Shooting for another rescue...

[rpcrowe]

Appropriately his name is Shadow! I shot this handsome guy for another rescue. They couldn't get a decent shot of him. Their images all looked like silhouettes with no definition in his coat. Black dogs are not the easiest creatures to photograph...

[Sergio M.]

As you said, Richard, appropriately named. Well done.

Sergio

[Shadowman]

Nice portrait.

[madcrow]

Beautiful dog, beautiful image, master at work.

[Nat]

Cute little ragamuffin.....hope he finds a home soon....You did a great job with the black, your lighting is good!!

[rpcrowe]

Thanks... Black dogs are more challenging than white ones. OR... maybe, I am just used to shooting white dogs. I have been shooting Maltese since we bred and showed this breed and since I purchased my first DSLR. ten years or so ago

These shots of a white AKC Champion Maltese was done using a pair of old White Lightning WL5000 monolights, one from above bounced into a white umbrella and one at the camera modified with a white shoot through umbrella. The camera was my first DSLR, a 6.3 MP Canon 10D with a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens.

SO MUCH FOR NEEDING TOP LINE EQUIPMENT TO GET GOOD SHOTS

This is a color shot not a B&W conversion...

[John 2]

As the saying goes Richard, it's the person behind the camera that makes the difference. Beautiful photography, professional results.

[Dave Humphries]

As the saying goes Richard, it's the person behind the camera that makes the difference. Beautiful photography, professional results.

Agreed on both points.

SO MUCH FOR NEEDING TOP LINE EQUIPMENT TO GET GOOD SHOTS

Of course, top line equipment usually makes the job easier and/or quicker, but I feel (speaking generally); you haven't 'earned' it until you've done it 'the hard way' first, then you appreciate what you get next.

[NorthernFocus]

Another cute pup well captured, Richard. Though perhaps the shadows have been lifted a bit much. But it's hard to tell without knowing how black the dog actually is.

...Black dogs are not the easiest creatures to photograph...

That does seem to be the case on average. Though exposing for the main subject and compensating exposure(either manually or with EC) is not that difficult of a concept. Yet it continues to elude. Particularly the vast majority of shooters who let the camera do the thinking for them.

Personally I'm more impressed with the photos of the white dog. Awesome.

[Nat]

As the saying goes Richard, it's the person behind the camera that makes the difference. Beautiful photography, professional results.

I was going to say the same thing. Beautiful photography, and beautiful pup. Well done.

[Dave Humphries]

I find the lighting is the biggest issue with our black lab, get it at the right angle - and use EC effectively and you succeed, but fail at either and it looks bad.

[rpcrowe]

I did purposely lift the shadows of the black dog since when we post dark images on the rescue website we use, we lose all detail... This is a case of an image that has been PP for one specific use posted in another spot...

[bnnrcn]

I hope Shadow will have a family soon , he looks curious and cute

[lovelife65]

I find the lighting is the biggest issue with our black lab, get it at the right angle - and use EC effectively and you succeed, but fail at either and it looks bad.

Yes! We have a black and a yellow. Still working on getting the black one right. Gonna start working it again, see what I can do.
Love black dogs ... well and yellow too