First post, pet photography

[FJ94]

Hello all!

This is my first post, so I hope it's in the right category! Just discovered this forum, and you guys seem like a knowledgeable bunch so figured I'd post some of my pictures up for critique!

I shoot mostly pets, usually dogs and horses with a few cats once in a while. Would love any tips you guys have! I don't charge for my pictures and don't ever plan on charging; this is simply for fun.

These were all taken with a 40D and either a 50mm f1.8 (first picture), or a 70-200mm f4.


IMG_5490 by fancysjoe, on Flickr


IMG_7018 by fancysjoe, on Flickr


IMG_7026 by fancysjoe, on Flickr


IMG_5853-3 by fancysjoe, on Flickr


IMG_6972 by fancysjoe, on Flickr

Thanks!

 

[tirediron]

Welcome to TPF; always nice to see another iceback around here! Nice work - #3 is a great image, and I love the 'smile' you've captured in #5. One observation I will offer is perhaps consider some less centered compositions, and maybe tighter crops.

 

[Braineack]

!!!!!!!

 

[FJ94]

Welcome to TPF; always nice to see another iceback around here! Nice work - #3 is a great image, and I love the 'smile' you've captured in #5. One observation I will offer is perhaps consider some less centered compositions, and maybe tighter crops.

Thank you! I have played around with different compositions but for some reason the centered, wide crops have always been my favourites. I'll definitely try to get out of my comfort zone and work more on them, though!

 

[Braineack]

I think centered and wide works in all 4 of those shots.

 

[pgriz]

If I'm going to pick nits, the ones that I would pick would be the little bits of grass in #2 & #5 on the right side of the frame. But they would be nits. Beautiful animal shots.

 

[limr]

I think centered and wide works in all 4 of those shots.

I agree. Might not work for all, though, and it would be good to become comfortable with other options.

Beautiful shots, all of them. To me, they really feel like there's a connection to the animals and that makes them interesting beyond the visual merits of the images. My favorites are the two horse shots and the running dogs.

 

[FJ94]

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate the comments.

I hadn't even noticed the blades of grass in #2 and #5, thanks for pointing them out!

 

[pthrift]

All the shots look really good- 5 is probably my fav

 

[annamaria]

Agree with limr. Beautiful, my fav are the horses and running dogs as well.

 

[FJ94]

Thanks.

Just realized I forgot to add some cat pictures. I find them much, much harder to shoot than dogs, for some reason.


IMG_5322 by fancysjoe, on Flickr


IMG_5388 by fancysjoe, on Flickr

 

[MikeFlorendo]

I like all your photos but I see the first cat shot (which is my favorite) is off centered and the 2nd is tightly cropped. Did you post them on purpose after the critique? I like the DOF on the first cat shot it makes his/her eyes just pop.

 

[FJ94]

I like all your photos but I see the first cat shot (which is my favorite) is off centered and the 2nd is tightly cropped. Did you post them on purpose after the critique? I like the DOF on the first cat shot it makes his/her eyes just pop.

I actually didn't even think about the critique when I posted these, they were just the first 2 cat pictures I found. But you're right, they're pretty different from the photos in my original post, and quite different from my usual style! Will be interesting to see what everyone thinks of the composition/crop in these.

 

[limr]

I think the compositions and comps work well with the cat shots. All of the shots seem appropriate to go with the different sense of the animals - their personalities, their behaviors, the relationships between animal and human. The tight crop of the horse suggests intimacy because a horse is a big animal, but you're up very close to him (or her?) The wider crop for the dogs tells me they are small but have big personalities and need space. Plus, they take up more of the frame so the proportions don't go too out of whack. Cats are smaller, for one, and while they can certainly have big personalities, they don't express them in that sort of expansive way that dogs do. Cats will communicate in more subtle ways, so you need to get closer into the little nooks they get themselves into, and that again requires a bit more of an intimate feel. In both cat pictures, the eyes really capture the attention and to achieve that, you've got to get closer, crop more tightly.

Perhaps that's why it's hard to photograph cats. They're contrary little things, aren't they? They'll be perfectly posed with very direct eye contact and as soon as you get the camera, they look away or jump off their perches and go do something very unphotogenic. Brats. I do love 'em, though

Feel free to call me crazy if you want

 

[pgriz]

I think the compositions and comps work well with the cat shots. All of the shots seem appropriate to go with the different sense of the animals - their personalities, their behaviors, the relationships between animal and human. The tight crop of the horse suggests intimacy because a horse is a big animal, but you're up very close to him (or her?) The wider crop for the dogs tells me they are small but have big personalities and need space. Plus, they take up more of the frame so the proportions don't go too out of whack. Cats are smaller, for one, and while they can certainly have big personalities, they don't express them in that sort of expansive way that dogs do. Cats will communicate in more subtle ways, so you need to get closer into the little nooks they get themselves into, and that again requires a bit more of an intimate feel. In both cat pictures, the eyes really capture the attention and to achieve that, you've got to get closer, crop more tightly.

Perhaps that's why it's hard to photograph cats. They're contrary little things, aren't they? They'll be perfectly posed with very direct eye contact and as soon as you get the camera, they look away or jump off their perches and go do something very unphotogenic. Brats. I do love 'em, though

Feel free to call me crazy if you want

Leanore, the animal whisperer. (that's a compliment, in case you're wondering )