Pet Photography - Crits Please?

[TdZPhoto]

I recently started up a pet photography business, and would really like to improve. Crits would be much appreciated - if there's anything I'm doing wrong, don't be afraid to tell me. Camera of choice is the Maxxum 7D, but unfortunately as it's the "house camera", I don't always get a chance to use it. Please go rough, my main aim is to improve my work.

Thanks!
~Tempest Dream Studios

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i7.photobucket.com/albums/y285/TDphoto/6-2-05/jedi01.jpg

i7.photobucket.com/albums/y285/TDphoto/05-22-05/tdriser02.jpg

i7.photobucket.com/albums/y285/TDphoto/05-22-05/riserweb.jpg

[ponder]

I looked at all of your images and this is my opinion.

The horse shots are slightly soft, so I would have liked to see them much crisper. When shooting people it's okay to use a diffusion lens to hide blemishes, IMHO animals should be sharper.

In the first horse image, I would have included more of the rider. Also in this image, you placed the horse dead center which breaks the rule of thirds.

In the 2nd horse image, your placement of the horse in the frame works very nicely, but again the horse is slightly soft in focus.

In the 3rd image I wouldn't have cropped out the ears of the horse at the top of the foreground. Your shallow depth of field is nice in this image because it keeps the viewer's eye on the horse instead of the background.

In the 4th image of the dog, without EXIF data, I don't what type of lens you used, but it looks like you shot it with a wide angle. When shooting portraits it's better to use a medium telephoto or stand back from the subject, since the dog's nose appears bulbous or clownlike which IMHO is not pleasing to look at. Also your background in this image is so bright that it pulls my eye away from the dog too. Here again, I wouldn't have cropped the dog so tightly all the way around. Your focus is soft here too.

Your 5th image of the cat is too dark and the background give the head of the cat a slightly green tinge and the shot is slightly soft too.

Number 6, the cat is too high-key in lighting and the cat's eyes appear as black holes instead of eyes. Also the right side seems a little too dark and the leftside background is very distracting. I would have used a shallower DOF. This image is very soft in focus too.

Ponder

[TdZPhoto]

Thanks a bunch. I see what I need to work on here, but my main question is this;

with the lense I'm using, that seems to be the sharpest it wants to focus. Are there any particular techniques or lenses that might help me better with this?

As for the dark photos, I'm unfortunately aware of that on those shots. I suppose that's what they make Photoshop for. ; )

[ponder]

I'm not familiar with your camera, but I looked at it in Dpreview and it looks like you should be able to get interchangeable lenses for it since it is a DSLR. I would try to get a medium telephoto about 80mm to 100mm. Remember that you have to multiply about 1.6mm to each lens to come up with the actual mm length for a digital lens versus a 35mm lens because of the crop in the digital camera. In 35mm days, a good medium telephoto for portraiture was the 105mm lens. Normal lenses are okay, but you have to get so close to your subject that they're really not that great for animal shots like horses, so the medium telephoto is much better.

Also, you always want to bracket your shots, like 1 stop under, 1/3 stop under right on the mark and maybe 1/3 stop over, just so you get as many different shots as possible.

The other most important thing in portraits is to make sure that the eyes are sharp, because this is the first place people will look when they look at your photos. Soft focus is fine for portraiture if you're trying to show an effect like a misty day or you're trying to hide blemishes in a person's face, but otherwise in animal photography I would try to get the photo as crisp as you can.

Photoshop is nice to have in you pocket, but try to get the images exactly the way you want them and as focused as possible, since this will make you a better photographer.

Sorry, but I'm a purist when it comes to photography. I started shooting and then got my degree in Photojournalism long before we even had PC's, so I learned the technique of photography without the benefit of photoshop. When I wanted to retouch photos, I had to do it with a 0000 retouching brush or a cottonball and some potassium ferricyanide to lighten areas of my BxW photos.

I hope this infor help you.

Good Luck!

Ponder

[Buddha Red]

What do i need to read to be exactly like yall? Please forgive the slang, I live in texas and its common. I really wan't to understand a shot like you do.

[ponder]

Buddha Red,

I started taking pictures when I was 5 years old and never stopped. I have a degree in Photojournalism which really taught me how not only to look, but to see the environment around me and then to try to capture a slice of the moment in time. No one book will teach you this way of looking at images. BytePhoto will help you get where you want to be as well as many other photo sites on the web like www.dpchallenge.com.

If you read the comments and then try to see what the author is talking about in the photos, you will eventually see too.

Posting your own work on the contest page will also help you hone your work to a fine degree too, since there are a lot of really great photographers posting on this site and all of them are willing to help you get better too.

Good luck to you!

Ponder

[Buddha Red]

seems like i found the place to be.

I need to seriously know my camera, i am trying to go way to quick and i will miss the basics. I will certainly take your words to heart. I have used digitals for years, but i have never had a camera that i can actually take quality pictures with. Its not the best out there but i like it.

I think most of my trouble is, i havent set my camera up right for macro shots and im not understanding the basics of speed and apature. I better get to reading about that. no way around it.

thank you so much!

[ponder]

Buddha Red,

Since you're interested in reading about technique I encourage you to either check these two books out from the library if they carry them or to purchase them on Amazon.com. They are John Shaw's Close-Up in Nature by Amphoto, written in 1987. This book was written for 35mm, but the technique can definitely be used in digital photography too. The second book is by Jon Cox and it's called Digital Nature Photography. This one is also published by Amphoto and was published in 2003. Both books are written very well and are very easy to understand.

Since you're new to photography, I would read a chapter and then practice the technique using your camera and when you feel you're proficient at the technique move on to the next technique.

One last thing I recommend is to try to get used to using your camera on manual instead of automatic. Using manual will allow you to learn more about your camera instead of allowing the camera to think for you. The automatic settings can act like a crutch, which can be detrimental to learning the basic techniques. In the old days there was no such thing as an automatic camera and that was a good thing, since the camera would become second nature to the photographer using it.

If you have any other questions as you go through the books, just ask or you can send me a private message. Here's my personal gallery in case you're interested.
http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/s...pe=2&si=ponder

Good luck in your learning!

Ponder

[Boogs]

TdZphoto: I like the way you captured the animal's personality, as for the technicalities I think "Ponder" says it best.

Buddha Red: Thanks for inquiring about books, I read "Ponder's" reply and found it helpful to me too, since I'm also trying to get to know the technicalities better myself.

Ponder: ...and thank you for your advice, your images are marvelous and your knowledge is very worthy.

[Rose9994Yo]

I also taken a phoro from me canon 6. 3 MP camera

Please Give Review

[ponder]

Boogs,
The great thing about BytePhoto is that you can always ask a question and usually get a fairly thorough answer from people who shoot for a living or are serious amateurs. I've learned a lot from this site since I joined in 2/2005.

It's also good to post one or two photos to the contest page, so that people will give you immediate critiques on your work.

I myself love books, since I can read a chapter on something I want to learn to shoot and then go out in the garden and try what it says in the chapter. Most people myself included don't have the luxury of being able to call a professional photographer and ask them questions about something I'm trying to do, so a book is the next best thing to use and you can take it with you in the field if need be too.

Hope to see you post in the future.

Ponder

[ponder]

Rose9994Yo,
I'd be happy to critique your photo(s), but you didn't provide a link to them. Please provide a link and the rest of us will give you some help.

Ponder