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Archive 2016 · Three Canine (2 BC and Husky) portraits

  
 
Maritan
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Three Canine (2 BC and Husky) portraits


I volunteer for a local Border Collie rescue organization and I've been thinking that I could help them in ways different from just fostering dogs, donating toys/ beds/ food and time. Along those lines, I decided to try some portrait photography of my own dogs to see if I can get you folks to critique it and provide constructive feedback.

All three dogs have their own backstories. Chloe was with a lady in a mobile home with no backyard and two bum knees. She couldn't walk or play with Chloe and got her as a companion for her cat. So many mistakes in one decision. Chloe is super high drive and has to be working at all times for her to be happy. She loved agility (to please me), she's even better at herding and loves to play around in the water. I got her from this lady when she was 4 months and she's now 7 years.

Griffin was found in a shelter and on the e-list if I remember. The BC rescue sprung him from the shelter and we all thought he was on his way to a better life. Not quite yet. He got parvo within a few days of coming to his first foster home and had to be hospitalized for 3-4 days. He was skin and bones when we got him at an estimated age of 1.5 years. He's been with us almost 4 years now.

Neffie was a stray in a different state when she got picked up by a kill shelter. She was moved to a different shelter which brought her even closer to being euthanized. Luckily someone saw a picture of her and she looked BC enough. Volunteers sprung her and after a few foster homes came to our home. We fell in love with those icy blue eyes and despite expecting a BC, the (IMO fully) Husky personality. She's probably about 2 years now.

TLDR: Would like constructive critiques of my pictures. If I can develop a decent eye for this, maybe I can help take pictures for the BC rescue website or more at a later date. Here's one of each of my three:






Chloe, resident elder and fun police







Griffin, resident imp and atrociously self confident brat







Neffie, resident wild child and runner extraordinaire




Apr 21, 2016 at 12:23 AM
film_4ever
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Three Canine (2 BC and Husky) portraits


Hard to believe those beautiful dogs are homeless.

Image 1, I'd recommend a smaller aperture. You nailed the eyes, but the nose is out of focus.

For images 1 and 2, you've captured them nicely, but they sure look sad and down trodden. Maybe get an assistant to work with you, so you can get some shots while they are playing and looking more happy. In order to find new homes for them, you need to give the impressive that these are happy playful dogs.

Image 3 is great. Love the blue eyes.

YMMV



Apr 21, 2016 at 09:55 AM
Bruce_T
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Three Canine (2 BC and Husky) portraits


Firstly, lovely pictures. Agree with poster about about getting more depth of field, and about getting "happy" expressions on the dogs to promote adoption.

I say "happy" because one of the best ways to get an appealing expression is to take the dog out for a long walk on a hot day. Otherwise you can make high-pitched noises, or have an assistant standing behind you with squeaky toys, dog treats, or whatever else triggers an alert / interested expression.

Some dogs will even mimic a "play face" (mouth relaxed and open) or a yawn.

There have been studies that show that a dog pictured with a child or elderly person may be perceived as friendlier and easier to train, and therefore more adoptable.

Good luck!



Apr 21, 2016 at 12:44 PM
Lightsearcher
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Three Canine (2 BC and Husky) portraits


Very nice shots, love the colors and the sharp pictures.

The 75mm 1.8 is a fantastic lend for portraits..!!

Marcelo



Apr 21, 2016 at 05:39 PM
lighthound
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Three Canine (2 BC and Husky) portraits


Not much to add than what has already been offered other to say kudos to you for taking in these beautiful pups. I really like your idea of offering to help out by taking photo's of the shelter pets.

Maybe just a touch more contrast in #1 & #3.

Expression wise I think Chloe has a nice alert look which tells me she's ready to play. Griffin does look a little sad but also has a sassy almost mischievous look on his face. And Neffie, well... she looks like she's ready for some serious play time.

