Photogenic Animal Photography Techniques — Pro-Level Shots with Smartphones

You want to take photos that bring out the full charm of your live animals. Beautiful photography is essential for sharing on social media or listing on BriChoku. This article explains techniques for capturing professional-quality shots with just a smartphone, no expensive camera equipment required. Unlike listing photo techniques, we aim here for "artistic" animal photography.

Master Light, Master Photography

Light is the single most important factor affecting photo quality. The same animal can look completely different depending on how light is used.

Using Natural Light

Overcast days are the best shooting days: It may seem counterintuitive, but the soft light of an overcast day is ideal for animal photography. Direct sunlight creates harsh shadows and washes out colors. The diffused light of cloudy skies produces soft shadows and faithfully reproduces the animal's colors.

Shooting by a window: On sunny days, use light filtered through sheer curtains near a window. "Sidelight" coming from the side through the window brings out the animal's three-dimensional form.

Using reflected light: Placing white paper or a reflector on the opposite side of the light source bounces light into shadowed areas, revealing detail in darker regions.

Using Artificial Light

Aquarium lighting: When photographing aquarium animals, set your aquarium LED light to maximum brightness. Blue-only lighting does not convey true colors well, so combining with white LEDs is recommended.

Ring lights: Clip-on ring lights for smartphones provide uniform frontal lighting, producing clear photos with minimal shadows. Available for around 1,000 yen, they offer excellent value.

Basic Composition Techniques

Rule of thirds: Divide the frame into a 3-by-3 grid and place the animal's eye or distinctive feature at an intersection point. This creates a more dynamic and memorable image than centering the subject.

Focus on the eyes: The most important element in animal photography is focusing on the eyes. On a smartphone, tap on the animal's eye to lock focus. When the eyes are sharp, the entire photo appears crisp.