This is my first submission.
Took me 2 days to finaly get a decent pictures of my dog sleeping in my bed.
It\'s the place where he is the most comfortable.
He is also a comfort for us.
Looking forward for your comments.
Statistics
Place: 213 out of 253 Avg (all users): 4.3440 Avg (commenters): 6.0000 Avg (participants): 3.8434 Avg (non-participants): 4.6519 Views since voting: 1148 Views during voting: 300 Votes: 218 Comments: 13 Favorites: 0
Let me preface my comments by saying this: I don't normally cut and paste comments, but I just finished a critique on a shot very similar to yours. Since most of the points from that shot apply here, I'm going to use this approach. I want you to know ahead of time so that if you look at my other comments you don't feel cheated...
I see that this is your very first entry into a challenge here at DPC. Please don't let your low score discourage you from future participation!
At first glance it appears to be just a snapshot. There is nothing wrong with a snapshot but they only really have value to the person who took them or those that know the subject well. To everyone else there is not really anything to hold their attention.
This shot could be improved in many ways. The first thing is the angle that you shot from. This looks like you shot it from a standing or seated position and from slightly above the subject of the shot. In other words you shot it from YOUR point of view. When shooting kids and pets this doesn't work so well. You need to get down to THEIR level and shoot them more directly! This may mean getting down on your hands and knees or even lying right on the floor. Try this sometime with your dog. Shoot him from a standing position then again from down at his level. You will see a significant improvement assuming you can keep the dog from licking the lens. :-P
The next thing that would help to improve this would be to take out any element of the shot that doesn't really ADD to the shot. In this case it would be the various different blankets and comforters on the bed. The different colors don't fit well together and even clash in places (dark blue against the white.)
Your lighting here is not very creative. It looks like you used the flash on the camera. You can see this in the harsh shadow behind the dogs right ear (left in frame) and the way the coat glows where it faces the camera. It takes all the depth out of the shot and makes it appear very flat. One of the first things that I learned when I arrived here at DPC was to NEVER use the flash on the camera as is. Sometimes you need to use it but most times you can get away without it with some care. Use a tripod to keep the camera still with the slower shutter speed. Use other lights to light up the scene preferably from one side or the other. Use more than one light. One for the main lighting and another to fill in the darker side a touch (this could even be a simple reflecter like a piece of white poster board). If you think that you MUST use your flash you can difuse it a tad by taping a couple layers of tissue paper over the flash. This will help to soften it up. You say that you tried for 2 days to catch a shot of the dog on your bed. With a little planning, you could have your lighting set up ahead of time for just such a moment
The angle that you shot from here is not very flattering to the dog. One of the first things that I noticed is you shot right into his left ear (right in frame) and that's not the most attractive part of a dog. Choosing different angles to shoot from and taking several shots will give you more choices when picking the final shot.
I know that this is a lot to think about when trying to take a picture but if you practice and take lots of pictures, soon it will be second nature! Once again, please don't be discouraged by your score or your placing in the challenge. We all started somewhere and even the best photographers take bad shots once in a while! I'll be looking forward to your future shots.
He does look like mine... His name Chouwy by the way (pronouced chewy)
Chouwy is almost 2 years old and he has to mush energy, lots of fun, especialy with the new baby comming.
Thanks for the comments... I'll try to do better next time, but for a first... I'm realy happy... The only fact that I participated is good for me.
Thanks
As I look at this foto, I am crying.. I could not believe it.. I had a dog identical in everyway as this one.. He was 14 years old when we had to have him put down.. He was in such bad health.. But, he loved his family so much, he just kept hanging on.. I am giving this a 10, if I never win a contest myself.. In memory of my loving best friend... His name was tiquila..
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