Posing with kids and elderly people is a great idea so long as your focus is always on the animal.
I think that could be accomplished using simple dodge and burn techniques and maybe DOF choices.

Dave



Apr 22, 2016 at 09:17 AM
Maritan
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Three Canine (2 BC and Husky) portraits


film_4ever wrote:
Hard to believe those beautiful dogs are homeless.

Image 1, I'd recommend a smaller aperture. You nailed the eyes, but the nose is out of focus.

For images 1 and 2, you've captured them nicely, but they sure look sad and down trodden. Maybe get an assistant to work with you, so you can get some shots while they are playing and looking more happy. In order to find new homes for them, you need to give the impressive that these are happy playful dogs.

Image 3 is great. Love the blue eyes.

YMMV


Thanks for the great feedback. Just to be clear, these guys are not homeless anymore. They are our personal hellions full of trouble and mischief. Knowing Chloe and her personality, in #1 she is more intense and focused I would say. I remember because I had a ball held in my left hand near the camera and she was focused on it with all her being. But you're right on the DOF aspect. I was relatively close to her since I wanted to obliterate the background, but that resulted in too much of her face (nose) being OOF. Will fix that next time.

Griffin hates having his picture taken. That alone makes it a challenge, but his dark blacks and bright white on his face make it especially difficult to expose properly.

But you're absolutely right - I need to help them achieve a more joyous expression and be able to capture it too.

---------------------------------------------

Bruce_T wrote:
Firstly, lovely pictures. Agree with poster about about getting more depth of field, and about getting "happy" expressions on the dogs to promote adoption.

I say "happy" because one of the best ways to get an appealing expression is to take the dog out for a long walk on a hot day. Otherwise you can make high-pitched noises, or have an assistant standing behind you with squeaky toys, dog treats, or whatever else triggers an alert / interested expression.

Some dogs will even mimic a "play face" (mouth relaxed and open) or a yawn.

There have been studies that show that a dog
...Show more

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. Yes, a relaxed lower jaw does make them generally seem like they're smiling. Funny thing is I have a picture of Chloe where she looks soft and happy and showed it to people that have met her - everyone of them said it didn't look the hyper intense, hyper focused high drive Chloe they know. That's why I went with this picture for critique and feedback.

Great suggestion to capture them with children and elderly people - that will take some thinking on my part. I'm not great at photographing people, and as you can see, I still require feedback on photographing dogs. I'll troll the internets to find well done examples of the kind of pictures you've suggested and see if I can learn from that.

---------------------------------------------

Lightsearcher wrote:
Very nice shots, love the colors and the sharp pictures.

The 75mm 1.8 is a fantastic lend for portraits..!!

Marcelo


Marcelo - you are so right about the 75mm 1.8 lens. What a beauty. Looks good and performs even better. Thanks for the compliments.

---------------------------------------------

lighthound wrote:
Not much to add than what has already been offered other to say kudos to you for taking in these beautiful pups. I really like your idea of offering to help out by taking photo's of the shelter pets.

Maybe just a touch more contrast in #1 & #3.

Expression wise I think Chloe has a nice alert look which tells me she's ready to play. Griffin does look a little sad but also has a sassy almost mischievous look on his face. And Neffie, well... she looks like she's ready for some serious play time.

Posing with kids and elderly
...Show more

Thanks for the feedback, Dave and for the compliment. I did reduce contrast in the dogs' faces in #1 and #3. You obviously have a very keen eye and you noticed that. Maybe I reduced a touch too much.

As far as the personalities, you nailed it with all three of them. Chloe is a workaholic BC and she was focused on the ball I was holding as bribe. Griffin, as mentioned above, does not like his picture taken, but he is very mischievous. When we go herding, he is so confident in himself, he is almost a completely different dog. Very "drivey". And Neffie is always ready for play time, yes.

Thanks everyone for such great feedback. I can only get better from this.



Apr 22, 2016 at 01:24 PM





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