noob wanting to do pet photography C&C needed

[SuperMom30]

It's me again You prob all already know my story i have only been shooting a year and really want an SLR but bf does not think my photo's are good enough for an SLR so I am just going to make some side money and by it myself. My mother said I should do Pet Photography or make prints and sell them at the dog shows we go to. However I'm just not sure there good enough or if Im good enough and was wondering if you guys could take a look and give me some C&C

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8.

 

[bigboi3]

you can do it! you posted some pretty good photos. :thumbup:

 

[DavidElliot]

6 looks like a snapshot to me. my favorite one is 3. great shots. you're doing a great job without an slr. dont listen to your bf.

 

[swimmom]

Nice pics! I really like #2, #5 & especially #8.

 

[Josh66]

really want an SLR but bf does not think my photo's are good enough

Wow, way to be supportive.

Your pictures look fine.



...And I know "the camera doesn't matter", but I think you will notice a difference when you get an SLR.

 

[itznfb]

^^ seriously i was just about to say the same thing

all but #1 and #6 are great.
#1 and #6 are good but nothing an average p&s user couldn't reproduce.
you definitely seem ready for a dslr

 

[Laika]

2, 3, & 5 are all very nice! Number 2 is different and well executed.

You obviously know what you are doing to get the best out of your camera. Getting a dSLR is the next step.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

as photos but not very good as pet photos. With most of those you are pleasing yourself. With pet photos you have to please the pet owner and most people are not very artsy.

#8 is the most interesting photo that could also sell as a pet photo. If you find an owner who appreciates B&W.

I agree that the Yorkie shot looks a bit too much like a snap shot and it has a horrible shadow behind him.

The first one, dog in the water, is a good example of the limitation of a point and shoot. With an SLR you'd be able to use a polarizing filter and get rid of some of the reflections on the water. It might work as part of a series. But, by itself, I don't think it shows enough of the dog.

Also, in photo #4, the earth is tilting and I feel like I'm going to fall off. It may be that there is actually a slope behind the dog but since there is no point of reference it just look like the photo is tilted.

#3 and #5 are good both as photos and pet photos.

It seems to me that when you apply the rule of thirds, it is by accident since, in enough of the shots, the subject is dead center. So, learn the rule of thirds, get down to the animal's level, and stay away from water for the time being.

Overall, I like your photos but they are not very good as pet shots. Put yourself in the shoes of your clients and you'll figure out what kind of portraits to produce. And keep in mind that WalMart or Sears crank out a lot more portraits than the average photo studio because most people, once more, are not very artsy.

Not to say you can't sell artsy stuff. After all, I hated wedding photography so much that I started marketing myself as an artistic wedding photographer and I ended up making more money, more easily. Anything is possible but you have to keep in mind that your location plays a big role in what you can or cannot do.

Good luck.

 

[SuperMom30]

Thank you guys so much :hug:: It really means a lot to me:blushing: I know if there is one place to come to get honest C&C it's here! So it has made me feel a little better about my photo's. I think I will give it a go and try doing the pet photography so I can buy my SLR. Do you know what someone would charge for a pet portrait? I will be shooting on location in there home, at beach, or where ever they would like in town. As my bf will not let me convert our screened in porch into a studio I think outdoor or in home pics will turn out better anyway. Again thank you all:hugs:

 

[SuperMom30]

as photos but not very good as pet photos. With most of those you are pleasing yourself. With pet photos you have to please the pet owner and most people are not very artsy.

#8 is the most interesting photo that could also sell as a pet photo. If you find an owner who appreciates B&W.

I agree that the Yorkie shot looks a bit too much like a snap shot and it has a horrible shadow behind him.

The first one, dog in the water, is a good example of the limitation of a point and shoot. With an SLR you'd be able to use a polarizing filter and get rid of some of the reflections on the water. It might work as part of a series. But, by itself, I don't think it shows enough of the dog.

Also, in photo #4, the earth is tilting and I feel like I'm going to fall off. It may be that there is actually a slope behind the dog but since there is no point of reference it just look like the photo is tilted.

#3 and #5 are good both as photos and pet photos.

It seems to me that when you apply the rule of thirds, it is by accident since, in enough of the shots, the subject is dead center. So, learn the rule of thirds, get down to the animal's level, and stay away from water for the time being.

Overall, I like your photos but they are not very good as pet shots. Put yourself in the shoes of your clients and you'll figure out what kind of portraits to produce. And keep in mind that WalMart or Sears crank out a lot more portraits than the average photo studio because most people, once more, are not very artsy.

