Photo of a Black Blob (dog)

[PhotosInParadise]

I have posted on here before about my difficulties taking photos of my black dog outside. I have a cream colored dog and she shows detail in her photos but my black dog does not. I have taken online photography courses, read many books and photography forums, researched on the internet and invested in Canon L series lenses. I mostly use Tv mode, occasionally Manual. I most always use 1/1000 shutter speed as he usually is running fast. I have succeeded there as I never see a running photo of him blurred. Just not enough detail to even show his face. I have asked on this forum if it would help if I upgraded my camera to a ff, the 5d MK III is my budget max. I have been told that perhaps I just need to learn more about exposure and stick with my T5i until I do.

I am not sure what else I can do. Like I said, my brain is saturated with information. I use my camera almost every day. I have attached a photo so you can see what I am up against. It is NOT one of my best overall photos, I have many with the lighter dog much better but as far as the black dog, this photo of him is what I usually get so I used it as an example. I can improve it somewhat in post processing but not good enough and sometimes the more PP do, the softer, duller he gets. If you have any advice I would certainly appreciate it. Also one thing to know, a camera upgrade would not be such a waste of money for me, my SIL would love my T5i to take photos of my grandchildren playing high school sports.

 

[robbins.photo]

Well an upgrade wouldn't kill anyone but it probably won't address the issue your having with these photos. In the photo above a big part of the problem is that your black dog is laying in the shadow of what appears to be a tree or bush of some sort so it's facial features are obscured by that shadow.

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[Ysarex85 80]

View attachment 118583 I have posted on here before about my difficulties taking photos of my black dog outside. I have a cream colored dog and she shows detail in her photos but my black dog does not. I have taken online photography courses, read many books and photography forums, researched on the internet and invested in Canon L series lenses. I mostly use Tv mode, occasionally Manual. I most always use 1/1000 shutter speed as he usually is running fast. I have succeeded there as I never see a running photo of him blurred. Just not enough detail to even show his face. I have asked on this forum if it would help if I upgraded my camera to a ff, the 5d MK III is my budget max.

Not going to help.

I have been told that perhaps I just need to learn more about exposure and stick with my T5i until I do.

I am not sure what else I can do. Like I said, my brain is saturated with information. I use my camera almost every day. I have attached a photo so you can see what I am up against. It is NOT one of my best overall photos, I have many with the lighter dog much better but as far as the black dog, this photo of him is what I usually get so I used it as an example. I can improve it somewhat in post processing but not good enough and sometimes the more PP do, the softer, duller he gets. If you have any advice I would certainly appreciate it. Also one thing to know, a camera upgrade would not be such a waste of money for me, my SIL would love my T5i to take photos of my grandchildren playing high school sports.

When you took the above photo. Did you pause ahead of time and assess the lighting condition? Did you say to yourself, "this is backlight, both dogs are backlit and this stands no chance of working if I don't deal correctly with the backlight?" If you didn't consciously note the lighting condition and then decide how you were going to handle it, then you have a first answer to your question. New hardware isn't the answer. My little $300.00 compact could do the job as long as I did my part; see the light and know what to do in response.

You can't shoot a black dog backlit and not have a serious problem of one form or another.

Joe

 

[PhotosInParadise]

Here's another in full sun. Maybe sun is on the wrong side but that's hard to control as fast as he moves. Still a blob, hard to tell its a dog without his face showing up.

 

[robbins.photo]

The sun is above and behind him which puts his face in shadow. Fill flash would help here, and there are some post processing techniques you can use in Photoshop that work well for this. Do you have Photoshop by chance?

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[PhotosInParadise]

Quoting a post doesnt seem to work so Ysarex (Joe) what would you have done? This is why I am asking on a (Beginner) forum because I dont seem to be understanding "how to" after all my reading/researching.

 

[robbins.photo]

Best bet for shot one, change position so the sun is behind you rather than your subjects.

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[PhotosInParadise]

I have Affinity Photo as I have Mac El Capitan so Photoshop didnt seem my best choice, not to mention monthly fees. Love AP an yes, I can help his photos, I shoot in raw but so often it only helps a little.

 

[Ysarex85 80]

Quoting a post doesnt seem to work so Ysarex (Joe) what would you have done? This is why I am asking on a (Beginner) forum because I dont seem to be understanding "how to" after all my reading/researching.

Your second photo is likewise backlit. Look at the dog's shadow; it falls toward you to the right. Black dog + backlight = fail. First of all: YOU MUST SEE IT before you take the photo. You have to see it and consciously decide what your going to do. I don't want to sound too harsh or too flip but that equation up there would have run through my head and I would have assessed the situation as impossible or not worth the effort and I wouldn't have tripped the shutter. There's little sense in doing something that you know is bound to crash and burn.

The only good solution is to change the lighting. That means fill-flash and/or move.

Joe

 

[zombiesniper113 13]

Place yourself on the other side of the yard in both of the above photos. For the black dog you need the sun at your back and in the dogs face. If not you would need a fill flash.

Last option dye it's fur blonde.

 

[Ysarex85 80]

Quoting a post doesnt seem to work so Ysarex (Joe) what would you have done? This is why I am asking on a (Beginner) forum because I dont seem to be understanding "how to" after all my reading/researching.

I teach photography to college students. I tell them this enough times in a semester that they eventually start throwing things at me:

Amateurs look through the camera and see their subject; Photographers look through the camera and see how their subject is lit.

That's the key. You can learn what to do about the lighting only after you see it. All the electronics in your camera are blind.

Joe

 

[PhotosInParadise]

Thank you all very much. It does get thru to me better by having you tell me about lighting for my specific photos rather than me just reading about lighting in a book/article. Guess that's just me! I have taken photos of him with the sun in front of him and he is badly squinting, making him look ugly, LOL. I guess the answer to that then is to pick a different time of day or a cloudy day.

But thanks again, you have given me a different way of looking at my issue.

 

[dxqcanada2]

Yup, overcast is your friend ... or a reflector.

 

[dennybeall]

Here's a couple of Black Dogs and it's a bright shiny day BUT the dogs are in the shade of a cloud. That light brings out the details in the jet black dogs.

 

[weepete]

Look like your in evaluative metering mode, so your camera is exposing for the overall scene. With your dog being quite a bit darker than the average in the scence it means that your dog is underexposed, with the shadows blending into its dark fur and that's why you can't see detail.

There's a few ways you can try and solve it, as mentioned you could use fill flash to even up the exposure, shoot in more even lighting conditions (like open shade), start bumping in a bit of exposure compensation while you are in Tv until you can see some detail in your dog, or spot meter on your dog and set the exposure for the shadows on your dog.

Note that on the last two you may blow out the background