[Moderator's note: The first part of this post appeared in yesterday's FML (issue 3000). Here is the conclusion. BIG] Direct flashes contribute to harsh contrasts with very pronounced dark shadows. To help lower the contrast and lessen shadows use a diffuser in front of the flash, or bounce the flash off of a white ceiling, wall, or even a white piece of cardboard. Most flashes come with a plastic diffuser that can be attached in front. One or more thin layers of tissue paper can also be used effectively. Open the aperture one half a stop (that's 1/2 an f-stop number lower) for each layer of diffuser material you use. To bounce off of a ceiling or wall, you need a flash that allows you to pivot the flash head up or sideways by 45 degrees. Make sure the surface you are bouncing off of is white or the colored surface will affect the color of the photograph. Open the aperture about two full stops (that's 2 f-stop numbers lower) for this technique. You can buy or easily build a bounce card that attaches to your flash, which will give a more consistent result than bouncing off part of the room. I have good luck with this technique by opening the aperture one and a half stops. If a flash catches your ferrets eye just right you'll get an effect known as "red eye" (the eye may appear bright green or white as well). You can use several techniques to avoid this problem: + Do not photograph your ferret looking straight at the camera. + Hold the flash out away from the camera (you need a flash cable for this). + Use a diffuser (not always effective). + Buy a special pen available in most photo stores to ink out the red eye effect from the print itself. For scanned in photos most photo processing software have tools for removing "red eye." For outdoor photos in bright sun light you can get enhanced colors by pushing the film one stop. For 200 ASA speed film set your camera to 400 ASA and photograph as you would normally. You must do this for the ENTIRE roll of film! When the film is developed make sure the processing lab knows how you pushed the film ("pushed to 400" in this example) so they can correctly process it. It usually costs a few dollars more per roll to process, but for photos taken in sunlight the colors are frequently more vibrant and lifelike, although shadows may seem darker, and some detail in the shade or shadows may be lost. For outdoor or other brightly lit shots where part of your ferret is in a shadow use your flash to "fill in" the shaded areas and reduce harsh contrasts. By holding the flash away from the camera (with a flash cable) pointing to the subject at a different angle you can achieve very pleasant lighting affects, which can bring out detail or facial expressions that might otherwise be lost. The Photo Shoot Candid shots make up the bulk of most photographs we take of our ferrets, but you can achieve even better results if you take the time to plan out a photo shoot. Make sure the area has lots of room for the photographer, an assistant, props, and any other equipment you made need (extra lighting, backdrop, duct tape for holding the critter still long enough for the photo - okay, just kidding, etc.). Avoid extra distractions, like other ferrets (or animals) playing, the television or radio, potted plants, or anything else that will make your ferret want to go explore elsewhere. Ideally you should leave the setup in place for a day or two so you and your ferrets won't feel rushed and each session remains fun. Two people work better than one: one person positions or distracts the ferret and the other takes the photographs. Have everything you need on hand, such as props and treats, and be completely setup for the next shot so you can put the ferret in place and shoot. Use a squeaky or rattle toy or your ferret's favorite treat to get the animal to look in the desired direction. Make sure you don't actually give your ferret more than a taste of the treat or you'll wind up with a a lot of tongue shots. Keep the sessions with each ferret relatively brief: they have short attention spans and will get restless if you force them to stay put for any length of time. Choose a time when your ferrets are not already active: a napping ferret makes a lot of cute poses as it wakes up and moves relatively slow compared to an alert ferret. This works especially well for shots with multiple ferrets. Keeping ferrets close together in multiple ferret shots can be a real challenge. Try rubbing a scent onto one of the ferrets to ensure the others stay close (a touch of vanilla extract on the shoulder, for example). Avoid using Linatone or Nutri-stat unless you want photos of ferrets cleaning one another. You can place your ferrets on the bedding from another pet (dog, cat, another group of ferrets, etc.), or anything else that catches their attention and keeps them in place together for longer than a microsecond. Before bringing the ferret over determine the type of poses or staging you're trying to achieve and practice framing the shot in the camera's view finder. Photos with subjects interacting with something can be more interesting than just a portrait. You can make sets and props just for the photography session or just use items from around the house. + A basket or box filled with toys, blankets, paper, leaves or whatever else is available and interesting to your ferret. + A basin filled with water, snow or shaved ice. + A pot with lose potting soil and a plastic plant or sacrificial real plant. + Ping-Pong balls. Lots and lots of Ping-Pong balls. + Stuffed animals. Candid shots can also be staged by placing the ferret in or with something unfamiliar but potentially fun. New smells will also lead to interesting behavior -- keep the camera in your hand with the flash and focus set and ready to go. Try not to crop the ferret or the props unless you're after a special effect (like a close up of the ferret's face). You can always crop a shot in the dark room, on the computer or with a pair of scissors, but you can't add back what you cut off with the camera. If you've setup a single staging area for all of your photos then mounting your camera on a tripod will save you lots of time and fatigue. Take lots of photographs of each pose or scene. You'll need to take lots of photos to obtain the few that are just perfect. Take notes of each session stating the film speed, how you used the flash, and what tricks worked or didn't work for getting your ferrets to perform. By keeping notes and reviewing them with the results you can dramatically increase your chance of taking great photos with fewer attempts. Use up a roll of film as quickly as possible and take it into the lab for processing as soon as possible. Keep unused film in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. In the Can. Once you get the photographs back from the lab you should go through them and label the back of each with the date it was taken, who is in the photograph, and why the photograph was taken. If you have notes from the photo shoot then use them to supplement the information on the back of each picture. Use a permanent felt tip marker, like a Sharpie, and wait for the ink to dry before stacking your the photos. Do not use a ball point pen, which will damage the prints. You should also label the envelop or box in which you store the pictures so you can tell at a glance what's within. If you keep notes of your photo shoot go back through them and mark what worked well and what didn't and add ideas for new things to try next time. Using photo touchup tools available for nearly any home computer you can create special effects or correct small errors, such as red eye. If you didn't use a digital camera, you must first scan your prints or slides into digital images. Entire books have been written on how to digitally modify photographs, and you should thoroughly read the user's guide for your photo touchup package for instructions and hints on how to achieve the best results for the affects you're after. The more you photograph your ferrets the better you'll become at it and the more you'll want to photograph your ferrets. The photos are indispensable in creating a journal for each ferret and will come in handy when you want to show off your ferret kids to the rest of the world. [Posted in FML issue 3001]