Should I talk to my dog through camera?
Use two-way audio to help calm your dog. Note: In some cases, using two-way audio can make a dog more anxious. Avoid talking to your dog through a camera’s speakers if your dog gets more frantic if they hear you but can’t find you.
I have also photographed hummingbirds using flash many times, and there was absolutely no alteration in their behaviour. The birds continued to fly around the flowers whilst being exposed to rapid firing of a flash, and also repeatedly returned to the same spot undeterred.
Dr Martin Stevens is an Associate Professor in Sensory and Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Exeter, England. When I asked his opinion on the matter he said, “different animals have different sensitivities to light, and this will depend on how bright the light source is and how adapted their eyes are to the current light conditions”. Clearly the effect that flash photography may have depends on the ambient light conditions too.
Other than that, research into the effect of flash is nonexistent. So let’s move on to what else we can determine about the use of flash with animals.
The effect of flash appears to be insignificant in daylight. Each species is different, of course, but I would suggest that in general flash photography does not cause harm or distress to animals when ambient light conditions are adequate. If you do choose to use flash with wildlife, consider the behavioural response of the animal in question.
There is a lot that can be learned from observations of the behavioural response of an animal when exposed to flash. Personally, I have used flash with a troop of woolly monkeys in the Amazon rainforest, necessary due to the thick canopy and harsh lighting that is present. Not once did the animals react to the flash. Prior to me even unpacking my camera, the monkeys were coming closer to investigate me. The flash didn’t change this reaction; it didn’t make them run.
Why doesnt my dog look at my phone?
That’s because something called flicker sensitivity comes into play. Flicker sensitivity is the rate at which an animal’s eye can record s and perceive motion. Dogs have a higher flicker sensitivity than humans, which means that videos probably just look like a bunch of nonsensical shapes and lights to them.