A great picture of your dog or cat is something you’ll treasure forever. But pets simply won’t sit still for the camera, and lighting their faces with a flash can make your cute companion look a bit like a monster. Here’s how to get a great pet picture.
The dreaded “evil eye” look of cats and dogs comes from the use of a flash—it’s the same thing that causes red eye in shots of people, only worse. The easiest way to avoid the devil dog look is simply to turn off the flash. If it’s dark indoors, add some ambient lighting. When shot properly, animals’ eyes are some of their most beautiful and interesting features. In general, train your focus on your pet’s face and you’ll achieve some amazing shots.
A wide shot of your living room or a park with your dog or cat barely visible in the middle of the picture won’t make much of an impact. You need to get close. Use your zoom lens—the Samsung WB850 features a 21x optical zoom—to fill the entire frame with your pet and try to emphasize the face. Using a zoom has the added bonus of letting you shoot from a distance without approaching the animal, which will help to keep him calm and still while you’re taking pictures.
It isn’t always easy to get a picture of your pet looking at the camera, so it can take some planning to pull off a shot. This is best done through a little trickery. Set up your camera on a tripod (get as close to the ground as you can) and then toss your dog’s favorite toy in his direction. After he snatches it up, you’ll be well positioned to take a series of shots as he runs back to you. Try the burst mode on the Samsung NX1000 to get a series of rapid-fire shots and then pick the best ones. Another good trick: Hold treats next to the camera. That will encourage your pet to sit still and to look into the lens.
Pets rarely perform on cue, so you’ll usually have to wait for a great photo opportunity to present itself. When the cat is asleep, but mealtime is near, grab your camera and stake out a spot to take your pictures. Again, a tripod can help here. Remain still and wait for kitty to wake up. You probably won’t get those priceless shots of her yawning and stretching without this element of surprise—and a little patience, as well.
The internet loves pet pictures, so you’ll want to share your best shots with friends and family as soon as you snap them. The Samsung NX1000, WB850 and other Wi-Fi enabled cameras let you share shots directly from your camera whenever you’re in range of a wireless network. With these cameras you can share pictures with friends on social networks like Facebook, send them to Microsoft® Skydrive® for online archiving, or transfer photos to a PC on your home network—all with just a touch of your camera controls.
You can even share photos with other devices in your home. PC Auto Backup lets you zip shots directly to your computer and then backs them up. With TV Link you can wirelessly beam shots to your television for an impromptu slide show. And the Samsung MobileLink app, available at the Google Play™ store, lets you send photos to your Galaxy mobile device.
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