Aloha's 2nd birthday is this week. The bathmat is on the floor because she doesn't have any traction on the paper, and kept sliding down. The "cake table" is the plant stand that we put her food dish on.
It's hard to light a dog with a black face and light colored body. Usually the face is all blocked up and the body is washed out looking. 5 lights. Key light on the right side into a white umbrella, fill on left through a huge diffusion panel. Background light laying on the floor behind her (partially cloned out) to create the halo around her. Snooted light on the left side of her head, and gridded light on the cake from the right.
Post processing....
* Crop
* Slight levels adjustment
* Clone out part of the background light (behind her foot).
* Screen layer to lighten parts of her face
* Multiply layer to give some density to the cake and its background
* Resize, sharpen, SFW
Post challenge....
I had this idea for a birthday card weeks ago, and finally made the time to do it when this challenge came up. The card looks fabulous, exactly as I envisioned it. I'm considering doing a whole set of greeting cards. I'm happy with the score, especially considering that it isn't really a classic 'portrait.'
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Place: 10 out of 261 Avg (all users): 6.9154 Avg (commenters): 7.8824 Avg (participants): 6.6635 Avg (non-participants): 7.1856 Views since voting: 3806 Views during voting: 408 Votes: 201 Comments: 28 Favorites: 1 (view)
Oh my goodness...I could only dream of how large the mess is when this big fella goes to the loo! It would have to be in 1 kilogram lots wouldn't it??? ;)
Congrats on the top 10
I'll be very surprised if this doesn't pull a ribbon. Lighting is great, pose is nice, and the expression is priceless. The bright splashes of color from the party hat and cake really make this stand out more from the others.
to die for, oh gosh, how adorable is your model. his calm composure and elegant pose, whilst still looking interesting and have emotion in the eyes is outstanding. Oh and the photographer is pretty good too 10
LOL - wonderful! I think I remember Aloha wearing Christmas lights - we love the name. My girls love this picture. They keep asking if we can look at the "Birthday Doggie" - great job!!!
How in the world did you get that big dog to sit still for this photo. Awesome job. Great lighting and focus. Love the expression. You are definately more creative than I was in this challenge.
There's something irresistably funny about dressing up a giant dog :-) Even if it's just a birthday hat. I'm impressed she's not drooling with food so near! I don't know if I would have used the carpet with it only partly under her; I feel like I should pull it out farther so she can sit her rear on it, too. She looks patient, but not comfortable.
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