Puppy Pics

[MeganBays]

Here are some pics of a litter of puppies, C&C please...

#1 - I tried doing several of these, but usually ended up with the grass in focus instead of the dog. Any thoughts on how to not do that?


#2


#3 - If this one is cropped more, would it be better? I'm not real sure how it should look, anyone want to try it?


#4 - After reading tips from another post, would it still be acceptable to have parts cut off in a pic like this where the pup is getting held up?

 

[dak1b]

wat kind of dog?

 

[MeganBays]

wat kind of dog?

These are Dutch Shepherds, each pic is a different pup.

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

1. Nicely done; the sharp shadow on his shoulder is a slight detriment, but otherwise it's a good image. The focus seems fine on this monitor and I like the fact that you've got some sense of motion with his (her?) back feet off of the ground. With respect to your question on focusing, for this sort of 'action' shot, I would use single point, continous-servo focus (Nikon-speak, or the your brand's equivalent).

2. Very cute, good pose. The curious look and tongue really add. The setting isn't ideal as the bright sky and complexity of the background distract the eye. A plain, unfocused homogenous background more like #1 would be ideal. As well, notice that the face is rather dark. You could either spot-meter the face to acheive correct exposure, or (better) use fill light such as reflector or off-camera flash to reduce the dynamic range.

3. Definitely needs to be cropped much more tightly on the dog. Way too much "extra" stuff in the background and open space, both of which take the eye away from the subject. Ideally zooming in more tightly at the time of exposure would be the way to go; cropping this image is going to leave you with a rather small, low-quality image I suspect. Always be cognizant of your backgrounds. Had you moved just a fwe degrees right, you would have had the trees and grass vice the bright vehicles. Also, try and minimize your DoF in shots like this when possible.

4. Very much so. Cropping body parts whether animal or human is fine if it's done boldly and so that it appears deliberate. You want to avoid little bits of limbs (toes, fingers) being cut off, or lateral bisections, as well as cropping through joints. Other than needing just a little fill light image left, this image is fine. A slight crop to put the pup off-centre wouldn't go amiss.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John