Another Dog Pic...

[kap55]

c&c welcome. Interested in any input, but particularly on the aspect ratio or the DOF.



Thanks.

[rpcrowe]

That is a gorgeous Lab! The BG is IMO not the best in both the color and the bright part directly above the head.

[JamesScott86]

Beautiful shot - so pretty too.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[kap55]

That is a gorgeous Lab! The BG is IMO not the best in both the color and the bright part directly above the head.

Thanks for the input Richard. I agree that the background is less than ideal - and I suppose that a shallower DOF would have helped somewhat.

[Texas Dave]

I was told by a few photographers much wiser than me to have the background anywhere between 1/2 to 2 stops darker than the subject. I think that would have helped here. I probably would have raised the camera up just a bit but I'm not sure if I would have been even with the eyes though, I kind of like the lower perspective and I can see what your eye was seeing.

I think I might have opted to take it's collar off since it has such a beautiful coat. Nice job on a beautiful animal.

[kap55]

I was told by a few photographers much wiser than me to have the background anywhere between 1/2 to 2 stops darker than the subject. I think that would have helped here. I probably would have raised the camera up just a bit but I'm not sure if I would have been even with the eyes though, I kind of like the lower perspective and I can see what your eye was seeing.

I think I might have opted to take it's collar off since it has such a beautiful coat. Nice job on a beautiful animal.

Thanks for the suggestions David. Good idea about the collar - I'm just used to leaving it on otherwise everyone calls her a boy.

[Downrigger]

Great looking girl, and handsome image. I think DOF is OK, it could even be shallower for this intimate portrait. Main thing we hear over and over is that the eyes must be sharp, sharp, sharp and I thinking your best focus point is a teensy bit deeper than optimally meets that objective.

[Kris V]

What a beautiful girl!

[kap55]

Great looking girl, and handsome image. I think DOF is OK, it could even be shallower for this intimate portrait. Main thing we hear over and over is that the eyes must be sharp, sharp, sharp and I thinking your best focus point is a teensy bit deeper than optimally meets that objective.

Thanks Mark. I think the DOF should be a little shallower.

I've been going through a lot of my photos trying to determine if I really need/use anything below f/4 very often and it turns out that I don't use it that much (I don't do people/portraits). I do a lot of hiking/hauling of my gear and think that I can get away with good quality zoom lenses that have a constant f/4 rather than 2.8. I still have a couple of 1.8 primes if I need them, but I've picked up the Nikon 16-35 f/4 and the Sigma 24-105 f/4 Art and they seem to be able to do everything I need within their range. No real need to get a 24-70 2.8.

[rpcrowe]

Brian,

I seldom shoot portraits at a larger aperture than f/4. That is because I most often use my 70-200mm f/4L IS or my 300mm f/4L IS lenses for both dog and people portraits and, obviously don't have a larger aperture to use... However, at a longer focal length, f/4 or even f/5.6 can produce a narrow DOF...

[kap55]

Richard - all makes sense and reinforces my belief that for my type of shooting a good quality f/4 lens is all that I need. Looks like you may be following the same philosophy.

[sammoe]

Great photo! Love labs. However, I have to agree with everyone else on the background and DOF issues. A brown dog on a light brown background gives the photo less variety than it could. A shallower DOF would make those vertical lines behind the dog distract less. Also, consider cropping out the deck underneath the dog. It kind of just looks like a beige fuzzy line. Still, don't get me wrong, it's a great photo with a lovely subject!

[kap55]

Thanks Sam