Alas, No Plan Here

This was one of those days where I just took some pictures.  No grand vision of what I was hoping for, no thoughts of "I really want to try this...", no nothing.  Well, that's not entirely true, I determined that the girls are vastly more tolerant of soft boxes (even large softboxes) than umbrellas.  Which came as no great surprise to me.  Basically, I set up lights (it was raining outside) and took pictures.

Luckily I have very pretty dogs, so it's not hard to get some decent photos.

In one brief flash of inspiration, I put a treat on top of the softbox, and surprise, surprise, the girls looked up at the treat!  Yes, I'm so devious!
 

Treats?  There are treats, right?  Right?

At some point I have to figure out how to eliminate/decrease the dog-on-dog shadows.....

Day 239/365.

National Dog Day

Had it not been pouring rain when I came home, there would be a lot of photos of tennis ball zoomies and general outdoor funballs action.  But since it was raining, I decided to try using a continuous light overhead with the flashes, to see if I could get some hair highlights.  I've seen photos of this in books, and on human models it looks really cool.  But one of the things that makes my models different from the ones in the photography books (other than the floppy ears and big noses) is that they don't sit where they are told, or if they do, they don't sit there for long.  So, I think I need to re-think the whole lighting thing - I need to come up with lighting schemes that can be flexible with regard to the positioning of the subject(s).  Larger softboxes and large reflectors.  But at least I checked to make sure I was shooting in raw format!

But in the meantime, my not-entirely-cooperative models were well-bribed for their time.  And yes, I know, my 'background' is too busy, but the one thing about the library is it gives me enough space that the girls don't feel like they are blocked into a corner.  I might still look into a backdrop of some sort, for giggles.  Or I'll just stick with the books.

Another case of blogger indiscriminately lightening the photo - which is too bad, as the lighting in the actual photo is perfect.  But this was one of the shots where Fi  actually cooperated with the location of the 'hair light'.   And seriously, how cute is that face?

Another overly-lightened photo, but Fi was still cooperating with the lighting positions.

Abby was not 100% cooperative, but I like this photo anyway - I like how her left eye isn't totally in shadow.

Abby, deciding that I really wanted to try a 'split lighting' photo!

This wasn't planned, but I like how the silver umbrella lights up the far side of her face.

More unintentional split lighting!

And then the girls decided they sort of wanted to sit together....

This was not the lighting setup I had planned (the background is too bright), but when the girls lie down together, I have to go with what I've got.

And since today is National Dog Day, I thought I'd try a self-portrait with the girls.  Let's just say that didn't quite work out as planned!  Something else I'm going to have to re-think!

Day 238/365.

When All Else Fails, Call It a Learning Experience

Between my test shot of Fi and the rest of the photos I took, I somehow managed to switch the photo setting from 'Raw' to 'JPEG Basic' - which is effectively going from one end of the spectrum to the other in photo quality.  I'm going to have to go back and look at the manual to see what configuration of buttons I must have 'fat-fingered' to switch photo quality.  I'm also going to call this a reminder to check one's photo quality settings before doing an 'important' photo shoot (I would have been very bummed had I shot all the photos at the car show in JPEG Basic).

The pictures aren't horrible, but I can't do a lot of the 'fine-tuning' of the photos that I can with Raw files.  Oh well.  I'll just add today to the "Lessons Learned" file.  And the girls still had fun, which is ultimately what matters!

I still managed to capture the girls' enthusiasm for tennis ball action, so it's not like it was a total loss.  And it was a learning experience (although I still have no idea how I pushed the button that used the command dial to change photo quality - it might have had something to do with juggling three tennis balls while trying to adjust the shutter speed....).

Day 237/365.

Another Take on Lighting

Yesterday's photos were a fun exercise.  I have a lot to learn about getting 'studio photos' but I was pleased with the first attempt.  (At the bottom of this post, I have an explanation of why I'm try to get these studio photos.)  Today, however, I decided to try some different lighting set-ups that are more 'dramatic'.

I wanted to try 'split lighting' where the light is at a 90 degree angle to the 'subject' and the camera.  Someone should have told my 'subjects' that they should have been looking directly at me... 

Dramatic, but it was hard to get the girls to 'hold the pose'.  I let the girls do their thing (I pay them in treats, so I can't work my models too hard...), and still got some interesting photos.

