Dog portraits - there is everything wrong with these.

[JBW]

hi Marie, I have come to the simple conclusion that except under extraordinary circumstances the shots I will take of our dogs will be catch as catch can. I have enough trouble teaching them to sit let alone pose. Certainly a little pp lightening of the background in the first and a little darkening in the second might be an improvement but you got pictures with feelings. It does not get better than that.
Brian

[Marie Hass]

Hi, Brian,

I do certainly agree. The only person on this forum that i know of that can get an ideal pose out of a dog with no help would be Richard Crowe. LOLOLs

Thank you,

Marie

[elfbob]

[IMG][/IMG] I was dog sitting the "girls" next door, 2 very rambunctious 1 year old beagles don't really take "direction" well, but if I wait for them to tire a bit they sometimes present good photo "ops"; I have had to buy a larger capacity CF card as the 2Gb card I normally use for macrophotography gets filled sort of quickly when using slow continuous(3 fps) & AI servo when the critters are on the move; I don't have a IS lens but my EF 70-200mm f4/L USM coupled to my EOS 50D is a very capable platform & in subdued lighting I use a manual strobe with adjustable output to "add" just a smidgeon of complimentary illumination. I got lucky in capturing this image. Shiloh was in just the right place & was poised on a couch having a color that complimented her facial coloration; you can buy fabric by the yard at most fabric stores a lot cheaper than camera gear outlets, take your significant other along to select a color/hue that compliments the pets coat color; learn to use your camera & wait for "golden" moments. sometimes you need to explore camera modes other than Auto or Program auto; this image could be criticized for the diagonal line of the couch back/cushions running in the background, but did anyone notice that Shiloh's eyes appear to follow yours as you change aspect angle to her?

[juznobsrvr]

Nicely captured, Marie.

[travis4567]

Marie, my dogs are really difficult to photograph as they are so active & if they see me with the camera they just want to come to me to see what's going on. Lately I've had some success using a 70-300mm lens when they are out in the backyard. I can keep a distance so they are not distracted and I can catch them in a more natural pose. This photo of Cascha taken with a Tamron 70-300 @ about 250mm.

[rpcrowe]

One of the things that I try to avoid is shooting portraits (be they of dogs or people) in dappled light, part bright sun and part shade. However, this grab shot of the puppies was in that type of lighting. But, the expressions of the pups were too good to miss. Sometimes, I can mitigate the impact of dappled light in post processing...



I really like light overall shade with a background which can be thrown out of focus. This shot of Sully, my foster Labradoodle was done in shade using 173mm @ f/4 on a Canon 7D...



Sometimes however, there are other reasons rather than pure photographic for a shot. There was some discussion at the shelter where Sully was surrendered whether he was aggressive or not. It appears that his previous owners said he was aggressive because the shelter was filled and was accepting only aggressive dogs for euthanization. He has been with us for two months (will be adopted next Saturday) and he has never shown the slightest bit of aggression to people or other dogs. When I turned around from my desk and saw Sully sleeping with the two little dogs, I grabbed the shot to show a photographic record of how friendly and gentle this guy is...



These shots were grab shots but, I knew that I wanted some images of Sully swimming in our pool...



However, I didn't expect him to be doing laps with my wife as she practiced with snorkel and mask. That was a bonus.



The portraits that I shoot indoors for publishing on rescue sites most often have plain backgrounds. I will usually use a background of fleece material. In most of my indoor portraits, I try to select a BG color which will complement the coloring of the dog.

[ajsmith]

Excellent information here!

Marie,
Thanks for posting your cute dog and I look forward to seeing some more photos of Chase using Colin and Richards techniques.