Home › Forums › Photo Critique › My Dog Braveheart
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Warrior Princess.
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October 8, 2022 at 1:09 am #72763
Warrior Princess
ParticipantHello everyone!
Here are some photos I have taken of my two-year-old Texas Heeler boy (half ACD, half Aussie) and my sister’s 3/4 Aussie 1/4 ACD boy named Western.
Do you have any suggestions on my composition, lighting, angle, etc?
These were taken with my Kodak EasyShare Point and Share camera.
Thanks for your constructive criticism!
-Brieanna
October 8, 2022 at 3:12 pm #72832William Frazer
ParticipantI think the most significant points to underline are these.
#1. Keep your background just that. A background. You did this well in pictures 2 (1484) and 4 (1608). They’re simple and not distracting.
#2. Keep your hand steady and you shutter speed high enough. Did you notice some blurriness in the first picture (1481) as well as in the 2nd (1485) and 5th (1608)? Your shutter speeds in those pictures are fairly slow (none faster than 1/80th) Learn about shutter speed here, here. and here
#3. Finally, experiment with eye-level perspective. In all the shots except the last (1608), you’re either not quite, or not at all, at eye-level with the dog. When I look at those pictures, I feel no sense of “connection” to the dog. The first three almost look like accidental shots; the dog was walking past, and someone happened to bump the shutter button.
But that last shot is great. (expect for that motion blur.) The dog’s eyes – the life of the picture – are visible and shining brightly. This picture, alone of the five, connects me to the dog, because of the eye-level composition. The dog itself is just bright enough for me to appreciate the texture of the fur, but not so bright it looks like an apparition. The background is complimentary and simple.
You can find some great pictures of dogs at this website and glean ideas.
Hope this helps,
William.October 8, 2022 at 9:47 pm #72833Warrior Princess
ParticipantThank you so much, William!
I was very inspired by your beautiful website, and will keep all of your tips in my photography notebook. I had never thought of the power of taking photos of my dogs at eye-level before. (By the way, if I lived in Canada, I would LOVE to buy one of your puppies.)
Blessings, Brieanna
October 8, 2022 at 9:55 pm #72834Warrior Princess
ParticipantOctober 8, 2022 at 10:00 pm #72839Warrior Princess
ParticipantP.S I know the first one is not level, haha. 🙂 And the flash in the third one brings out too much detail.
October 12, 2022 at 2:53 pm #72901James Staddon
KeymasterThat’s a beautiful dog! I’d be curious what you could get shooting at golden hour! With golden light around, on the dog, backlight maybe?
October 12, 2022 at 8:23 pm #72935Warrior Princess
ParticipantThank you! He is my baby.
I will try that. What do you think, morning or evening?
October 12, 2022 at 9:43 pm #72939William Frazer
ParticipantI apologize for the lengthy response, in advance.
What do you think of these photos?
#1. Just to be clear, this picture is not taken at eye-level; you’re still shooting from above. Also, the hose in the background is distracting.
However, good job on the position of the dog in the frame. The dog is looking “into” the picture rather than “out” of the picture. Also, it’s great that the dog is centered on the right-hand third line, rather than being centered. (rule of thirds)#2. When I look at this picture, my eyes automatically see (in order) #1. The tree. #2. The bright, bright sky. #3. The wall/gate at the back right. #4. The dog. In theory, all those distracting elements could be arranged differently, but as is, the picture needs quite a bit of re-thinking and re-arranging. Keep trying.
#3. Gorgeous texture in that fur! I just want to reach out and sink my hands into it! Your focus is right on, and I can see each individual hair. I might note that the sheer amount of space that the candle occupies in the frame makes it a bit distracting.
#4. Again, that picture captures the beautiful fur well. This would be a stellar shot if the dog had been sitting on the lawn instead of in a car. As is, the background (as well as that brown object in front of its paws) is a rather distracting.
I might add that taking pictures of an animal in a car could be rather challenging.
Here is a suggestion for you. Take the Foundations of Photography course that James Staddon offers. When it comes to learning the basics and beyond in photography, it’s one of the best courses out there. As professional photography courses go, it is not that expensive (Lenspiration Members get it free!) You’ll learn a lot, and it will make a very real difference in your photos. Understanding those technical details of composition, lighting, and post-processing will improve your pictures significantly, no matter what equipment you use.Your pictures show potential. Keep shooting!
October 13, 2022 at 1:01 am #72940Warrior Princess
ParticipantThanks for your input. I’ll keep those additional tips in mind.
I actually am on week 5 in the Phase I Photography Program Workbook, which directs you to take the Foundations of Photography Course along with other assignments. I am waiting for the funds to buy a mirrorless DSLR, currently, so I just use a point and shoot camera once in a while. (I can’t do it every day, though, because it uses two AA batteries every single day!
Bear with me, as I try to get shots of our dogs when they are looking photogenic, so that coupled with thinking about the composition and surroundings is a bit of a challenge for me at the moment. Perhaps you could give me some ideas on how to take those good shots, instead of so much on what I don’t have right? It’s a bit overwhelming…
October 13, 2022 at 5:40 pm #72959William Frazer
ParticipantHere are a few articles/forum posts with good hints in them.
https://www.lenspiration.com/forums/topic/tips-for-puppy-photography/
https://www.lenspiration.com/forums/topic/livestock-photography/
https://www.lenspiration.com/forums/topic/feline-photos/October 13, 2022 at 6:02 pm #72960Warrior Princess
ParticipantThank you.
October 19, 2022 at 4:24 pm #73054James Staddon
Keymaster@warrior-princess, if you’re using AA batteries that fast, I would recommend getting some rechargeable ones! Here’s an old thread on that that might be helpful: https://www.lenspiration.com/forums/topic/rechargeable-batteries/
October 19, 2022 at 9:00 pm #73058Warrior Princess
ParticipantThanks so much @jamesstaddon! I will be getting the Amazon Basics rechargeable ones. Hopefully my point and shoot camera will take some good pictures for the Communion assignment before I get a “real” camera. 🙂
October 26, 2022 at 2:49 pm #73147James Staddon
KeymasterWonderful! And fyi, I’ve found this to be the best AA/AAA charger that I know of out there: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0148675JA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
October 26, 2022 at 10:18 pm #73158Warrior Princess
Participant@jamesstaddon Thank you very much! The day I sent the last message (Oct 19) I picked up a Rayovac charger with 4 batteries in it at Walmart. I needed them that day to shoot my photos for the assignment, but I’m not sure how wise that purchase was. I hope the batteries last pretty long. They definitely weren’t used up in the two days I used the camera, though!
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