IMG_1086a2 hippo clarity sml
Apr, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
At the LA Zoo. I'm a portrait photographer with a real soft spot for mothers with babies, so as soon as I heard that the zoo had a new baby hippo, I made plans to go the next day. There's something universally appealing about mothers with babies of all species.Time
The zoo opens at 10 am, so I got there about 9 to get in line to be one of the first into the zoo. I knew a lot of people wanted to see the baby hippo, so as soon as I got in I sprinted straight to the hippo enclosure, which is located about as far away from the zoo entrance as you can get. That was a bit of mistake, because I am not a young woman, and it took me quite a while to catch my breath enough to be able to hold the camera still enough to get clean shots. I was there for about an hour, moving around the pen, snapping away before it got too crowded. Besides, after getting almost 200 images, I started to feel guilty about the little children who couldn't see past me.Lighting
I was very lucky with lighting. It was an overcast day, so there were no no harsh shadows. The cement of the enclosure acted like a reflector. I really like the way the baby glows with its soft newborn skin, in contrast to the mother's more rugged texture.Equipment
Canon 7D with a Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8L. I didn't need anything else. A tripod would have been a disaster; there were too many people. I did lean up against the enclosure to steady the camera; it's a very heavy lens.Inspiration
I'm always inspired by mothers with babies. These two were adorable; the baby stayed right next to mom, and the mother was just as focused on the baby. They had that special connection that plainly showed there was nothing that could come between them. Not even the father! It turns out the mother hippo does not let the father get close to the baby for the first couple of weeks. The father was in the enclosure with them, and the mother was quite fierce in driving him off whenever he got too close. Apparently father hippos do share in parenting after that initial period, but this mom was ready to go down and dirty with dad to make him back off when I was there. And then she turned around and was all soft and sweet with baby.Editing
Levels correction and contrast boosting. The wet cement had a nice glow but it detracted from my subjects so I decreased its brightness. There was a drainage grate in the cement that was distracting so I cloned it out. Later, I was doing a (human) mother/baby portrait and realized that the baby had the same expression as the little hippo. It was irresistible, so I also did a composite, putting the baby hippo on the human baby's lap. You can see the pre-hippo version of that portrait on the home page of my website https://peggynugent.com/In my camera bag
I try to keep it light because I get so caught up in the moment, I'm not likely to change lenses, etc, unless there's a compelling reason. If I'm on a paid shoot, I'll bring a second lens just in case, but other than that, it's just a polarizer, extra memory cards and batteries and lens cleaning wipes. I traded in my 7D for a Canon 5D Mark III, and am really loving how it has less noise at the higher ISO settings, My photography is up close and personal, so which lens I choose is often driven by how much room I have between myself and my subject. I love my Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8L for its crisp focus and lovely shallow depth of field, and it's my first choice when I know I will have plenty of room. That lens needs at least 4 feet between the lens and subject for it to focus properly. Not always an option when I'm in a client's living room to do a portrait shoot, once I've set them up far enough away from the wall to get separation from the background. For intimate portraits, I'm more likely to take my prime Canon 50 mm f/1.4, and often shoot it at f/2.8 or a little higher. I love a shallow depth of field but tend to overdo it, so now I shoot with a little more depth of field and soften focus in post-processing as needed. My workhorse is the Canon 24-105 mm f/4L. It's such a useful range, and I get nice sharp images. And it is much lighter and less intimidating to clients than the 70-200 f/2.8! I'm happy with it for its virtues, but have got to say that I don't love it the way I do the other two lenses.Feedback
Have patience, and keep working the subject even when you think you have the shot. I set up my composition, took a shot, then zoomed in, shot zoomed out, shot got higher, shot, moved left, etc. I changed apertures. Moved to a completely different angle and repeated it all. I had a favorite vantage point, but when it started feeling stale I moved to somewhere else for a while and then came back with fresh eyes. Whenever I felt that I probably had enough, I'd remember what a great photographer once told me: "How badly do you want the shot?" Because when you really want it, you need to try everything you can in the moment. You don't want to go home and say "Oh, man, I should have had a little more depth of field", or whatever. I don't want good shots - I want that great shot.
