Just another post of Kulshan

[DanK]

truth be told I should not have taken the photos in the light I did.

I don't agree. There is no reason to avoid light of this sort. In some respects, it was very good--it provided some degree of shadow without the harsh contrasts one gets in bright sunlight. However, almost any lighting has some drawbacks. In this case, the drawback was that it is a bit low in contrast. The solution, IMHO is not to avoid lighting like this, but rather to use gentle edits to draw out the image more.

Manfred's point is essential: "a lot of editing" does not equal "over the top." you can get natural-looking images with a lot of editing, and one can make something look very unnatural by moving a single slider. I'll give you three examples. I'll pair the final version of three images with the originals. I don't think any of the final ones are over the top, but all required a great deal of editing. The first was in one kind of bad light: gray and entirely lacking in contrast.

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[lovelife65]

Neither do I, but it takes a lot of time to learn how to pull the most out of our images without looking like they have been "pushed too hard". The ideal state is to work an image in post-processing and have it look more natural than the straight out of camera image. If you look at the old masters like Ansel Adams and Karsh; their images were post-processed very extensively, yet they look very natural.

Absolutely Manfred, that is where good experience and knowledge come into play for sure. I see a lot of very over processed images, especially in landscapes, and some people love that. A more natural look that brings out the finer details and colors and lighting in the image... as you say it with your own idea ... is a wonderful goal.
Thank you for responding.

[lovelife65]

I don't agree. There is no reason to avoid light of this sort. In some respects, it was very good--it provided some degree of shadow without the harsh contrasts one gets in bright sunlight. However, almost any lighting has some drawbacks. In this case, the drawback was that it is a bit low in contrast. The solution, IMHO is not to avoid lighting like this, but rather to use gentle edits to draw out the image more.

Manfred's point is essential: "a lot of editing" does not equal "over the top." you can get natural-looking images with a lot of editing, and one can make something look very unnatural by moving a single slider. I'll give you three examples. I'll pair the final version of three images with the originals. I don't think any of the final ones are over the top, but all required a great deal of editing. The first was in one kind of bad light: gray and entirely lacking in contrast.

Final:



Original:




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Original:




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Original:

Fantastic photos and edits . You are right, if we use the tools at our disposal, we can usually correct for imperfect conditions.
Learning every single day thank you!!

[lovelife65]

IMO, don't ever not take a photo because the light or some other aspect is not perfect. It is better to have an image with less than great lighting than to not have the image at all.

Your pictures show Kushan as he is; a big beautiful dog on his way between puppyhood and being an adult, For many dogs, people too, this is an awkward time but, Kushan is really developing into a beautiful boy.

You simply cannot have too many images of your dogs. I look back on images of dogs that I have shared my life with who are no longer with me and these images keep the bond alive. Here is one of my first digital images of my Sara Lee, shot with a Canon 10D and a kit lens in 2004. Sara was an 85-pound Golden Retriever - German Shepherd - Wolf mixture. I have a framed print of this hanging in my hallway and there is not a day that goes past without my thinking of her. She died 12-years ago from cancer.



The image right shadows on her face were a bit dark so I used the camera's pop-up flash to balance out the light a bit...

I think that was the only time I ever used the pop up flash...

Beautiful photo of a beautiful dog. You are so right too! I look back at puppy pictures of our two clowns, and think I didn't take enough!!!
I will actually aim to take more of them (If they would just stay still... .they love it when I get on the ground, that is an invitation to come over and maul me!!). Actually, more action shots will be great practice, in using my camera and all it's wonderfulness and capturing them in what they love.