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Hello friends!
Would you please help me pare down my photos of the first puppy litter photo shoot I have done to the best one or two of each set? I would like to start building a professional physical portfolio, and want to glean wisdom on what makes a portfolio-worthy image.
This first set is of Puppy #1, a darling “true blue” Australian Cattle Dog (AKA blue heeler) named Georgia.
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Any critique on certain photos will be appreciated as well, as I would like to re-edit the ones that need it!
Thanks everyone!
Personally, the third photo in the first set is my favorite, although if possible I would crop out distractions and edit it a little differently (see attached). The way I cropped it is intended to simplify the scene and draw all attention to the puppy.
Just a few initial thoughts:
– Start with clean, simple backgrounds. And if you use a backdrop, be sure to iron out wrinkles. 🙂
– In editing, I would avoid white vignettes. They draw attention to themselves rather than the subject.
– I think the angle of the puppy in the photo I’ve attached is one of the best.Keep growing and learning, Brieanna! 🙂
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Ah, thanks.
I see how you brightened the puppy’s face. That is lovely.
Interestingly enough, I couldn’t iron out the wrinkles in any of the backgrounds, because I was shooting at another’s home, and they (and I) didn’t have time for me to iron over there. The nice lady didn’t mind the wrinkles, and suggested I roll the backdrops in balls rather than fold them, so the wrinkles would be even. I think next time I will use a roll paper backdrop so there are no wrinkles. I agree that they don’t look professional. 🙂
Interestingly enough, I couldn’t iron out the wrinkles in any of the backgrounds, because I was shooting at another’s home, and they (and I) didn’t have time for me to iron over there.
Wow, that’s tough. Good job working with that, then. Those are the kind of experiences that are great opportunities to learn and grow 🙂
Set 1
Pict 1: Reject – one eye is partly closed, looks like birth defect rather than wink
Pict 2: 4 – pup not looking fully into camera
Pict 3: 4 – nice full-on look at camera. I like Lydia’s edit. I find the lime green color distracting. Unless it has specific meaning, I’d selective de-saturate that to a tone that matches the pup or background.
Pict 4: 5 – I like the position of the ears better than in Pict 3
Pict 5: 3 – pup not looking directly at the camera – looks like it is interested in something off cameraSet 2
Pict 1: 4 – pup looks like it might be chewing on the hat. Lime green in collar ties in to flowers so it isn’t distracting in this shot. To me, this looks like pup is mischievous, and I love it!
Pict 2 – 5: 3 – pup pose, look, ears less attractive than other shotsSet 3
Pict 1: 5- – I like this a lot, but that background on the right side is very distracting. I can’t decide if the lime green color is a distraction, or if it adds a nice pop of color. You might be able to fix the background with a lot of cloning / editing.General comments: I really like your use of the hat and the stool with the pup. I’m not sure about your choice of different patterns for the background and the foreground cloth. You might want to explore a bit with a narrower depth of field, to draw the viewer’s eye directly to the pup, rather than having to lead the eye to it.
Comments are FWIW – I’m a fully amateur photog, so hat’s off to you for doing a paid shoot!
@lenspirationlydia Haha, yes it was a bit. Thanks!
@dotremain Thank you for the wonderful critique!
Set 1:
#1: I totally agree about the closed eye looking like a defect. Thanks for that remark. 🙂 I’ll pull it out of Lightroom.
#3 I actually de-saturated that same puppy’s collar in some other poses of her, but forgot to in this set! Thanks!
#4 This one is one of my favorites, as well.
#5 I agree, but I also love the pose of the cute head.Set 2:
#1 Thanks! I love her pose, too.Set 3:
#1 Ah, yes. I can’t stand the glare from the flash. I will see what I can do with that and the green collar in Lightroom!Thank you again, David! I appreciate your comments. (nicely structured, by the way!:) )
I thought so too, but I think I can be artistic a bit, if I’m releasing it as a work of art instead of trying to be accurate to the true color. 😉 I think it looks pretty cool that way, don’t you?
Much better, @warrior-princess! It might be my screen but the photo still looks a tad on the cool side. And I might give it a slight tug on the rotation, it feels slightly off kilter to me, like it’s leaning a little to the left. But other than that, looking pretty good!
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