Why Can't I Photograph My Black or White Pet?

Using A Light Touch

Posted on 30. Jan, 2012 by Mark in Pet Photo Tips

In pet photography (as with any photography) the quality of light you’re shooting in can either be your best friend or your worst enemy — especially when it comes to all-white or all-black animals. Raise your hand if you’ve seen photos of a black lab where there’s just a dog-shaped silhouette with no eyes sitting in a sunny yard. How about that white blob on the carpet when you tried shooting your cat sleeping in a sun beam? Lots of hands up in the air, right?

There are a number of fancy tricks involving flashes and light modifiers that can help (we can get to those down the road) but there are also some basic tips and simple tricks you can live by that don’t involve gear at all but just changing when you take your photos or where your pet is when you do.

Morning light is really great for photographing light or dark-colored pets (click to enlarge)

1) Shoot first thing in the morning or early evening

I know it seems counterintuitive but you generally won’t get good photos of pets (or people) if they’re bathed in direct mid-day sun. The light’s really harsh and unforgiving and since your camera is trying to average out all the different exposures a dark-colored dog mixed with bright sun and a blue sky equals a black blob. The light’s much more gentle and flattering right after the sun comes up and right before it goes down. Even better, the light has that nice golden hue to it so you end up with shots that have a warm tone to them plus lots of detail, including fur highlights. Added benefit: you won’t get a bunch of shots with a long pink tongue in them because your dog won’t be panting in 90-degree heat

2) Keep your subject out of direct light during the rest of the day

Some moments obviously won’t wait 4 hours for the sun to start going down. In these cases moving your pet to the shade or an indirectly, but well-lit space is the way to go. Sometimes this takes a little experimenting because you don’t want to go to the opposite extreme and not have enough light. When I’m outside doing this I also try to make sure the animal is at least facing the direction the light is coming from when we’re in the shade. When you’re indoors and the pet is in direct light try drawing a light curtain or covering the window with a white sheet to diffuse the light (or you can just nudge them over a few inches)

Albert in and out of direct sun

In the pair of photos here (click to see them large), check out the first shot on the left of little Albert’s puppy butt in a sunbeam. See how all the white in direct sun is almost completely blasted out with no detail? Now check out the second shot after he moved two feet over the left under a coffee table. You can see the same sunbeam on the right but the direct sun is blocked from his face and body by the top of the table. He’s also facing the window the sun’s coming through so he’s getting well lit by the indirect light (which gets an added boost off the shiny surface of the table)

3) Shoot in the fog or when it’s overcast

A lot of people complain about the fog here in San Francisco. Not me. It makes my job a lot easier. Fog and overcast skies give you a wonderful, even light with no harsh shadows. You can shoot pretty much any time of day without worrying about it. Colors really pop, too

Admittedly, these tips don’t cover everything when it comes to lighting and I fully expect (and hope) there will be a lot of questions and quite a few posts down the road about it.

Stay tuned for more tips coming next week. And, please, post questions here or email me if you have suggestions for what those tips might be…

Coming up next time: What’s Your Background?