Photogenic Dog

[Fidley]

Think this dog makes a really nice photo, BUT i know i can improve things (flashgun might help a bit), how?

1:


2: If only i'd had a proper flash gun, ears might of been sharp then :cries:


3:


4:



PS: He's really cool IRL, never leaves me alone tho

[hoodmeister]

my biggest issue with all of these is the eyes - they just aren't sharp enough!
In a lot it looks like they were actually moving during the exposure. Some judicious selective sharpening may help, though.

The first is my fave of these. I like the pose in the second, but the sofa doesn't fit too well. The last too don't do an awful lot for me.

You've also completely burnt out the highlights on his cool schnozzle in all the shots. Something like this is a nightmare to expose for, and the meter will rarely get it right

Spot metering his white areas would work, but would be a bit of a pain - just dialling in a stop or so of negative exposure compensation would probably be your best bet. Remember, you can recover shadows in post processing. You can't recover highlights.

Sorry if I sound overly critical there. They're groovy shots, but there is a lot that can be improved on

[FatalSaviour]

I can't really comment on how to improve your shots I'm afraid (I'll leave hoodmeister to sort that out ) but what a great dog!

[noah]

very nice. the first is also my favorite.

hoodi is right about the eyes, they're probably the most important bit of any portrait and should always be nice and sharp unless you are intending to break the rules. a flashgun may help you feeze the movement and give you a nice catchlight in the eyes, but then a carfully placed lamp and custom white balance could give you a higher shutter speed to compensate

and yeah, watch those highlights. unfortunately this is a problem with digital photography, the tonal range is smaller so you often have to choose highlights or shadows. like hoodi says shadows are much easier to fix.

he/she is a lovely dog indeed, good shots

[schmunk]

Don't dogs (and other animals with decent night vision) produce horrendous redeye? (although I think it's not actually red for dogs).

In this case, a flash would serve only to make your dog look demonic...

[Flibb]

Don't dogs (and other animals with decent night vision) produce horrendous redeye? (although I think it's not actually red for dogs).

In this case, a flash would serve only to make your dog look demonic...

Bounce the flash or move it to the side a bit. You can use a cord, or many cameras suport wirless TTL flash nowdays. I tend to use a cord, but need to get a bracket to hold the flash, really want a macro flash bracket. If you watch a pro they tend to have the flash away from the camera, this helps avoid red eye.

[Fidley]

Cheers for the advice all. When i looked at the exif i was shooting at 1/10th of a sec, so gettin the ever hyperactive ben sharp was never going to happen. Suddenly my bank account has grown thanks to the magic people at the bank and nice shiney sb-600 will be mine.... also new lens ......... and telelconverter .......... Hong Kong i love you *Ahem*

[Flibb]

HWat lens have you ordered? Its well worth getting a Nikon 50mm F1.8, quiet fast and a good lens optically. Also cheap as chips, think I paid £60ish for my one.

[Fidley]

Shiney lens, 80-200mm nikon! My telelphoto is carp and my wide zoom okish, so i thought i'd upgrade the tele lens first! That 50mm might be an idea.... when i've paid off this one Think, if i do bother to upgrade the wide zoom, i'd go for another zoom, more versatility. For £60ish tho it's an idea indeedy! But the flash is next on my to buy list, idealy i would have got it before a new lens, unfotunatly the lens was on a refund the import tax, 7yr warranty deal that i just couldn't resist!

[hoodmeister]

Be sure to post lots of samples when you get it

Did you get the Nikon 1.4x TC?

[Fidley]

Nope. Wasn't sure if it'd work with the lens, it doesn't seem to be on the list of ones it'll work with on the nikon webby. :S Will it? Is the sigma just as good (will that work?)?

PS: You got your f80 yet?

[hoodmeister]

I don't know enough about TC's to make any sort of comment there...

F80 arrived a few minutes ago

[Flibb]

Theres quiet a bit of info on TCs and what works with what on Nikonians forums, try the 3rd party lens section.

http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi

[Bobster]

Don't dogs (and other animals with decent night vision) produce horrendous redeye? (although I think it's not actually red for dogs).

In this case, a flash would serve only to make your dog look demonic...

this was taken with a studio strobe..


no demonic eyes

have you thought about taking the dog outside to shoot?

[fat jez]

That is a beautiful collie He reminds me of my friends dog, Kim (now sadly gone to the great kennel in the sky).

As much as the other people have given excellent advice, I like the pictures just the way they are

Cheers,
Stephen

[Fidley]

I did but me mom's garden is a mess atm, so no good backgrounds.

Jez, dogs are like one of the family aren't they, always a shame when they go Thanks for the comment too