Pet Portrait?

Another thing that works for me is sitting them on the dinning room table they seem to keep still better and you can get down to their level easy, like this one of my dog and my daughters

IMG_3409-XL.jpg
I gotta say gary....your daughters cute. Whichever one that is.
 
Another thing that works for me is sitting them on the dinning room table they seem to keep still better and you can get down to their level easy, like this one of my dog and my daughters

IMG_3409-XL.jpg
I gotta say gary....your daughters cute. Whichever one that is.
One on the left
 
Make sure you get the doggone dog in good focus! For a suggestion, shoot in VERTICAL orientation if the dog is going to sit up, like on an ottoman or stool--either of which will "localize" the dog and keep him in one, single, simple area, so you can get the background squared away. BOUNCE the flash off of a wall off to the left, with the flash in the hotshoe. Make sure the flash hits the wall IN FRONT OF the dog's ottoman, and that the dog is angled toward the wall so that the lighted-up wall area gives the right bounce to light the dog and put catchlights in both eyes.

Focus: check. Vertical: check. Ottoman: check. Catch lights: check.


Max
by The Braineack, on Flickr
 
Make sure you get the doggone dog in good focus! For a suggestion, shoot in VERTICAL orientation if the dog is going to sit up, like on an ottoman or stool--either of which will "localize" the dog and keep him in one, single, simple area, so you can get the background squared away. BOUNCE the flash off of a wall off to the left, with the flash in the hotshoe. Make sure the flash hits the wall IN FRONT OF the dog's ottoman, and that the dog is angled toward the wall so that the lighted-up wall area gives the right bounce to light the dog and put catchlights in both eyes.

Focus: check. Vertical: check. Ottoman: check. Catch lights: check.


Max
by The Braineack, on Flickr

YES--exactly the kind of shot I was describing!!!!
 
2x 48" soft boxes stacked tall for fill on right with umbrella flash w pocket wizard remote trigger in front, sat dog on stool in front of white reflector panel.. squeaky toy works well to get there attention.
marley
 
Another thing that works for me is sitting them on the dinning room table they seem to keep still better and you can get down to their level easy, like this one of my dog and my daughters

IMG_3409-XL.jpg

Before I scrolled down, I was expecting a photo of 1 dog and 1 daughter. At worst, gsgary's grammar is a bit confusing. Or it's amusing. We all have free choice in our opinions.

But then, my ex and I always called our dogs 'our fuzzy kids'...
 
Well, I shot the dog Friday night and found it quite challenging. If I'd have thought a bit I would have rigged up some kind of light modifier as a lot of shots the lighting just wasnt quite right, not to mention that I'm not too familiar with the flashes yet. I tried her up on a table, but she didn't like being that high and kept wanting down, but she was quite happy at the top of the stairs. Here's my top three pics, I'd love to hear what you think of them

1.
url=https://flic.kr/p/piP5ez]
15297770603_c6db6a7eda_c.jpg
[/url]Lilly V1 by wee_pete, on Flickr

2.
Lilly V2 by wee_pete, on Flickr

3.
Lilly V3 by wee_pete, on Flickr
 
Nice shots! I like #1 and #3 the best with a slight preference to #3.

#2 the lights a little flat and the catchlights aren't quite right in the eyes. It's still an okay shot, but it doesn't stand out.

I'd be happy with these! It can be very difficult getting good shots when an animal doesn't cooperate. I'd say you you persevered.

Well done :)
 
Decent. A bit dark and vignetted.
 
Thanks guys. I'm reasonably happy with them given my limited skill this genre . I'll try and tweek the exposure a bit tomorrow to lighten it up. The vignette is entirely intentional though I appreciate it's not to everyone's taste.

If I was doing it again I'd get a plainer background. A couple of shoot through umbrellas are in the post already!
 
#2 looks a bit dark but I like it and I like the background on that one the most. I also like #3. #1 is also good but there's just something I don't like about it. I can't put my finger on what it is but I prefer #2 and 3 to #1. They are all really good considering you don't have prior experience with puppy photos and I guarantee you did a way better job than I probably would have!
 
Thanks eveyone. Turns out my screen needed recalibrated. Personally I much prefer the pose in 1.

Nevermore: you are maybe picking up my cheat, I didn't manage to get catchlights in both eyes in the original so I duplicated the catchlight.

Here's my latest version after I recalibrated my screen. I've brigtened it, added a small curves adjustment and toned down the vingette

Lilly V1.2 by wee_pete, on Flickr
 

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