Death by Beagle

[gregj1763]

Hi everyone,
My brother has got a new beagle pup, (Billie) so camera at the ready, off I went.
After the usual pup greeting which consists of bodily parts and clothing being ferociously attacked by razor sharp teeth , I managed to get her outside for her first photo shoot.
A prop was needed to keep her from my shoelaces and camera strap so I sacrificed a bear for the good of the cause.
All the images have been cropped so there is room to move re: composition.
Also I used selective sharpening around the eyes and nose after finding a useful you tube video on it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcT8fJTejcM

Hope you like the photo's, I'm off to change the dressings on my fingers now.
Cheers, Greg

[Donald]

I'm off to change the dressings on my fingers now.

Aahh, I remember the good old days!

Hope you like the photo's,

I do. All you need to do now is to work on a good background that avoids that low wall cutting through the frame!

[gregj1763]

Thanks Donald, I didn't even consider the wall in the background. I was concentrating more on getting at eye level with Billie. Your advice stored in memory.
Cheers, Greg

[Mike Buckley]

The last one is really precious. Consider cropping it to eliminate most of the three dark triangles on the background wall.

[Didace]

The last one is really precious. Consider cropping it to eliminate most of the three dark triangles on the background wall.

I agree with this. You said they are all cropped; can you get all of her tail in on the left? That would leave a very wide landscape type look that would be a bit unusual for this type of subject but I think it might work here.

[Trina]

Awww to have a puppy around. Thank goodness those milk teeth are on the smallish side so you weren't mortally wounded. Little Billie is a cutie for sure, and you captured her beautifully. What really jumped out at me was the catch lights in her eyes... I especially like photo's 2 and 4.. I look forward to seeing more of this little beauty.

[Dave Humphries]

Great series Greg,

Regarding the background and shooting height, these are way above average.

Yes, something even less distracting would be nice, but we often don't have much choice - at least this is darker and less colourful than the subject.

I guess you used fill-flash (very well) to get the catch lights?

Cheers,

[terrib]

Awww. I really like these, especially #2 & 4. I agree with Mike on the cropping on #4. Thanks for sharing. It gave me my first smile of the morning.

[speedneeder]

The second one is great. The moment is right, and I bet if you cropped a little more the background would be even less noticeable.

[jeeperman]

Many good suggestions already so let me just say.....#2 and #4 are adorable and show his personality well.

[Shadowman]

Nice exposures.

[djg05478]

Gorgeous dog, wow. Keep clicking you're doing a great job. +1 in regards to backgrounds.

FWIW. I take a ton of pix of my dogs...if I'm in the backyard I never take pix if I'm facing my neighbors ugly backyard..only towards my wooden fence that has a weathered grey patina. In the house..their dog bed area isn't cluttered and the blanket that covers their bed is a color that doesn't compete with them, but compliments them. And peanut butter is your friend. You can smear peanut butter on stuff (hard surfaces) to keep the dog in one place or keep its interest on an item. Good luck. I ♥ beagles.

[gregj1763]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and suggestions.
I will try the crops suggested and see how they come out.
The wall in the background runs most of the way around my brothers backyard and taking the photo from another angle probably would have introduced even more distracting elements.
Might take Billie to a nearby park and try again next time.
Dave, I did use fill flash as the photo's were taken midday in full sun, also I bumped the shutter speed up to freeze the action in her merciless attack on the hapless bear.

Ps, No bears were harmed in the making of these shots
Cheers, Greg

[Plumcrak]

Very nice shots of a very cute ball of energy and teeth. I look forward to more.

[Mike Buckley]

Consider giving Billie a toy beagle to chew on.

[tomdinning]

Pets and children. Who was it that said not to work with either?
Still, you are a braver man than I, Greg, to be lying on the same grass this creature has been frolicking on. At least one knows what is going through the mind of such a beast when we look into those puppy eyes: not a thing.

[gregj1763]

Thanks Tom for your comments. I have an admission to make, I'm not that brave. My brothers backyard has two levels to it. I was shooting from the forth step down, dedicated but not stupid .
Will be watching your posts with interest
Cheers, Greg