This week I took some pictures of this cute little 2 year old Maltese/Poodle mix adopted from the shelter. The owner had her groomed and is entering her into the National Enquirer Beautiful Pet Contest. I took many, many shots, and this is one of the few the woman ordered.
This was my first paid pet portrait. It was challenging because she wouldn't stay still. I used natural light from a window.
Make: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
Model: KODAK DC4800 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA
Orientation: Upper Left (1)
X Resolution: 230.00
Y Resolution: 230.00
Resolution Units: Inches
Exposure Time: 1/45
F Number: 3.40
Exposure Program: Program Normal
Date/Time: 2000:01:11 20:37:05
Date Digitized: 2000:01:11 20:37:05
Shutter Speed: 1/45.25
Aperture: f/3.36
Exposure Bias: 0.00
Max Aperture: f/3.14
Subject Distance (M): 0.78
Metering Mode: Average
Light Source: Daylight
Flash Fired: No
Focal Length (mm): 10.10
Color Space: sRGB
Exposure Index: 340.00
Sensing Method: One chip color area
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Although this image may have an emotion attachment for some, it does not affect me the same way. Dog images are difficult to do, and a great dog shot is near impossible. You have a nice picture here, but by your camera angle and lighting, it seems too much like a snapshot. When working with subjects that are shorter then you, it helps to move the camera down to the level of your subject. This allows us to take in the person/animal at a perspective more fitting to their height. Backgrounds are important to any good portrait. Under the circumstances a drop cloth or some other interesting material under the animal that could reflect some light back up might have helped fill in some of the darkness underneath the dog. The toy is a nice addition if it brings something to the shot. Had the dog been playing with it, it'd have worked, but in this case it seems to take the viewers eye away from the main subject.
Technically the image seems a little soft in its focus. This may be due to a small aperture and it focusing more on the carpet and not the dog, or the shutter speed of 1/45 wasn't fast enough to freeze the movement of the dog. When using the lower level of light in the room, bumping up to ISO200 and a faster shutter speed may have assisted in freezing the action more. I don't feel that the amount of noise added by moving to 200 would have been enough to be noticeable.
I feel that you have captured a nice moment in time for the owner of the dog and that means a lot to them. I feel that with some minor adjustments, the snapshot feel of the photo could be changed to a portrait feel and draw more viewers into the shot emotionally.
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