What quality pictures?

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Writing Again

Sorry for my dumb question but I have always written novels for adults (not adult novels) and know little about children's books.

My grown daughter wants to write a series of books for little children based on her animals lives. They will use photos of the animals.

She wants me to help her take pictures. I'm wondering what quality pictures are needed. I currently use a digital camera that is fine for CD's and sending pics e-mail. Obviously it is not the "best" camera, it is just suited for what I do.

Any help as to what I need in the way of a camera would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully a digital camera as I like using them.
 

sc211

Publishers will send you specs on what they want in submissions, but I'm guessing no picture but for the cover will be more than a 4x6, and for a photo quality file for that you'd need a photo no bigger than 1200x1800 pixels. If it's b/w, you could get away with less. But have more than 800x1200. And if you crop the photo, you'll need more resolution.

The real test will be in taking the picture. For quick, general tips:

Get down to the level of the animal (or put them on a table).

Keep the background simple and not distracting.

Use the telephoto setting for portraits and wide angle to show the environment.

And the most important factor to consider is the lighting. If they're inside animals, put them in the brightest room and have them by a sliding glass door or a large window. Put the door/window over your shoulder, and shoot on a bright day when there's no direct sunlight streaming in on the animals. You can also put a sheet over a door/window that has sun streaming through to create a nice, soft light.

Set up white paper or aluminum foil on cardboard out of view of the camera to reflect light back into the shadow areas.

Don't use a flash unless you can bounce it (on higher-end strobes).

If the animal's outside, wait till a slightly overcast day, where you can't really see your shadow, or shoot in open shade, as in the grass where a house's shadow falls (but set your digital camera to the "open shade" or "cloudy" white balance setting to keep the colors from being tinted blue). Also, be careful not to get any white sky in the background, or it'll take attention off the animal. A line of trees or shrubs makes a good background.

Shoot at the highest resolution, the smallest compression, and the slowest ISO speed. A tripod's great if the animal can stay still, or you can brace your elbows on the lawn.

You can also shoot outside in the golden light of sunset, and in the hour after the sun has set.

You can see examples and get more tips if you search the net for "pet pictures tips," but the above, and a lot of patience, will get you in the ballpark.

About the camera, rather than spend a grand on a fine quality digital camera (Canon digital Rebel is a good one), you might simply hire a photographer. Depending on the number of pets, he or she could do them in an afternoon. And if you're in Maine, let me know and I'll give you my rates.

Good luck with it all, and don't forget to have fun with it. Whether published or not, it'll be a treasure for your daughter, as well as a great project to work on together.
 

Writing Again

Wow, thank you.

That answer was far more complete than I expected. I printed it out to take to my daughter's with me.

Maine is a wonderful place; been there. I love to travel up and down the coast, doesn't matter what coast so long as it has an ocean on one side.

But right now I live in that foreign country on the other side of the world, called California.

I just thought of something. I have a fairly decent video camera, and a good capture utility for my computer. Would it make sense to video the animal then try to get the best pics from it?
 

sc211

Digital video isn't my field, but most video cameras have poor resolution when compared to still cameras. Some allow you to take pictures with them, and if so, give it a shot. Even a regular captured frame will give you something to work from in deciding how many pictures to use and where they'll go.

For quality prints, though, especially where you can control the depth of field, a camera still works best.
 
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