Pets with Santa...

[tirediron]

This was a real departure for me, as I've never done this sort of "production line" photography before - there was an average of about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes per pet during the busy periods, and some of them weren't really into posing. I know it's not the best lighting, but going from ferrets to Great Danes, I sort of averaged my requirements and went with that. Overall, I'm reasonably pleased with the way it turned out; of course having a Santa who love animals helped immensely. Comments/critique always appreciated.

Edit: This was a charity shoot, so yes, strictly speaking I guess it shouldn't be in the professional gallery...
1

2

3

4

 

[mwcfarms]

Just my 2 cents John but this is how I see them.

Composition in one bugs me a bit. He isn't looking at the camera and my eye is distracted by the tree off right. But in shots 2 and four you have cropped them to eliminate the tree and I found it more pleasing. Number 3 is great as is because Im engaged by all the people and critters looking dead on at camera.

Anyways thats just my opinion. How did you like doing this? And what did you take for set up?

 

[tirediron]

Thanks! They're definitely not perfect from composition, or artistic points of view, but there really wasn't the luxury of the time to do that. I would have loved to be able to adjust the lighting for the black dogs and different heights/sizes, but it really was a process of compromise. Come up with a set-up that works well for most, and adjust the remainder in post.

I really enjoyed it the shoot, having never done that sort of work, it was a great experience, and got me some good publicity as well.

 

[mwcfarms]

Did you get to play with any of these cuties.

 

[tirediron]

Did you get to play with any of these cuties.

A few. I also learned that (1) Even with a hood on the 24-70 (which is a fairly deep hood) some dogs noses can get by it, and (2) dog nose juice is bloody miserable to wipe off of a lens element!