Photographing lambs

Getting some fresh air and taking some pictures sounds an idyllic combination.

If a public footpath goes past or through a field full of sheep and lambs you can shoot (from the path) without asking permission. Lambing take place February and March and lambs are put out in the field quite early on, weather permitting. With all the bad weather we have been having, the season might be running later than usual. When lambs are a decent sizet they are full of energy so you may get classic lamb gamboling shots. There again, you may not. You may get a few 'ahh' pictures but it is not that easy because they are timid creatures.


Gear needs
A 70-300mm zoom will be perfect to allow tight framing even when the creatures are some way from the camera.

If you can, crop right in to focus on the lamb, which should be exposed well and sharp. Blurring the background with a wide aperture to give narrow depth-of-field will keep attention focused on the lamb. Grass works well as a background when shooting from standing height but try varying camera viewpoint. Getting low gives a good viewpoint but you need to keep an eye on the background – fence posts, feeding troughs, other animals can all get in the way.


Techniques to try
Sheep generally are very wary of people so if you turn up in your car and get out with the camera, don't be surprised if they all scamper away. It pays to wrap up warm so you can stay there a while until they have the confidence to come back closer.

If you do get close enough for frame-filling shots, try using slow shutter speeds for some deliberate blur as the animals race around. The biggest challenge is getting just one or two animals in the frame rather than several which makes for a cluttered composition. That said, if you do get a number of animals look for patterns and go for eye contact too.

Bright sun gives contrast problems so midday is probably best avoided, and if the sun is out the extremes of the day are best. Low sunlight can look lovely especially if the light is warrm and coming from behind the subject. In some ways the best light can be when it is quite dull when you get nicely saturated grass and plenty of detail in the animals' coats. Makes exposure easier to get right too.



You've read the article, now go take some fantastic images. You can then upload the pictures, plus any advice and suggestions you have into the dedicated Photo Month forum for everyone at ePHOTOzine to enjoy.