Tia 1
Jan, 2016Views
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lseven
February 06, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
lseven
February 06, 2016
I assume this is a Griff which I always love to see. Nice capture.Write a comment
JoelRollinsPhotography
June 30, 2018
I own Griffs & have yet to get a capture as good as this one! Well done! Love your work.
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Behind The Lens
Location
At my local rowing club. The dog (called Tia) belongs to one of the rowers, and is down there at every practice session. She is tiny, and the softest, friendliest, most adorable little dog you could imagine!Time
Mid-morning in autumn (you can just make out the fallen leaves on the ground in the background).Lighting
It was a bright but overcast day, which gave terrifically soft and sympathetic lighting. Since this was a grabbed, almost snapshot, photo, there wasn't time to give a great deal of thought to the prevailing light, so it was very helpful that the lighting conditions were as kind as they were.Equipment
Canon EOS 5D mk3, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 EF L IS II USM lens. Handheld at ISO400, 1/500 and f2.8 and 75mm focal length.Inspiration
Opportunity! I was actually there to take rowing pictures that day, but I mainly take photographs of horses and domestic pets. Tia was just so photogenic that I couldn't pass-up the opportunity.Editing
Yes, I edit all my photos on the computer. I have strong views on the advice "try to get everything right in-camera" ... don't bother, because you can't (unless you've got limitless time to adjust settings before taking each picture). The camera will do a decent job at getting things right, but it can never be as good as your eye/brain combination was as you saw the scene, so in my view post-processing is essential to complete any image. I use Adobe Lightroom almost exclusively, dipping into Photoshop occasionally if needed. I tend to like a combination of soft detail and strong, dark blacks, so I tend to reduce highlights and lighten shadows (to bring out detail in both), and then darken blacks (not just in the shadows) to give more contrast. I'll often decrease the clarity a little to give a more sympathetic feel to a portrait (it depends on the subject), and very often add a subtle hint of dark vignette, just to draw the eye to the centre of the photograph (as is the case with this photo).In my camera bag
Canon EOS 5D mk3 + BG11 battery grip, Canon EOS 7D, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 EF L IS II USM, Canon 24-105 f4 EF L IS USM, Canon 50mm f1.4 EF USM, Canon 2x extender mk3, Canon Speedlight 430 EX, Manfrotto tripod, Manfrotto monopodFeedback
Be quick! Small dogs tend not to hang around in one place very often, so be familiar with your equipment so that you can quickly get into position and shooting without peering at your dials wondering what to adjust first. Get down low to the animal's eye level (aerial shots of dogs are usually dull) and use as wide an aperture as you can to throw the background completely out of focus. This will often mean that not all the head will be in focus either (Tia's nose in this shot is a little blurred), so make sure that the eyes are the focal point. If they're not in focus, the picture just won't work. If you can stop down slightly to get the whole head in focus, so much the better. Ensure you get at least some shots fired as soon as possible; they're your "banker" shots. If your subject has stayed still, you've now got time to think a little more about some alternate settings (such as different depth of field, a tighter composition, etc.) knowing that you've at least got some photos "in the can".
