It may be impossible to get a bad shot with a bunch like that. Holy crap they're cute. Only crit is that I wish you hadn't cut off the dog on the left in #8.
Nina, dogs are people also! Just 4 legged!!! #6&8 are XTRA priceless! All are tremendous! Just wonderful job and love puppies! The expressions are priceless!
Dan
Great pics! My fav is #5 but that may be because the pup reminds me of my sheltie. I've just started trying to do dog portraits (My wife's mother and uncle will be here for Thanksgiving and they both have schnauzers that we intend to shoot for Christmas presents) and I will certainly look to your pics for guidance.
Nina, these are wonderful pics. It's always a pleasure to see your posts because nobody does dogs as well as you.
I admire the lighting in #6, how it fades away to the edges, and also the simplicity of #9.
In some of them, the props are getting a lot of atttention, a lot of light that brightens them up even more than the dogs. Examples: #3,#5 & #7.
Don't misunderstand - these are great shots. But I don't think you want the props to outshine the dogs and that may be starting to happen in a few shots.
Andy, they're squirm worms, lucky the head was in the shot
Vladan, do puppies stay still? (shoot them when they are young 4-8wks, they're calmer )
Jata, 50D w/24-70mm f/2.8L, in their garage, 4x4' table, backdrop, two AB800's with bounce back umbrellas camera left & right, and an ABR800 behind for separation
Jim ... thank you for the compliment, I'm still learning so that means alot
I see what you mean about the props, it is tough to place them back, cause the pups move so much, it is really a crap shoot hoping to get one to look my direction more stationary subjects I usually set the props back a hair, for the color but have the subject up front ... these guys have NO understanding of sit/stay
I had puppy wranglers on either side of the table, to catch them before they fell off, owner behind me, making different noises, quite the production, and we weren't sure we got all the black tri-s on individual shots ... but it was a FUN shoot, and I didn't bring one home with me
(of course, I got a mini-pup a few weeks ago, and one is enough)
I still can't figure out how they are so still, even with the puppy wranglers on each side. I have never tried pups before. Most the one's I've done are old hard headed pooches Put 'em down, and they proceed to move immediately, off camera.
Color and lighting is wonderful. Again, great job!
litters of pups have each other for security
take they away from the pack, and they are scared of the world for a bit
90% will stay put or move slowly, because they are out of their comfort zone (no siblings or mom on the table)
this holds true for all breeds of pups, & I prefer the younger ones
if you shoot them after they've been at their new home for a week or more, their confidence buds, and then you have a fast moving target
If you dont mind me asking, what is the backdrop behind the pups? A haind painted muslin? Or a painted board of some sort. The color and effect are fantastic for these dog shots!
the background is a 6x8' old masters canvas in shades of blue/green
I have a whole collection of these canvas' in different colors, love them, they come with the wood at both ends for easy clamping, and roll up & store in their nylon bags .... 100% wrinkle free!!!
they are great for portraits & pets, durable, I've hung them outside in the sun & wind in a gravel parking lot, and they definately hold up
Put 'em down, and they proceed to move immediately, off camera.