Winter is good . For many , it ’s time to snip in matching jumper and bewilder for annual family vacation pic . For some animal lover , ’ tis also the season to feature their own furry , four - legged friends in pic or to look for merry cards and calendars that mix vacation and animal musical theme . Yet it ’s not as easy for those of use whose treasured fauna familiar have neither for legs nor pelt . Rather than hoping Kris Kringle will flummox with your favorite cock , you may do the following to taking fabulous chicken photo , for the vacation or any day .
1. Select a Willing Model for Your Chicken Photos
Before you set your eye on suffer an 8 - by-10 glossy of a specific poulet on your chimneypiece , consider its temperament . A feisty , adventuresome chicken makes a poor model , while a docile , social one reach a good subject for pic .
Ginger Bean , for example , is a gorgeous Blue CuckooOrpingtoncockerel . The way his silvery risque coloration runs into his feather pattern is truly arresting . You believably wo n’t ever see this , however , because he is a most uncooperative model . I took some photos of this beautiful boy as a wench , but all others I ’ve had to snap on the sly . As much as I ’d love to plunk a little Santa hood over his coxcomb , I know not to even essay . Butters Orpington , on the other hand ( usher below ) , just stands there patiently while I take seemingly sempiternal photos of her . Ana Hotaling
2. Focus on Individuals, Not Groups
You know that cephalalgia you get from herd people in your mathematical group to look at the camera and smile , all at the same time ? intensify that by 1,000 and you ’ll understand why set about to photograph more than one bird at a fourth dimension leads to major migraines . This is particularly on-key of chicks , whose curiosity about everything around them cook it super unmanageable to get an intact clutch of baby to look at the electron lens at the same time . Your best bet is to shoot one bird at a time , unless the chicken in question are good booster , or you ’re shooting a cock with his favored hen .
3. Have Your Models Look Their Best
The proofs for my boy Nicholas ’ senior portrait recently arrived , and my husband , Jae , and I viewed them with dismay . Nicholas had dressed well and was smiling , but he had about three day ’ stubble on his cheek and chin .
“ Always look your best , ” I told him . “ Remember whom the photos are for . ”
The same holds true for your poultry models . Use your hands to smooth out away any loose feathers from backs and wings . Make certain no surprises are hanging onto the fluff around the vent . If your birds are feather legged , check for broken shafts and dirt . Silkiesin finical ( like the one show below ) should be gently groomed with a babe skirmish to tease apart dirt and otherwise detangle and tidy up their distinct feather . Ana Hotaling
4. Prep Your Chickens With Food
no matter of how docile and affectionate your prefer chicken might be , if he or she is hungry or thirsty , your chance of puzzle decent picture diminishes greatly . Wait at least an hour or two after your bird has dined before assay to take pictures . Your hen will be much more accommodative if she is n’t focus on the empty room in her belly .
5. Select an Appropriate Setting
divisor other than your chicken optimize a photo school term . Where you take your shots plays a essential part in your photographic achiever . If you need a unsophisticated feel to your chicken photos , consider stacking hay Bale for a backdrop . ( chicken are myopic , so your stack can be two bales high . ) A weathered Sir Henry Wood fencing also makes an ideal background . Add some pastoral props such as pumpkins , corn stalking or even a tin watering can , but nothing too cark ( or nothing at all ) if it draw your hoot ’s attention off from you . Ana Hotaling
Do you plan to take scene at a local park or other outside setting ? Make trusted no stranger or other animals are around that might frighten or stress your hiss . Children playing or someone walking a dog might seem unobjectionable to us but could appear threatening to your chicken . Avoid using an urban or suburban scope if this type of environs is new to your bird .
6. Properly Pose Your Bird
Before placing your Gallus gallus in your choose setting , decide what form of shooter you want to take . Do you want a profile , a closeup , or a full - body portrait ? view what your bird ’s proficient feature is and what sort of photo would showcase this . A Serama ’s outstanding chest much solicit for a visibility , while the tufts of an Araucana or the fumble and beard of anAmeraucana(like the one below ) might be advantageously highlighted in a full - grimace guesswork . A head - and - shoulders dig misses out on aCochin’sfluffy feet and bun , while a profile would not beguile the detail in a La Fleche ’s comb . Ana Hotaling
Whichever type of affectedness you choose , verify your skirt has a square , non - tricky airfoil on which to stand . A telegram floor or an object with slats that have gaps between them , such as in a wooden pallet , offer poor footing for your feathered model , and he or she is more probable to continually shift , seek a better balanced position . ( I did n’t follow my own advice in some of these Gallus gallus photos but they turn out OK.)Ana Hotaling
7. Use Attention Getters
Always retrieve : These are dame . While we might find ourselves talking to them as we fill their feeders and fonts and clean out their coops , they really do n’t understand a word we say . We might speak in upbeat , friendly spirit to them as we pose them , but a sunray , a slight walkover or noise from a passing car will deflect them from our camera . To keep the nidus of your chicken on you long enough to snap some picture , use aid getters such as squeaky toys , a rale , a crumpled piece of cellophane , even small kissy noises you produce . take something that wo n’t startle your hiss and ruin your photograph academic session . Smacking a pot with a ladle , for representative , might be a bad idea .
8. Have a Backup Plan—or 3
The well - lay architectural plan normally end up dispose when it comes to chicken exposure . It might be sunless or rain down . Your cockerel might turn away to number out of his chicken coop . Your hay - bale mess or autumn pumpkin might have gotten pussyfoot overnight . Your hen might decide that now is the clip to go into a hard molt . Should any — or all — of these happen , do n’t despair . Have a backup plan . If Henrietta refuses to allow you pick her up , opt for Hennifer or else ( especially if Hennifer is evenly or more friendly ) . If you ’ve miss your scenery props , choose for an open field , a pretty shrub , a spile of leaf , even a wooden deck or brick walkway . You might be out of destiny regarding the rain , though .
9. Bribery Works
You ’ve get the perfect backcloth , colorful props , sensational lighting , cleared skies and a beautiful dame . What could possibly go untimely ? If you just smirked and nodded knowingly , you ’re definitely a chicken owner . Roosters and hen are irregular and , even if they blithely submit to hugs and cuddles , today might be the twenty-four hours they decide to be uncooperative . Should shuttle behaviour threaten to ruin your photo plans , remember that the path to a hen ’s tenderness is through her stomach . provide bits of wampum , some dried mealworms or some helianthus kernels . Bribery works wonders on wench , and that abbreviated mo when they ’ve just immerse a tasty titbit might be all the time you require to chop-chop flick the photographs you want .
10. Set a Deadline
There ’s only so long that an animal will tolerate delay still . think back that you are photograph your crybaby out of affectionateness , to partake images of your dear bird with your friends and family unit . If you find yourself growing frustrated and impatient with your feathered model — or you find that your model has had enough of you — it ’s time to quit for the day . With my birds , I ’ve found that the calmest of them will last about five minute . That might not seem like much time at all , given all the readying and preparation , but it only takes a couple of second to snarl the ideal jibe .
Ana Hotaling
Ana Hotaling
Ana Hotaling
Ana Hotaling
Ana Hotaling
