitor from above.
(*) The available tilt angles and shape of the monitor are different depending on the model of your camera. Refer to the Instruction Manual or Handbook of your camera for details.

Focal length: 24 mm / F-number: 2.0 / Shutter speed: 1/40 sec

The best photo opportunities are not only when the pet is looking at the camera, but also the moments when the pet is excited about food or toys, which lets you capture the impressive scenes differently than usual. With the help of your family or friends to play with your pets, try shooting such scenes.

Focal length: 120 mm / F-number: 4.0 / Shutter speed: 1/160 sec

This shot captured the expression of a cat staring at the food above. By shooting from a low level almost touching the floor, it created a different look from the ordinary shot from the front. Also, by moving a little further away from the subject and shooting on the telephoto side (with longer focal lengths) of the zoom lens, the background was defocused more to enhance the expression of the cat. Conversely, if you get closer and shoot on the wide-angle side (with shorter focal lengths), the entire body of the pet fills the frame, and the photograph will look more dynamic and powerful.

Being careful of subject blurring

When the pets are moving around, you should be careful of blurring caused by the movement of the subject (subject blurring). Use the S-mode in such cases.
By setting to faster shutter speeds in the S-mode, you can reduce subject blurring. Although recommended shutter speeds vary depending on the environment and movement of the pets, shoot at 1/250 sec or faster as a standard.

Shutter speed: 1/13 sec

As the shutter speed was slow, the image was blurred and became unclear.
The amount of light entering into the camera is low in dim indoor situations. Therefore, if you increase the shutter speed too much, the image may get dark. In such cases, the best solution is to brighten the room. If you cannot adjust the brightness of the room, or you want to shoot in dim light, try shooting repeatedly while decreasing the shutter speed little by little until the image appears bright enough.
Also, having a fast fixed focal length lens is very useful for such scenes.

Trying fixed focal length lenses

With small F-numbers (fast maximum apertures), fixed focal length lenses can create great background defocus. Also, as they allow the large amount of light to enter into the camera, you can enjoy shooting with less chance of blurring even indoors in dim light.

Focal length: 50 mm / F-number: 2.0 / Shutter speed: 1/80 sec			Focal length: 50 mm / F-number: 4.0 / Shutter speed: 1/80 sec
SAL50F18	This quintessential fast "normal" lens offers outstanding corner-to-corner resolution, while the combination of F1.4 maximum aperture and circular aperture design makes it possible to elicit silky-smooth defocusing effects to enhance image depth and isolate important visual elements. Due to the large aperture, more light is allowed, facilitating easier hand-held shooting, even in low-light situations.		SEL50F18	This is a mid-range telephoto lens with the 50 mm focal length perfect for portraiture. The large aperture and circular aperture design can produce beautifully defocused backgrounds. Moreover, by working together with the built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation system, it can shoot crisp and clear images under low-light conditions.