# Hedgehog photography tips, please :)



## ILuvHedgies (Jan 7, 2012)

Hi everyone, I want some tips on hedgehog photography like if it's okay to use the flash, and some other stuff like that. Any tips would be really helpful, I don't have my hedgie yet, I'm really not sure on when I'll get it but just to be prepared.  Thanks!


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## bmaditz (Jun 11, 2012)

I have found that giving a piece of a favorite food or a treat makes them sit still. As soon as they finish eating snap the picture, but be sure that your hedgie is positioned the way you want it before giving the food or you'll be all messed up. I try to avoid the flash as much as possible. I think it gives red eyes and well I don't like things flashing in my face so I doubt Briar does. Hope this helps  Good luck with your soon to be hedgehog!!!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

What are you shooting with? The biggest thing is how much noise your camera makes. If the shutter makes your hedgie flinch every time, you're just going to get shots of them mid-flinch (not so flattering). Fortunately all my hedgies have not been bothered by the sound of the shutter or by the flash, but some hedgies are more sensitive. If you have a jumpy hedgie, I'd recommend using something silent (like a smartphone or a quiet point and shoot) that way you don't scare them each time you take a picture. As always, try to take pics in good lighting (outside is usually better than inside, though because it can be too cold outside you might try by a window). The brighter it is, the faster your shutter speed can be, so your pictures will be less blurry.


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## ILuvHedgies (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks a lot, the tips are really helpful!


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

LizardGirl said:


> What are you shooting with? The biggest thing is how much noise your camera makes. If the shutter makes your hedgie flinch every time, you're just going to get shots of them mid-flinch (not so flattering).


I had this problem with Litchi. When she got older it was harder to get a good picture of her and I would end up having pictures like this.










I tried beeing further and zooming in (so the shutter sound was more "quiet"), that's how I got the picture in my signature


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

First of all, we need to know what kind of camera you have. That way we can give more specific tips. 

I use a DSLR, they are somewhat noisier but my hedgehog doesn't care about that. Try to get as much light as possible, preferably natural light (outside or through a window). Hedgehogs are really fast so you need a high shutter speed. I try to avoid using flash, but if I have to I can choose several options on my DSLR so the flash isn't too bright. I tape a small piece of paper in front of the flash sometimes, that will dim the flash a bit (and you get different effects with different types of paper). Polystyrene has a reflecting effect and can be useful if you want to get your lightning right (additional lamps can help too, but you will need the less yellow-ish once).
My hedgie doesn't take any treats so that doesn't work for me, I just put him where I want to have him and take pictures.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

In addition to the other suggestions: take a lot of them. I end up with 30+ photos per session and usually only a few are decent/non-blurry. The more you take, the more you have to choose from. That's a standard rule of animal photography in general.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

30+? More like 100+ for me. I take a lot of pictures, though usually there aren't many blurry ones because I can change my shutter speed/iso/whatever I want that's the great thing about a DSLR. I just love to take pictures :lol:


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Yeeeah, I was being conservative. It depends on the session. I use my iPhone until I get around to mixing my camera, and the photo quality is excellent as long as the light is good. Let's just say I'm almost out of storage with over 2500 photos taken since May, and 90% of them are hedgehogs. :lol:


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

:lol: But with a camera it's easier to take more pictures I guess. But I don't have a smartphone so maybe that's why.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

It's actually absurdly easy to take lots of photos.  The thing about the iphone is that I have it with me all the time, I always carry it in my pocket, so I can just take photos whenever they're doing something cute, not just when it's a planned photo session.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

Draenog said:


> :lol: But with a camera it's easier to take more pictures I guess. But I don't have a smartphone so maybe that's why.


I'm on "team DSLR" as well. It has more option than a smartphone and you can control more settings: speed, aparture etc. I used to take 50+ shot in one "shoot" to end up with 2-3 good one :roll:


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

My camera is a DSLR also, and I love it. But I haven't had much motivation to get it fixed because the iphone works so well. And like I said, it's something I can have in my pocket at all times. If it was just convenient but didn't take great photos, I wouldn't use it as much - but it does, repeatedly. All of the photos on our website were taken with my iphone.


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## ILuvHedgies (Jan 7, 2012)

Draenog said:


> First of all, we need to know what kind of camera you have. That way we can give more specific tips.
> 
> I use a DSLR, they are somewhat noisier but my hedgehog doesn't care about that. Try to get as much light as possible, preferably natural light (outside or through a window). Hedgehogs are really fast so you need a high shutter speed. I try to avoid using flash, but if I have to I can choose several options on my DSLR so the flash isn't too bright. I tape a small piece of paper in front of the flash sometimes, that will dim the flash a bit (and you get different effects with different types of paper). Polystyrene has a reflecting effect and can be useful if you want to get your lightning right (additional lamps can help too, but you will need the less yellow-ish once).
> My hedgie doesn't take any treats so that doesn't work for me, I just put him where I want to have him and take pictures.


I have a Canon IXUS 105


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Like I said, I don't have a smartphone, if I did I would probably use it as well.  I use a smaller compact camera sometimes just because it's so easy (especially in high grass for example) and not as heavy as my DSLR. There is a difference in quality though, DSLR is still better of course.

The compact I use is a Canon Ixus as well (different version) they're easy to use. You can't control all the settings but it works quite well. I usually use the macro setting or the manual one. You can also set your own ISO (higher ISO = faster shutterspeed = less blurry pics, but a high ISO shows more noise, but the Ixus is quite good when it comes to noise reduction). I don't think you can set your own shutterspeed and stuff like that with your version but otherwise the camera is not bad at all.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Without a doubt. My iPhone at its best is comparable to a DSLR at average. It's capable of excellent photos under the right conditions, but a DSLR is just better overall if you're after serious quality. It also helps to have access to photo/image editing software. It takes me all of two minutes to crop and clean up photos in Photoshop if I feel the need (about 1/3 of the time, which is after I already make a point of mostly using good outdoor light). So being able to improve the quality later on the computer reduces the "cons" of using a smartphone. I do wish there were more options though - I have a few apps that make the camera more versatile but I always forget that I have them, lol.

One of my electives this semester (last semester of college, yay!) is a photography course with 35mm. I'll be using the hedgehogs as models every chance I get - it'll be nice to have an excuse to try something non-digital for a change.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

Draenog said:


> Like I said, I don't have a smartphone, if I did I would probably use it as well.  I use a smaller compact camera sometimes just because it's so easy (*especially in high grass for examp*le) and not as heavy as my DSLR. There is a difference in quality though, DSLR is still better of course.


This is why I wanted to get a Nikon D5100 (instead of my old Olympus E300) with the flip screen it would have been perfect to snap pic of the hedgies in the grass.


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## ILuvHedgies (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the tips!


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