Pics of my English Bulldog

Crimsonandwhite · Jul 3, 2008

As always tell me what I can change and work on....

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brobinson · Jul 3, 2008

1. I think the composition could have been better. I find it mildly distracting that you cut the dog's ear and eye off. If the dog's head was naturally bent in this position, then I think it would have been nice to get a wider focal length and get a picture of the whole head. It's always cute to see dog's turn their head into the "thinking position."

Your exposure is alright, but I see this highlighting/funk on the right hand side of the picture. It's not huge, but worth noting. Maybe a pro can advise on what this is.

In all three pictures, it seems like each picture is slightly off focus. Maybe it's my eyes (it is after midnight), but I think I am right. Did you use AF or MF?

Anything from the pros?

Brendan

kundalini · Jul 3, 2008

Well, after midnight, my eyes are telling me that what you shot in focus is damn sharp. I was gonna say something about a new f/1.8 lens and testing it's capabilities, but then I looked at you sig and I don't see that. I was gonna say to stop the lens down a bit to get more in focus. Now I don't know what to say. I actually like the compositions of all three in their own way, but would like to see a deeper focal plane. I'm also thinking there might be a White Balance issue that can be resolved.

tirediron · Jul 3, 2008

All of these images have minor issues, focus, wb, et cetera. What I would recommend is rather than trying for the 'artsy' shots, work on getting the basics down, and producing a technically correct image. Then, on to creative compositions and unique angles.

Senor Hound · Jul 4, 2008

I concur with what others have said before me. I like the shot, I think its very creative what you're doing. But there are some white balance issues which is where the yellow look comes from (this is common indoors under reguar lightbulbs). And I'd like to see what these would look like with more of the pup in focus. Give us a higher f-stop and see what happens.

BTW, your canine friend isn't a Georgia fan, is he? I'm just kidding with you. Roll tide, and keep shooting!

Crimsonandwhite · Jul 4, 2008

Actually I was experimenting with a new lens, 50mm f/1.7 AF.

Lighting was total crap in my computer room so I assume that is where the WB issues are coming from....

With focus issues, is that more from low light/ simi moving target or camera shake and low focal point? Should I tripod when I get such a shallow focal point?

Senor Hound · Jul 5, 2008

Crimsonandwhite said:
Actually I was experimenting with a new lens, 50mm f/1.7 AF.

Lighting was total crap in my computer room so I assume that is where the WB issues are coming from....

With focus issues, is that more from low light/ simi moving target or camera shake and low focal point? Should I tripod when I get such a shallow focal point?

I don't know what you mean by low focal point (unless you mean close). If you indeed mean close, that might have something to do with it. I would suggest shooting this at maybe an f/4 or f/5.6. It will put more of your pup in focus instead of having both his nose and eyes out.

But some of the issue very well could be blur. If your subject is moving, and you took the shot at 1/15 of a second, you will get 1/15 of a second worth of blur, which can be just enough to make the photo seem fuzzy. Add this in with what shake your hand might have at 1/15 (even a millimeter of shake is enough), and your photos look soft.

However, aperture doesn't affect how much camera shake you have. What will, though, is the corresponding shutter speed. So if these are close-ups, you'll need to probably at least shoot around 1/30 or even better 1/60 to minimize any blur. If you have IS (I'm guessing you have a Pentax or Sony?), you can get away with a lower shutter speed, but ONLY if your subject is stationary. You're the only one that stabilized, your subject is not

As far as the white balances, this is a not a problem exclusive to you by any means. If you look on www.dpreview.com they do white balance tests, and almost EVERY SINGLE digital SLR gives a horribly yellow overcast on Auto WB settingw while under tungsten lights. I don't know why, but I do know you'll be much better off switching to the actual incandescant setting, or even putting in a manual color temperature (if your camera supports this).

I hope I answered some of your questions. I'm a beginner myself, so I understand how frustrating it can be to know there's something not clicking and have no clue what it is. But hopefully the nice people around here can help you (and me) in figuring out our issues.

P.S. If you want an idea of what your depth of field will be before taking the shot (and you don't have a "depth of field preview" button), try this website:

Online Depth of Field Calculator