So this is Cherry, an 8 year old Samoyed, she has recently been very sick and now on the road to recovery, she loves morning and evening runs (together we can run an 11 minute mile), her favorite toy is a squeaky chicken and she is a big fan of Taco Bell (which I don’t feed to her haha).
I really love her so much and usually take action shots of her but now I’m realizing that I really want THE perfect portrait of her, here is something I have tried, I’m a hobbiest (obviously haha), I used a Canon 5d IV, 24-70 f4, tripod and one softbox.
I appreciate any and all criticisms, I’m posting in the hope of learning, thank you all in advance.
I am soooooo happy she is with you(us)!! She is a sweetheart! My children are gone but the photos keep them close to me. They were/are part of my soul and when they left, part of my soul left with them.
Great composition!
Dan
She looks to be a sweet girl, and is lucky to have you as her master. Sammis are wonderful companions and I hope she rebounds to full health quickly.
Since you asked for C&C, I'll throw out a few ideas (not criticisms). First, I think the pose is wonderful, and the neutral background is good, as is the lighting angle. I think anything in that realm of composition will make a great photo. This picture is just dripping with emotion and sadness, and is actually something I prefer over the "perfect portrait."
So my thoughts: (1) she seems to be a little out of balance in the photo, with her bottom sticking out over the edge of the chair. (2) on my monitor (and it may be just my monitor, or the web conversion, so don't take this as gospel) she seems a bit soft overall. My preference with dogs is to try to have both the eye and the nose in sharp focus. I don't know what f/stop you used but you might consider going another stop to gain some sharpening. (3) Have you tried a B&W conversion of this image. I would like to see one as I think losing the brown of the chair would bring her out even more as the center of attention. Finally, (4) I might like to shoot this with both a white (high key) and pure black background, just to see how it looked in final form.
In my personal experience you can't have enough pictures of a sweetheart like this, so shot a photo every day.
Nice photo, but I would have preferred a head tilt so her other eye is at least slightly visible. Probably also better to have her sitting on a stool instead of a chair.
I am sorry to hear that, I have also lost both my sisters (I’m 35) so I am aware of the brutal pain that is loss, I intend on keeping Cherry very close to me!
Danpbphoto wrote:
I am soooooo happy she is with you(us)!! She is a sweetheart! My children are gone but the photos keep them close to me. They were/are part of my soul and when they left, part of my soul left with them.
Great composition!
Dan
I have other shots head on and what not but this one is one I wanted c+c for so thank you for that, also we have a stool but Cherry isn’t keen on it haha
bobbytan wrote:
Nice photo, but I would have preferred a head tilt so her other eye is at least slightly visible. Probably also better to have her sitting on a stool instead of a chair.
I have other shots head on and what not but this one is one I wanted c+c for so thank you for that, also we have a stool but Cherry isn’t keen on it haha
bobbytan wrote:
Nice photo, but I would have preferred a head tilt so her other eye is at least slightly visible. Probably also better to have her sitting on a stool instead of a chair.
Yes I agree on the balance issue, I’m guessing she was a little off there and yes it is soft to me too, I think I should shoot at f8 perhaps? (Instead of f4).
I have some B+W’s of but just not in this photo and right now I only have black and gray for backgrounds, white is intriguing. Thank you for your suggestions I have taken them to heart and yes, shooting Cherry everyday is something I want to be able to do.
Genes Home wrote:
She looks to be a sweet girl, and is lucky to have you as her master. Sammis are wonderful companions and I hope she rebounds to full health quickly.
Since you asked for C&C, I'll throw out a few ideas (not criticisms). First, I think the pose is wonderful, and the neutral background is good, as is the lighting angle. I think anything in that realm of composition will make a great photo. This picture is just dripping with emotion and sadness, and is actually something I prefer over the "perfect portrait."
So my thoughts: (1) she seems to be a little out of balance in the photo, with her bottom sticking out over the edge of the chair. (2) on my monitor (and it may be just my monitor, or the web conversion, so don't take this as gospel) she seems a bit soft overall. My preference with dogs is to try to have both the eye and the nose in sharp focus. I don't know what f/stop you used but you might consider going another stop to gain some sharpening. (3) Have you tried a B&W conversion of this image. I would like to see one as I think losing the brown of the chair would bring her out even more as the center of attention. Finally, (4) I might like to shoot this with both a white (high key) and pure black background, just to see how it looked in final form.
In my personal experience you can't have enough pictures of a sweetheart like this, so shot a photo every day.
