JPCollinsPhotography
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JPCollinsPhotography
November 25, 2017
She was really good to work with and wanted to play all day, she's an old girl but a delightful dog :-) Looks so Wolf-like here. Thanks for commenting.
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Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this at a friends Grandad's house. He was house sitting and commissioned me to photograph Millie as a surprise for his Grandad's imminent birthday. His Grandad was so grateful for the shots I got of Millie, a cherished memory as Millie, sadly, passed away not long after the shoot.Time
This was shot in the morning around 9am so we could make use of that low-lying autumn light which stretched into the garden. It made for such a wonderful outline of Millie and a soft hazey look.Lighting
I was using natural autumn light and I was so grateful for a sunny day in the UK rather than the usual grey! It really warms the shot up, although much of the garden was in shade, I was able to catch Millie playing as she ran through the sunlit patches.Equipment
This shot was with a Canon 5d mkiii and a sigma 70-200mm lens, all handheld as she wouldn't stay still too long.Inspiration
This was a commissioned shoot by a friend of mine. It was to provide some shots of Millie for his Grandad (Millie was his best pal!).Editing
I always run my photos through lightroom for minor corrections to exposure and noise. For this, I also passed it through photoshop using a high-pass filter to sympathetically sharpen her coat and really crisp up her facial features. I was careful not to lose the soft look from the sunlight.In my camera bag
I usually take my 150-200mm f2.8 and 100mm macro Sigmas when I'm shooting wildlife. If it's for portraits then I love the 24-70mm canon lens or the 85mm f1.2 Canon prime. I always have a few 580 ex ii flashes on hand for portable studio work, and at home I use a crossbar and drapes.Feedback
Try a number of methods for focus tracking and go with what you are comfortable with or get the best results from, for this I used servo focus as it responded really well to her black coat against the background. Be patient too because when working with animals you are never going to get them to do a perfect pose, a fast shutter speed is also essential to freeze the motion and make sure you can rattle off a batch of shots to catch the best moment possible.