C&C Welcome on Roxy Dog Portrait

[waday]

I had some free time tonight, so I decided to take a 'portrait' of my dog, Roxy. I don't know what it is about it, but it seems 'boring' to me.

While I've had my DSLR for a long time, and I've been taking okay pictures, I want to actively get better at this hobby.

I'm fairly new to adding light to photos, so please give me any feedback you can. This definitely has some PP--the original needed to be fixed.

 

[Pejacre]

Looks well exposed and sharp enough. Maybe it seems boring because the dog isn't doing anything interesting or dog-like. Lighting and processing won't change that, unless you shopped it within an inch of it's life into some crazy, dramatic scene.

 

[pthrift]

I think its the chair. It blends well with the lighter color of the dogs fur. Find a background with more contrast, maybe.

Or maybe like Pejacre said; give a dog a bone & let him do doggie stuff

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4. probably at work.

 

[waday]

Thanks for the feedback! Good points. I never thought about the chair color matching her fur and blending in.

She was pretty tired, but she did get a few treats after it. I'll see if I can grab a few shots on our walk in the morning.

 

[waday]

Another shot with her ready to catch the treat…

 

[D-B-J]

Technically all the pieces are here. It lacks dynamism or intrigue--the colors aren't very vivid, the lighting isn't dramatic, etc.

http://www.123inspiration.com/wp-co...Furry-Dog-Portraits-by-Daniel-Sadlowski-9.jpg

Something like that is what I mean--much more dynamic and compelling.

Jake

 

[waday]

Technically all the pieces are here. It lacks dynamism or intrigue--the colors aren't very vivid, the lighting isn't dramatic, etc.

http://www.123inspiration.com/wp-co...Furry-Dog-Portraits-by-Daniel-Sadlowski-9.jpg

Something like that is what I mean--much more dynamic and compelling.

Jake

Thanks for the link. I'll have to take some pointers from his photos.

 

[D-B-J]

Technically all the pieces are here. It lacks dynamism or intrigue--the colors aren't very vivid, the lighting isn't dramatic, etc.

http://www.123inspiration.com/wp-co...Furry-Dog-Portraits-by-Daniel-Sadlowski-9.jpg

Something like that is what I mean--much more dynamic and compelling.

Jake

Thanks for the link. I'll have to take some pointers from his photos.

Looks like he used a softbox or striplight camera left, rim light camera right, and then a spotlight on the background. Not that you need all those lights, just something more... punchy.

Jake

 

[waday]

Looks like he used a softbox or striplight camera left, rim light camera right, and then a spotlight on the background. Not that you need all those lights, just something more... punchy.

Jake

Thanks for the breakdown! I really appreciate it. I'm fairly new to adding light (all I have right now is a hot-shoe flash), so I need all the help I can get! haha :hail:

 

[D-B-J]

Looks like he used a softbox or striplight camera left, rim light camera right, and then a spotlight on the background. Not that you need all those lights, just something more... punchy.

Jake

Thanks for the breakdown! I really appreciate it. I'm fairly new to adding light (all I have right now is a hot-shoe flash), so I need all the help I can get! haha :hail:

Off camera flash is your friend! It can really take your photography to a new level--there's plenty of affordable options out there. Yongnuo is one of the most popular--they sell triggers, flashes, etc, all on the cheap, and have really good reviews.

 

[waday]

Off camera flash is your friend! It can really take your photography to a new level--there's plenty of affordable options out there. Yongnuo is one of the most popular--they sell triggers, flashes, etc, all on the cheap, and have really good reviews.

I want it badly... trying to stick to a budget isn't fun.

 

[D-B-J]

Off camera flash is your friend! It can really take your photography to a new level--there's plenty of affordable options out there. Yongnuo is one of the most popular--they sell triggers, flashes, etc, all on the cheap, and have really good reviews.

I want it badly... trying to stick to a budget isn't fun.

It's called GAS... Gear Acquisition Syndrome. It never goes away, and only gets worse.

 

[waday]

Off camera flash is your friend! It can really take your photography to a new level--there's plenty of affordable options out there. Yongnuo is one of the most popular--they sell triggers, flashes, etc, all on the cheap, and have really good reviews.

I want it badly... trying to stick to a budget isn't fun.

It's called GAS... Gear Acquisition Syndrome. It never goes away, and only gets worse.

Haha. I love that! I'm afraid of that.. or, more importantly, my wife is afraid of that.

Thanks for the tip on Yongnuo. I'll check them out!

 

[KmH]

View attachment 82678

LR has 3 sliders at the bottom of the Basic panel known as the Presence section- Clarity, Vibrance, and Saturation. Camera Raw's Basic panel has the same 3 sliders
Clarity adds/subtracts mid-tone contrast. Vibrance adds saturation to colors that are not already vibrant or subtracts saturation. Saturation boosts/mutes all colors.
I rarely use the Saturation slider, but use Clarity and Vibrance for most images I edit.

Using Camera Raw here, I added Clarity, but subtracted Vibrance. I also added 0.25 EV of exposure along with a bit of sharpening (Amount +25) using the Sharpening panel. (Camera Raw and LR Develop module are essentially the same software.)
I then used Photoshop CC 2014 to select just the wall. I saved that selection.
With the selection active I made a Vibrance Adjustment layer and moved the Saturation slider all the way to the left to remove all the color from the wall.
Next I made an Exposure adjustment layer, retrieved the saved selection, and added exposure to the wall.
I cropped and added a narrow black border.

 

[waday]

View attachment 82678

LR has 3 sliders at the bottom of the Basic panel known as the Presence section- Clarity, Vibrance, and Saturation.
Clarity adds/subtracts mid-tone contrast. Vibrance adds saturation to colors that are not already vibrant or subtracts saturation. Saturation boosts/mutes all colors.
I rarely use the Saturation slider, but use Clarity and Vibrance for most images I edit.

Using Camera Raw here, I added Clarity, but subtracted Vibrance. I also added 0.25 EV of exposure along with a bit of sharpening (Amount +25) using the Sharpening panel. (Camera Raw and LR Develop module are essentially the same software.)
I then used Photoshop CC 2014 to select just the wall. I saved that selection.
With the selection active I made a Vibrance Adjustment layer and moved the Saturation slider all the way to the left to remove all the color from the wall.
Next I made an Exposure adjustment layer, retrieved the saved selection, and added exposure to the wall.
I cropped and added a narrow black border.

Thanks for the edit! I like it!

I like the increased clarity/sharpening/exposure and decreased vibrance! Also, I didn't think about moving it into Photoshop to remove the wall color. Definitely a must with the apartment beige walls!