Search Results for: blog taking great animal pictures at the zoo

A Day at the Zoo Part II

If a few birds could make my son run for and dive into the stroller, I could not imagine how he would react to some of the other larger animals. He did not want to get out of the stroller to look at the gecko so we continued the tour through the jungle like foliage. When we came upon some kind of exotic monkey, he promptly told us that he wanted out to see the monkey. He continued on foot to see the boa constrictor. He wanted to be carried when we came to another larger waterfall and some strange … Continue reading →

Tips for Taking that Perfect Photo: Art of Distraction

This week I’m talking about baby portraits. Is there anything more precious than great photos of your baby? Since babies grow, develop and change so rapidly, a digital camera is almost as important as the diapers you burn through each day. I’ve given you advice about Timing, Lighting, and Props. Today I’m going to teach you how to get your baby to not only look at the camera, but smile, too! It’s all about distraction, and it’s definitely an art. Nobody does it better than mom, which is why I’m such a huge advocate for taking baby’s portraits yourself! Figure … Continue reading →

Visiting The Zoo in Winter

A friend of ours told me last fall that she was trying to get in a visit to the zoo before the weather turned cold. It seems that this southern zoo puts the animals into winter housing during the cooler months of the year. I had to laugh. I’ve seen elephants and giraffes walking around in the snow at both the Denver and Colorado Springs zoos. Our family has speculated on what these African animals must think of the snow and freezing temperatures. They seem to do fine though. The Colorado Springs zoo even has a record number of giraffe … Continue reading →

Taking Great Animal Pictures at the Zoo

As I mentioned in an earlier article about Photographing Animals at the Zoo, I love taking pictures of wildlife, animals and pets. I just love animals. Every time I have the opportunity to photograph an animal, I get in active mode looking for that perfect shot. I am also the type of person to continuously take multiple photographs all in one session. Which brings me to an important tip. If you are working with a digital camera, take lots and lots of pictures. Keep snapping going for that perfect shot. You will wind up with a lot of bad shots, … Continue reading →

Attention to Detail

What makes an ordinary layout extraordinary? For me, it’s all about the details. For example, a page design detailing a trip to the petting zoo is fine with photos of your kids interacting with bunnies, goats and chicks, plus a few stickers or die cuts depicting the same animals. However, if you really want to make your layouts pop, consider adding some fun details. For example, you could create a page border with stamped tracks. If you can’t find stamps or sticker tracks of the animals you saw at the zoo, then print your own from the Internet or draw … Continue reading →

Adventures in Summer Scrapping

Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh my! Nothing says summer scrapbooking quite like a spread that showcases a family trip to the zoo. It’s memory book-making at its finest… and easiest. Think about it; unlike some summer adventures, the zoo is loaded with photo opportunities, from snaps of your kids getting up close and personal with penguins to images of Junior taking his first camel ride. An afternoon at the zoo can yield an entire scrapbook of funny and exotic layouts, especially when you pair your favorite pictures with mementos, including maps, ticket stubs, brochures and receipts. Fortunately, there is … Continue reading →

A Family Outing Part II

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Seeing the monkeys through the glass up close and personal was a really neat experience for our son. He had never been that close to monkey before but he wanted to see them without the glass as well. The monkey exhibit was one of the larger exhibits (I guess monkeys need more room to play). My husband put our son back on his shoulders and they looked at the monkeys from every possible angle until our son was ready to move on to a different exhibit. I did not think that the next exhibit would be the excavator working on … Continue reading →

Moo-ving Shots

True or false: Cows sit down when it’s about to rain? My 6-year-old bought that myth hook, line and sinker, despite a “real” farmer trying to explain otherwise. The problem is my child has photographic proof that cows really do take a load off when dark clouds roll in. Years ago I snapped a shot of a cow sitting pretty with a black sky as the background. What you don’t see in the photo is that there were about 14 other cows standing straight up as the rain began to fall. Whether you are taking pictures of cows, horses or … Continue reading →

My First Camera–An Introduction

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I remember my first camera—it was a kid camera using the micro 110mm film format. It was a miniature little camera with no settings and with the “curly” kind of film. My family was going on vacation to San Diego, and my sister and I each got one of these little cameras to take pictures with. I think of the whole roll of film, only one or two photos actually had a distinguishable image on them, and even then the photos were filled with bars and other items other than the magnificent animals at the San Diego Zoo. How I … Continue reading →

More Tips for Photographing Your Pet

In my last blog I told you about my friend who gives new meaning to the term “snap happy parent.” Only her baby has four legs and much larger tongue than most kids. Her fur baby is her new puppy and the amount of pictures she has taken of that pooch is utterly amazing. If you are an overzealous puppy parent you might be swimming in shots as well. I understand that my pal wants to capture her pooch in all her glory so that she can share with the rest of the world how special she feels her dog … Continue reading →