george champlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote >What is the best way to photograph my little friends. >I keep trying to use a poloroiad and it just comes out awful > The best way of photographing is to use a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera with Through The Lens (TTL) metered flash and either a macro lens or close up filters. Even then you need to use some sort of camera mounted flash or stand mounted brolly to give you defused reflected light instead of harsh flash. To be a bit more professional you would not use TTL flash but would use a dedicated hand held meter to get the light right. I have worked with professional animal photographers in studios where they have set everything up and used Polaroids to see what the lighting looked like before taking the "real" photos. All this sounds expensive although using second hand equipment it might no cost more than �200 ($300). Even with new equipment a decent set-up can be bought for about �350 ($500) or even less by buying mail order. Even with a cheaper camera with fixed focus the following advice can give good results. Without the flash you are best off using indirect daylight. For example, some of my best photographs have been taken in bright light on a window sill when the light is not streaming in through the window. Using indirect light like this reduces harsh shadows. Whatever you do, never use any sort of indoor lighting. They will make the colours look terrible. Also never use direct flash. You will end up with bad shadows, and if close up, you will get over exposure. Most cameras can only focus down to about 10 inches (255mm). To get closer you need to use a camera with a macro mode, or a lens that allows use of screw in close up filters (these are basically the same type of lens as used by people who need reading glasses). If you have to take pictures from further away then use a slower film and scan at higher resolutions. For example, I never use 400 speed film as it just never gives as good a picture as 200 speed film. A 200 speed photo can be scanned at well over 300 dpi. At 300 dpi a two inch by two inch area in the centre of a photo will fill most of a 800x600 computer screen, and still more than 50% of a 1024x768 screen. 100 speed film is probably not fast enough for close up photos of fast moving gerbils! There is some advice on taking photos at www.gerbils.org. -- Julian [EMAIL PROTECTED] National Gerbil Society http://www.gerbils.co.uk/
