A Dog and His Boy
One of Keith V.'s Senior Pictures.
One of Keith V.'s Senior Pictures.
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Nov, 2017Views
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Awards
Winner in Animals Make Life Better Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Emotions
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Top 30 rank week 1Categories
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Behind The Lens
Location
This moment was captured in my sister's back yard. It was part of my nephew's Senior session. We were supposed to go to a local park, but I had an unexpected family emergency come up at the same time. So we did a short mini-session and then finished the rest of the shoot on another day.Time
This was taken early in the day on October 7, 2017 at 2:28pm.Lighting
This was shot outside in natural light. It was a crazy day for lighting. It was windy and the sun was ducking in and out of the clouds. We watched the sky for the perfect clouds in order to get the best lighting. Pepper, the dog, and Keith his boy, were so great. They showed great patience and in turn they now have an incredible image as a keepsake of the day.Equipment
For this image, I used my Fuji FinePix S9950W, fixed lens, at f/5.4, ISO_200, without flash. I also had reflector in place in case the sun made a showing.Inspiration
My nephew, Keith, has a true love for all animals and his dog, Pepper, is no exception. Keith was five years old when Pepper became part of the family, so the two of them have developed a deep bond. Because Pepper is an old man now, and the family is not sure how long he will still be here, they requested a couple photos be taken with him. I am not typically a pet photographer, but he was incredible. The love between these two gentlemen can be easily seen. He was so patient sitting there waiting for the perfect moment when the sun went behind the clouds long enough to take the photo. Keith, did well too. I believe it was Pepper's calmness that made it so special. You could feel the emotion just being in the vicinity of these two. He truly is a special animal.Editing
There really was not much this image required in post-processing. I did bring the exposure down, darkened the blues, along with adding some clarity and mild vignetting.In my camera bag
Everywhere I go, I make sure my bag has my Fuji FinePix S2 Pro with a Nikon 70-300mm, 4-5.6 lens and Nikon 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 lens for waterfalls and nature shots that require patience or long exposure. In my hand, I carry my Fuji FinePix S9950W Fixed, 50x zoom lens, for capturing images in the moment. And in my back pocket, I have my Samsung S8+, for those perfect selfies letting everyone on social media in on my adventures as they happen :)Feedback
Patience and Humor. Patience is a must when working with animals. Because Keith is an animal lover, he also wanted pictures taken with his other two dogs and his chicken; of those three animals, it is was the chicken that behaved the best. None of them contained the calmness that Pepper had on this day. You also need a sense of humor. When the chicken gets loose and your chasing it trying to get it back under control, that's a good time. It is also good exercise. On semi-sunny/cloudy days, a 5 in 1 reflector is a nice piece of equipment to keep handy. It gives you the ability to choose how you want to utilize the natural light surrounding you. In my opinion, using it to diffuse sunlight is the best use of it, but that's just me. For new photographers, I would definitely advise getting reflectors and practicing with them. There are so many different light variations you can get out of them. There is an abundance of YouTube videos out there to help give you the in's and out's on how to use them. Of course, you are only limited by your own imagination. Let your creativity lead the way!
