Taking pictures of hedgehogs

[TheSeagull]

Hi,
I took a picture of a hedgehog last night, I know it's not good quality as I snapped it with flash burst at ISO 3600 while it was tottering about The problem I'm most concerned about is the eyes, how do I stop the red pet eye happening?

[ron1863]

Hi and welcome to WAB. Use indirect flash but it's easily fixed on most software packages anyway

[TheSeagull]

Is it? I've tried to remove it using Photoshop Elements' auto red-eye correction which didn't work and the GIMP dodge and burn technique both of which didn't work and when I fixed it with the pet eye method it just looked unrealistic and noticeably fake

[jcurtis]

Hi,
You need to use an off camera flash set either firing the gun via wifi or a sync lead with a slace unit. This will enure the flash gun isnt in the same focal plane as your lens and reduce redeye. Ideally use to guns to give a balance coverage of flash light.

Also point the guns at the ground just in front of the subject this will also help. Really its a case of trial and error.



Hope this helps
Jase

[TheSeagull]

Originally Posted by jcurtis

Hi,
You need to use an off camera flash set either firing the gun via wifi or a sync lead with a slace unit. This will enure the flash gun isnt in the same focal plane as your lens and reduce redeye. Ideally use to guns to give a balance coverage of flash light.

Also point the guns at the ground just in front of the subject this will also help. Really its a case of trial and error.



Hope this helps
Jase

Umm...I really don't understand a thing you said, I've only been taking pictures for a week I've got a Panasonic FZ28 if it helps.

[Elevate29]

Hi Seagull,
What Jase is saying is that as long as you have your flash on top of the camera (ie built in flash) the burst is directly in front of the subject's eyes resulting in red-eye. You'll need a separate flash unit mounted on either a bracket or stand that would put it at an angle (ideally diagonally above your lens) to your subject. This is controlled by the camera through a cable or wireless system.
Google 'off camera flash' and it'll give you a more detailed explanation.
Good Luck!

Elevate

[Words]

Hi Seagull, it's always a bit of a problem. The trick I use for dealing with hedgehog red-eye in photoshop is quite simple and works a treat. Also good for 'blue eye' on foxes, an dmost other eye tweaks.

I select the area of the eye with one of the selection/mask tools, making a rough circle just larger than the eye (you may need to zoom the image). I then select the enhance>adjust colour> replace colour option from the menu. I then click on the red on the eye and reduce the 'lightness' to nearly zero. This turns it black. You can play around with the fuzziness to make more or less of the colour change. Works really well, and leaves the white spot of the flash as it was. It just changes the red.

[momji1971]

think indirect flash and maybe a diffuser might be good for the hedgehogs eyes too!

Try waiting till the light goes, and get someone to point the camera in your direction and see how the flash affects you.

NOT having a go, but, we must always put our subjects welfare first.

Regards.
Stu.

[jcurtis]

Apologies for my technical reply. If you only have a flash that is built into your camera body you can still diffusethe light, thus reducing the red eye effect.
All you need to do is tape either a small piece of white polythene or tissue paper, similar to what you get when you buy shoes over the flash. Remember to use clear tape. This will affect the power/coverage of the flash, but will help to diffuse the light. Best to test it out first and look at the result before using it in the field.

These are worth reading

DIY built-in pop-up flash diffuser (soft screen)

Using a flash diffuser | Photo Answers

[TheSeagull]

Thank you for the help everyone. Words - Thank you for that, I'm sure it'll come in handy some time, but the eye is too far gone on this one I think. jcurtis - Thank you for that and I'll definately try it!