My dog

[blakemcguire]

Some sitting and waiting with my camera and dog, I think I got a good shot. The focus looks like it might be a bit forward on his nose, but I can't tell for sure.



Before you ask, all I know is he has some lab in him, whatever else he is I have no clue, and his name is Cooper.

[Donald]

Before you ask, all I know is he has some lab in him, whatever else he is I have no clue, and his name is Cooper.

And very nice he looks too.

I wondered about cropping to just below that light-toned thing up at the top right. I don't think you need all the space above his head that's in the image. It would also take out all of that fencing (or whatever it is) and throw more attention onto the dog.

[rpcrowe]

I agree with Donald regarding cropping out the fence in the top background.

I think that your dog is a handsome fellow. However, I would recommend that when shooting him (or any other dark eyed dog) in the future to use a flash fill at -1 or -2 EV. The purpose of the flash would be to produce some highlights in his coat but, primarily to produce catchlights in his eyes (or eye in this case). I have sometimes just cloned a bright spot and placed it in my dog's eye as a pseudo catchlight. It can actually look quite real and effective.

[blakemcguire]

Well how about this then?



I had thought the fence would add some sense of depth, but I guess it is pretty distracting!
And that tip about the catch lights is probably going to be biting at the back of my head for a while now :P I've never even heard the term before.

[Donald]

Well how about this then?

Much better, I think.

And that tip about the catch lights is probably going to be biting at the back of my head for a while now :P I've never even heard the term before.

Do a search around (on here and elsewhere and have a look at good portrait images of people). You will always see the catchlights there. The same applies to animals, as Richard has said. It's worth really studying the detail in those to see how it works.

[rpcrowe]

Blake,

My Goldendoodle has rather deep set eyes which are usually obscurred by her fuzzy coat. If I don't pump in some fill light, her eyes appear very dark and lose definition which reduces her lively appearance like in this image;



However, pumping in some fill light with a flash, produces catchlights and also provides more definition in her eyes which (IMO) make her look more alert;



I use fill flash for most of my dog shots as well as for most people shots. That is why I insist on using a flash that is capable of high speed sync. HSS allows me to sync my flash at any shutter speed. Although I lose a bit of light in the process, I am not rstricted to a shutter sync speed of 1/250 second or slower. Modern Canon hotshoe flashes are all capable of HSS but, HSS can only be accessed on my little 270EX when I am using a 40D or later camera.

[blakemcguire]

I just like to avoid the full frontal flash. I should really get a sync cable at some point. I have an optical trigger but if I use it then I have to use an extremely slow shutter speed.

[Snow Leopard]

He is super cute,i love his expression.The focus is great

[Scott Stephen]

Cooper looks like a good boy. Nice light and nice background blur. I agree with the suggestion that cropping the top a bit more (and maybe the bottom a tiny bit less?) would be nice.

Also, if there was any way to immobilize him for the shoot other than giving him the rawhide, that would be better. Or at least give him a brand new, un-chewed one just for pictures.

[blakemcguire]

That's a good idea. This was really just the result of me playing around. I was actually practicing panning and focusing on moving subjects, so he wasn't coaxed into the pose.