I prayed for a model, I recieved a dog. C+C

[Dom6663]

I posted this in the General photo gallery section, then scrolled up and saw this section with..10x the people!

Today was the day! I got my new reflector in the mail and wanted to go out shooting. One problem, I had nobody to model for me. Looking over at the hair infested throne in which Tank resides, I noticed a beautiful glow about him. I commanded him to stay, ran and grabbed my camera and reflector and BOOM!

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Feeling inspired I shoved a handful of dog treats into my pocket and ran outside giddy as a schoolgirl in love, my dog smelling the treats followed. Normally this dog is a devil, but when you have a treat in hand he is a saint, I politely asked him to stay right where he was, standing in the snow, while i took about 30 shots of him, holding my reflector with one hand and the camera with the other. Finally, it happend, BOOM!

I gave him the treats as payment for his modeling. And proceeded to walk back towards the house, when he ran in front of me, sat down, and begged for more treats. I stared at him, he looked happy, and despite not having anymore treats (which i presume he didn't know) was quiet obedient. Anyway, I used this as an opportunity to get a different background than snow, and BOOM!

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It should be quiet obvious that these were tampered with in Photoshop. I just wanted to share with you my story of the day and the photos it produced.

 

[gsgary]

Photos are not great but dog is nice

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

These are a good start, but I'm not sure that you're using your reflector to best advantage. In order to get the maximum benefit, it needs to be able to catch and reflect a fairly strong source of light. In #1, judging by the lighting, I would have had it immediately camera right, as close as possible to reflect the light coming in from upper left. This would have reflected some light and life into his eyes. #1 is also a bit of awkward crop with the clipped legs/paws. Try and avoid cutting limbs whenever possible, but if you must do, do so boldly and never at joints.

I love the expression in #2, but I'm curious as to why you chose to shoot this in landscape vice portrait orientation. I would suggest a crop tight to the top of his head and close in on both sides. As well, close out some of the excess catchlights in his eyes.

Again, a great expression in #3, but rather too much empty space on top. It's also somewhat over-exposed suffering from blown highlights on the fur, image right. I would level and re-crop this one, and despite the exposure, it's a nice image. He's got a great, expressive face!

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[Raian-san]

Like tirediron said on #3...too much dead space on the top, it would be better to leave a little dead space on the bottom of the picture on that shot.

 

[Holydeath]

Basically a tighter crop on #1 and #3.

 

[MrsLittle]

I really like #1. Not sure I agree with a tighter crop, I kinda want to see more of the dog instead.