A dog and his bone CC

momo3boys · Nov 21, 2011

I am trying to capture some images for a books. The images will only be thumbnails for small daily digest type material. (basically my boss has been asked to compile his weekly newsletter and we need to replace some of our images because not all of them are reproducible) (my boss thought all images in google were free...*head slap*). So here is my first attempt. The newsletter for this one is called "the dog and his bone". Which one of these do you think might work? Or should I re-shoot?

1.

2.

3.

4. just showing off my well behaved pitbull mix

Dagwood56 · Nov 21, 2011

Not seeing any photos or even a useable link.

Ron Evers · Nov 21, 2011

#4, you should have lowered the camera & turned it to the right so as to include the mans feet & the rest of the dog.

Felix0890 · Nov 21, 2011

I just see snapshots. :/

photo guy · Nov 21, 2011

I like the 1st one the best. The last one won't work due to the shadow of the photographer in it

gsgary · Nov 21, 2011

First shot is out of focus but all are snap shot busy backgrounds

momo3boys · Nov 21, 2011

Really? #2 and #3 have busy backgrounds? I know the focus is off in the first one, but since its just going to be a thumbnail I wasn't sure if it mattered. The last one was just a quick one time shot, I know its not usable.

What would make them better and not 'snap shots'? I got down on his level, got good DOF,.. what did I miss? I'm really trying to learn and get better and would appreciate any constructive advice.

gsgary · Nov 21, 2011

momo3boys said:
Really? #2 and #3 have busy backgrounds? I know the focus is off in the first one, but since its just going to be a thumbnail I wasn't sure if it mattered. The last one was just a quick one time shot, I know its not usable.

What would make them better and not 'snap shots'? I got down on his level, got good DOF,.. what did I miss? I'm really trying to learn and get better and would appreciate any constructive advice.

No but 3 should have been landscape and 2 is framed too far to the right

gsgary · Nov 21, 2011

momo3boys said:
Really? #2 and #3 have busy backgrounds? I know the focus is off in the first one, but since its just going to be a thumbnail I wasn't sure if it mattered. The last one was just a quick one time shot, I know its not usable.

What would make them better and not 'snap shots'? I got down on his level, got good DOF,.. what did I miss? I'm really trying to learn and get better and would appreciate any constructive advice.

Get closer with a longer lens, in this shot the background is not great but i used 180mm@F4

Try and get the eyes, shot 1 has eyes but is soft

momo3boys · Nov 22, 2011

I was dealing with a pretty busy background. Remember this is just a thumbnail for a newsletter. Here is one that is more landscape and probably the crop size I would use for the book.

Before crop to show you my crappy background...

After crop, a little soft though, I was focusing on the bone instead of the eye. I could PS the pole coming out of his ear...

gsgary · Nov 22, 2011

What do you mean, it is just a thumbnail for a news letter. it does not matter what it is for you should always think about the things that make a good shot

momo3boys · Nov 22, 2011

gsgary said:
What do you mean, it is just a thumbnail for a news letter. it does not matter what it is for you should always think about the things that make a good shot

I'm sorry, I really do want to make it the best i can but I'm frustrated I guess. I shot them from close at first then changed to my longer lense because I wanted more DOF. I know I should have focused in the eyes not the bone/mouth, what else can I do to make it better?

theswede · Nov 22, 2011

So thats how you hide a dead body ?

gsgary · Nov 22, 2011

Don't you mean you want less DOF to blur the background ? how long did you spend outside shooting your dog ? getting good shots takes time and patience' take him out somewhere nice and just wait for the shot
here's a few more of mine where i have waited for the right time

momo3boys · Nov 22, 2011

Yeah I meant less DOF.. I was out there for about an hour but the sun was fast fading so I ran out of time. I am learning quickly that photography requires a lot of patience, something I have always been weak in.