kyleandree

Emma

We rescued Emma from our local animal shelter. She is a American Stafforshire Terrier- Siberian Husky mix

We rescued Emma from our local animal shelter. She is a American Stafforshire Terrier- Siberian Husky mix
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Mar, 2013

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Awards

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Top Choice

+18

Superb Composition

+17

Absolute Masterpiece

+11

Outstanding Creativity

Jaw Dropping

Exceptional Contrast

All Star

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo in the living room of our house. Emma was sitting on the couch in front of the picture window waiting for my wife to come home from work.

Time

Of all the pictures I have taken of Emma this one has definitely been the one that does the most justice showing her piercing blue eyes. At this time of day in the middle of the afternoon the sun is on the other side of the house so her white markings don't get blown out from direct sunlight.

Lighting

Since I don't have an external flask for my camera I wanted to make use of the natural light to properly expose her eyes. The light from the the flash on the camera, even when turned down all the way, didn't turn out the way I would like it too.

Equipment

I took this picture handheld with my Nikon D5000, using my VR 55-200mm f4-5.6 lens. It was shot at f4.2, 1/60s, 800iso, manual setting, at 82mm, with the vibration reduction on. White balance was set to Auto and picture control was on Vivid.

Inspiration

We adopted Emma from the Shiawassee Humane Society, where I volunteer my time taking pictures of the dogs that are available for adoption. She is one of the most loyal dogs and everyday she waits on the couch for my wife to get home from work. Sometimes we wonder if she sits there all day looking out the window when we are gone. I wanted to take a picture that showed her loyalty and show her beautiful eyes that won my wife and I over the first day we seen her.

Editing

I used my Nikon ViewNX software to tweak the picture. I adjusted exposure compensation: -0.3, White Balance to Flash: 5400, Sharpening: 3, Contrast: 2, Highlight Protection: 50, Shadow Protection: 10, Color Booster: 20 By doing so it made the Emma really stand out against the darker background, and while making the color of her coats and her eyes really pop.

In my camera bag

Now I shoot with a Nikon D5200, with a VR18-55mm f3.5-5.6G, VR55-300mm f4-5.6G, Dolica tripod w/ballhead, Nikon remote, Tiffen UV Filters and ND filters, 2 backup batteries, and 2 Sandisk 16GB Class 10 memory cards

Feedback

The best advice I can give to really make pictures of your pets or other animals stick out is to focus on the eyes. I use the single point autofocus on my camera to make sure the eyes are sharp. I find that if you try to use the multi-point autofocus it has a tendency to focus on parts of the face other than the eyes.

See more amazing photos, follow kyleandree

kyleandree

kyleandree

Emma

We rescued Emma from our local animal shelter. She is a American Stafforshire Terrier- Siberian Husky mix

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow kyleandree

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