Thank you Cindi!
I have been trying to get a decent updated photo of Da’ Girls for several weeks without ANY success. Think about trying to do a portrait of two puppies together—Mission Impossible. One goes one way and the other goes other way—that’s the play-by-play for such a shoot. I must admit I was getting a little discouraged by the experience. Then I read Cindi’s post and my life had meaning again.
I shot each of the girls separately and then combined the shots in Photoshop CS5. Since I did not have an assistant and was both cameraman and treat-distributor, I used Auto-Area AutoFocus, which automatically focused the camera to the closest subject in the viewfinder. Overall, I think it did a good job in keeping Da'Girsl in focus. Combining the two phots was very simple since both of the shots were shot on a white background and with consistent lighting and camera settings.
Blaze (left) is currently about 5 pounds and Pepper (right) is about 5 pounds 9 ounces. The only problem that I had with the images was that Pepper stood a little closer to the camera and therefore appeared even bigger than she is relative to her sister. I adjusted Pepper’s position and size to more closely match Blaze’s.
I was not happy with our hair stylist for the shoot. I wanted an elegant, sophisticated look but I got more of a punk-rock look. And, even though I paid handsomely in treats, I think that the Da' Girls gave me there “driver’s license” pose rather than the elegant, sophisticated look that I wanted. I guess that I will need to give them better directions next outing—and yes, there will be a “next” outing.
Enjoy
Camera settings: Nikon D3, ISO 200, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 48m, f/16 and
1/180th of a second with two Elinchrom 500BxRi Monolights at an
angle to the subject (see lighting diagram).
Post Processing:
Lightroom 3: Used white balance eye drop to make both backgrounds a consistent white, set black point, and added contrast with a mild curve.
Photoshop CS5: Combined two images, cleaned up background and used nik Color Efex filters Detail Enhancer and Tonal Contrast to bring out details within Blaze and Pepper.
I have been trying to get a decent updated photo of Da’ Girls for several weeks without ANY success. Think about trying to do a portrait of two puppies together—Mission Impossible. One goes one way and the other goes other way—that’s the play-by-play for such a shoot. I must admit I was getting a little discouraged by the experience. Then I read Cindi’s post and my life had meaning again.
I shot each of the girls separately and then combined the shots in Photoshop CS5. Since I did not have an assistant and was both cameraman and treat-distributor, I used Auto-Area AutoFocus, which automatically focused the camera to the closest subject in the viewfinder. Overall, I think it did a good job in keeping Da'Girsl in focus. Combining the two phots was very simple since both of the shots were shot on a white background and with consistent lighting and camera settings.
Blaze (left) is currently about 5 pounds and Pepper (right) is about 5 pounds 9 ounces. The only problem that I had with the images was that Pepper stood a little closer to the camera and therefore appeared even bigger than she is relative to her sister. I adjusted Pepper’s position and size to more closely match Blaze’s.
I was not happy with our hair stylist for the shoot. I wanted an elegant, sophisticated look but I got more of a punk-rock look. And, even though I paid handsomely in treats, I think that the Da' Girls gave me there “driver’s license” pose rather than the elegant, sophisticated look that I wanted. I guess that I will need to give them better directions next outing—and yes, there will be a “next” outing.
Enjoy
Camera settings: Nikon D3, ISO 200, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 48m, f/16 and
1/180th of a second with two Elinchrom 500BxRi Monolights at an
angle to the subject (see lighting diagram). Post Processing:
Lightroom 3: Used white balance eye drop to make both backgrounds a consistent white, set black point, and added contrast with a mild curve.
Photoshop CS5: Combined two images, cleaned up background and used nik Color Efex filters Detail Enhancer and Tonal Contrast to bring out details within Blaze and Pepper.
Ha ha ha! They are adorable, though I do see the punk rocker vibe going on! You really really need an assistant when attempting to photograph puppies (or any animal for that matter), it makes for a lot less frustration all around. I really don't live that far from you, call me! Also, if you can find some sort of container or ottoman or stool or chair, those things help contain the heathens for a few seconds. Still, this is a great shot and you will be glad you have it to look back on their baby-ness.
ReplyDeleteI love the punk rock look. It goes with Da' Girls.
ReplyDeleteAnne
Maybe you should adapt and make the photos available to a punk rock magazine. Like the look.
ReplyDeleteDebbie