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Jan, 2014Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Nowhere special, just my family's living room. In/around my home is where I take a lot of my photos. It's convenient, and it makes the times I'm in a different place with my camera more exciting.Time
I honestly don't remember the time, most likely before noon, that's when the sunlight stops flooding in through the front windows.Lighting
The only light source was sunlight coming in through the front windows. Our dog (Pugsley) was lying on the armrest of our sofa, just off to the side of the window. The light shining on him was enough to darken the background significantly.Equipment
I'm not fortunate enough to have anything fancy, my camera is a Fujifilm Finepix s2700, which basically amounts to a point and shoot with a bit more control. But it was an early 2012 Christmas gift from my parents, who knew I enjoyed photography and wanted me to have something better than what I had at the time. The Fujifilm is my only camera, so all my photography on ViewBug is with that.Inspiration
At the time, it was most likely excitement at having a camera that had all these features that I was still trying to figure out and get better at. During that time I'd take my camera around the house probably once a day, to see what new angles or styles I could achieve. While I'm sure to most photographers being able to select your focus is something you'll take for granted, for me it was the best thing my camera could do (and yes, my previous camera was that bad). I still do occasionally take my camera out around the house, have impromptu photo shoots with the pets, it's just not daily anymore.Editing
Yes, off to the right of the dog, in all the black space was the window that provided all the light. I use GIMP for my photo editing; I first adjusted the contrast, so it was stronger, then used the painting tool to completely cover the window and the parts of the couch that could be seen. After that, I made whatever other minor adjustments I thought would improve it. I also remember desaturating the image, although it didn't actually change the colors because they were already muted tones to start with.In my camera bag
I don't actually have a camera bag, and there really isn't any need for it with what I currently have. I may take extra batteries, just in case, but that's all I'd need.Feedback
You'll need either a patient animal or a very lazy one, who will sit long enough for you to get the photo you want. Seriously though, I didn't use anything special for this photo, it is completely possible for just about anyone to make something similar. Even if you don't have sunlight coming through a window, you could use a couple of strong lights and a dark background and get a similar result. As a matter of fact, I have a couple of photos of flowers that have a similar look, and those were achieved with a large black cloth and a desk lamp. Just make sure your light isn't pointed toward the fabric, the goal is to make it disappear. Also, the photo editing software I used is free, so slightly more advanced editing doesn't have to cost you anything.
