My first post

[MaggieR]

I"m starting to learn how to shoot photos with existing light. This little girl was willing to be my model. Feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks, Maggie

[glenng]

You have cut off the young models right paw. :-( :-(

[MaggieR]

Thanks for the feedback glenng. I realize she's missing one of her paws. The problem was she would only sit for me for a few seconds before she was off.

[davidedric]

It seems from the EXIF that you had your 28-135 zoom on, and were actually shooting at around 65mm, so you could afford to pull back a little way and make sure you got all her bits in. There's another thread running somewhere about when and when not to crop: I think this is a great example where you could make sure you got her all in and then crop what you don't need PP.

[davidedric]

P.S.

Welcome to CiC

Could you edit your profile so that we know where you are and what your real name is?

[MaggieR]

Thanks, David for the advice. Will definately keep the cropping info in mind when shooting my fury critters. Also, updated my profile.

[Geoff F]

An alternative is to crop tighter for the face. Maybe produce something around 5 x 4 (landscape) ratio.

[Melkus]

Welcome to CiC. I know all too well about trying to shoot pets, I got two of my own and they don't make the best of model just as bad as young kids.

[annie5154]

Welcome Maggie, and what a gorgeous model you have. You already have some good feedback but well done on your first post.
Anne

[MaggieR]

THanks everyone for your feedback. It's very helpful. I"m looking forward to learning from all you very talented people.

[rpcrowe]

Welcome to CiC. That is a lovely dog!

When we try to provide criticism of an image, we try to make it positive.

There are many things which separate pro quality images from amateur shots...

Two which come to mind immediately are:

Professional quality photographers are always cognizent of the edges of their images. They look for bits of the subject which are cut off (as in your dog portrait) and also look for things such as tree limbs, portions of people, etc., which intrude from the sides of the image.

Pro quality photographers are also cognizent of their backgrounds avoiding busy backgrounds which compete with the subject for interest. Also avoiding things like posts or trees which seem to grow out of the subject's head.

There was an experiment which traced the eye patterns of scientsts and of artists as the viewed images. Apparently the eye pattern of the scientist centered in on the most important facet of the image while the eye patterns of the artist wandered all over taking in all the image.

Another tip... It is often a good idea to shoot a dog from the dog's eye level. This is sometimes difficult with smaller dogs since they are so low to the floor or ground. Either crouchng down or elevating the dog may help...

Finally, being experienced with your gear allows you to shoot quickly. That way, you can often get a shot that disappears quite quickly such as this one...



If you plan to shoot a lot of dog pictures, find a plastic squeeker that is designed to sew into stuffed squeek toys. Micheal's Craft Stores carry these at a very low price; like 25 cents or so. I hold one between my teeth. When I close my teeth, the sound seems like it comes from the camera and the dog often looks at the lens with a cute expression...

[MaggieR]

Thanks Richard, for the good advice. Also, love the dog pics.