I wanted to see if I could get a subtle light on the 'dark' side of the girls, but lacking a reflector at the moment (and the things I use in my car to keep it from getting too hot in the parking lot don't work, just as an FYI), I thought I'd try my silver lined umbrella to see if that would work as a reflector.

It didn't exactly work - although may if Abby had been closer to the silver umbrella and farther from the flash (with a small softbox on it) it might have worked better.  But Fi was sitting next to her, and Fi wasn't moving when there were treats to be had.

So I turned on the little continuous light and shined it into the reflector (I probably should have but the light on the stand holding the silver umbrella, but it was spur-of-the-moment, and I didn't want to lose the girls' attention, while I had it).

    

This is what I was going for - the highlight in the eye on the 'dark' side of the face.

My model wasn't cooperating (she wasn't looking at me), but I really like this photo as a profile shot.

And then the girls decided they were mostly 'done' with the whole photo shoot, so I tried (a bit in vain) to get a photo of both of them.  This might have worked better if I had had a little more room behind me to get a bit further away from them.  But I didn't, and this is what I got.

Silly girls!

I've got a book on 'Lighting Essentials' that I'm going to start reading, to see I can actually figure out what I'm trying to accomplish in these photos, and then how to actually accomplish it.  We'll see how it goes.  I have a feeling a dog training book would probably help, too!  Just kidding.  The girls are actually surprisingly tolerant of things flashing/shining in their faces.  I just have to keep the photo sessions short - and I always have to have a lot of treats - so they don't get burned out.

Finally, a little context for yesterday's photos.  A few years ago I took the girls to Petco and had some 'professional' photos taken, and I've been attempting to emulate those photos ever since.  Here are a couple of the photos by the 'professionals' (I put it in quotes, as it was a couple of kids who had a nice lighting set up, and a bunch of squeaky toys to get the attention of their subjects - Fi didn't like the material they used for the background, and the photographers didn't really know what to do about that.  But I still liked the photos the took and I bought them, so I guess they are professionals.)

This is actually a photo of the print - I have the digital copies on my external hard drive, but I'm too lazy to look for it...  This is one of my all-time favorite photos of Abby - such a hambone!  I'd really like to get a photo like this again!

Fi really didn't like the background material and never sat still, so her ears always looked like she was sitting in front of a fan!

I'd still like to be able to get photos like this (with a background Fi can tolerate) someday.

Day 236/365.

'Studio Lighting'

Sort of.  Today's shoot was a combination of continuous lighting and flash lighting.  I was reading an article on simple lighting setups and they had a pet photography diagram.  I was game to give it a shot.   When looking at these photos, keep in mind that I'm using a painter's drop for a background, and I'm still shooting in a corner, and the girls are a little uncomfortable about being herded into a corner.  I don't blame them.  I'm still trying to find a better location, but I haven't come up with anything yet.  I think there may be some moving of furniture to get a better 'studio'.  Of course, I'm also waiting for a sale on muslin background and stands (to hold the background) so my background isn't quite so 'shiny' (and it would be nice to have something that actually extends out on the floor a bit...).

But enough of what I didn't have.  Following the diagram I found, I used a white umbrella with a flash, and silver and black umbrella with a flash and a short 'background' light.  I was really pleased with the results.  Really pleased!

Definitely calendar-worthy!

Heehee.  This one just makes me smile!

My pretty girls!

Abby is a little hunched over here because she's really not keen on being 'blocked in' by the lighting umbrellas.  Again, I've really got to find a spot that isn't in a corner to get these shots....

And for those of you (Dad) who are interested in the lighting set up, here it is:

Day 235/365.

More Flash Photography

While I could have taken yet more tennis ball photos today, I wanted to try out my short light stand; it extends to about 18" and I got it in an attempt to get light lower to the ground when shooting the girls.  One of the nice things about having a small soft box is that even on this very short light stand, I can use the soft box to diffuse the flash.  Now that I have the tools, I just have to work on training the girls to pose on command!

I have to work on adjusting the power levels on the flashes, but I like having a 'regular' height flash and a short one.

Now I just have to work on synchronized 'looks'.

Fi, taking a moment to be serious.

Abby, taking no time to be serious.  Ever.

This weekend I'm going to spend a little time playing with continuous lighting.  I have been using off-camera flashes to light the photos so far, and while it does provide an interesting effect, I'm curious to see if I can get something more 'natural' with the continuous lighting.  We shall see!

Day 234/365.