Another Practice Session - Another Rat... And Dog

[Caity]

Messing around with the external flash... This time with an all white, pink eyed rat (notoriously the hardest to photograph flatteringly).

They're not exactly what I was looking for, but she is cute... And I think they look interesting.
Thoughts?

See the top of her head and back, I blew it out a little.. Not hard to do with a white rat, but how could I go about NOT doing that?

And this I didn't really think about, it was just sort of spontaneous... My dog, Karly. I need to work on my DOF... That flippin nose just doesn't get focused on right when her eyes are in focus.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Of all the dog pictures posted up recently, that one is the most expressive. I wouldn't worry as much about getting the nose in focus, nail the eyes.


Bring down the yellow saturation in the first one, and maybe ad some contrast, and darken it a little. Give it a try.

 

[Caity]

Thank you... Of any dogs I know, she is the most expressive. She's like a little person in there, intelligent...

I'm going to try what you suggest and post the resulting image in this thread. Thanks! I just hope I can execute it in the way you mean haha! We'll see.

 

[Live_free]

No offense... but I am getting sick of dog pictures... lol

 

[Caity]

Someone says they are sick of dog pictures on a thread that contains a single dog picture... Sure no offense. Frankly my dog is more expressive and emotive than half the people I even know. I'll use her as a subject to practice on. You certainly don't have to look. That's alright, and I understand that. Please feel free to view a subject matter you do enjoy.

Bitter Jeweler... Now I am not used to Photoshop at all, but I did as you suggested and got this.

 

[Linkin]

Yeah the white balance in the first one is incorrect. You can fix this in photoshop, but I suggest you get to know what white balance is and how you can adjust it on your camera.
As for the blown highlights, maybe diffuse the light a bit. This usually happens when a light source is very harsh or a picture is over exposed. If you're using a flash, you can make your own diffuser. I made on for myself and it works like a charm.

I like the dog pic ^_^

Keep at it though. Don't give up and practise practise practise


EDIT* Yes the white balance looks better now

 

[Caity]

It was only after looking at it and thinking "What did I NOT do..." White balance. Uh duh. I ran the camera in manual so I had control over it, just didn't do it properly at all (as you can see, haha!). I want to try this again with this particular rat, and see if I can get some better results.

Towards the end I started to get it right, the colors at least. Unfortunately that was when she became very disinterested.

I do have a diffuser but am still very unsure of when to utilize it... I need to do some playing around with that, as well.

Thanks very much for your help, guys!! I truly appreciate it! I feel like I'm actually learning.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

That last shots pretty nice.

 

[Caity]

I think it was shooting with yellow all around... Mistake. Yellow fabric, white rat, not paying attention to WB... Not smart.

The purpose of that last one was to show I eventually did kind of get it, but it's not an interesting piece, at least not to most people who don't love rats, haha. I got a few like that before she decided she was bored and didn't want to play any longer.

This whole thing has certainly made me scrutinize the lighting in my basement, and how placement of the subject affects shadows and how to direct light. It's not perfect or even good yet, but I'm getting in practice and learning.

 

[Linkin]

Hehe Caity, you remind me of this girl I knew... she's known as Tails because of her love for rats. Just to give you a few idea's of interesting things you and your ratty can do. She made party hats for her rats and would take pics of them like that. Give your rat a few props to play with and see what happens. ^_^

Nice work on the last photo

 

[Caity]

I just imagined all my girls in little rat sized party hats and almost pee'd my pants! Haha! That's a cute idea. Mostly I am using the rats right now as I have no willing people subjects. (And apparently people are sick of dogs, LOL!) Though it is nice to have some decent shots of the rats, as they are freakishly adorable.

Tonight I did get two of my guy friends to at least stand around so I could practice with our lights down here. They didn't pose or anything but it helped me a LOT. Must get wife on board with taking a few pictures... Those I might share!