Not to say you can't sell artsy stuff. After all, I hated wedding photography so much that I started marketing myself as an artistic wedding photographer and I ended up making more money, more easily. Anything is possible but you have to keep in mind that your location plays a big role in what you can or cannot do.

Good luck.

Thank you for your honesty and I will sure work on it and try some other shots!

I will touch on a few of your C&C's the 1st on was a serise but the dog had mange so the out of water shots did not make him look that great and the one I loved of him his face turned out really soft. here are the serise of him. I just did not care for them.

#4 was a hill but I made it straight is this better?

So would I have better luck shooting as am artistic pet photographer? Or should I just put it on the back burner till I get better?

 

[musicaleCA]

Damn; if it wasn't for the blur I think I'd love that first shot in the above post. There's a nice expression going on there, and I bet that you could have more easily caught it with better gear. A tight crop on the face would make that photo. Unfortunately, because of the blur, I would, personally, toss it.

I agree with the sentiment above; you're definitely ready to get yourself a solid DSLR. I would bet that the pet owners would indeed buy some of those photos too. Much of the time, TMK, pet owners just want pictures of their pets. If you can bring them the quality of work in some of your photos above, then I'm sure there will be people who'll pay you for your work. Especially numbers 3 and 8 in the first post. I have a thing for cats though. :greenpbl:

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Yes, #4 looks much better this way but I probably would have gotten rid of the dark area altogether and crop some of the green on the right. You want more space in the direction the pet (or person for that matter) looks. And again, rule of thirds. If you don't know what that is, google it. It is a basic rule of composition that too many people here don't seem to understand.

As for the dog with mange, I like the 3rd one enough but it would be a lot better if you could see more of his body. Meaning if he was turned some more.

To address the equipment part of your original post, I would say that the equipment does not make the photo, the photographer does. Learn to use what you have with all its limitations. Better equipment makes the work easier but not better. A badly composed image is bad whether you are shooting it with a point-and-shoot or with an expensive SLR.

I do not want to discourage you because I do like some of your photos but they seem to be accidents more than anything else. Photography is not easy but it is not that hard to learn either. Digital photography makes it easier to learn as you don't have to spend either time or money making prints. But you still need to learn the ABCs.

And you will find the ABCs of composition in a design book rather than a photo book. When I went to art school I thought I was wasting my time except for my design professor's two classes. I quit school soon after taking his second class and most of the kudos I have gotten since have been about my compositions.

Another thing I seem to see a lot of on this forum is people cropping left and right. As an old school photographer, I learned to do my cropping in camera. Another way to say that is: when I shot the picture. You should not need to crop your photos after the fact.

Learn to shoot the photo you want and you will never crop again. Honestly though, with pets, it is easier said than done. Pets are harder to pose than people

"So would I have better luck shooting as am artistic pet photographer? Or should I just put it on the back burner till I get better?"

Marketing yourself as an artistic photographer allows you to get away with not doing the commonly expected thing. It does not, however, allow you to sell a sub-par product. You may be able to get away with it for a while but, eventually, it would catch up with you. When I marketed myself this way I had the huge advantage of hanging in galleries on a regular basis. That is to say that it wasn't just me saying "I am an artist!"

I am brand new to this forum so I still don't know all its possibilities but, if you can, let me know when you post new photos and I'll be happy to let you know what I think.

By the way, no need for that red-faced smiley. You are learning and we all did at some point. Most of us are not born knowing a good photo from a bad one. And I'll give you a gold star because you seem willing to learn. And that is very important.

 

[SuperMom30]

Thank you all very much! I will take my time and read the ABC's of photography and the rule of thirds. It's funny because when I first strated shooting I did a lot of shooting with 3eds and he (and others) kept nit picking me to death about needing to center what Im shooting...I just learned a little about it now but had always liked the way my photo's looked before when useing the RoT...now just got to beat all the centering back out of my head Again thank you all so much for taking the time for C&C. I think I will wait and just work on geting better. Im so worried about doing a poor job and word of mouth geting out that I suck so would just rather shoot and shoot until I feel better about it.

 

[Stilltime]

i have only been shooting a year and really want an SLR but bf does not think my photo's are good enough for an SLR

It sounds like you need a new boyfriend, not a new camera.

 

[InTheShoot]

I think your photos are really great - and I do think that if you had a DSLR your pics would be fantastic . They are very artsy - they remind me of looking through a calendar - and maybe that's something to keep in mind??
I think you need a lot more support though to believe in yourself, so from now on, don't go to your bf, come here - and good on you for trying to save on the side for the camera!!

Good luck, look forward to seeing more!