Home Forums Gear Photography Doggie pics, coach me please

XTi body set on the "Sports" mode, Canon 24-105 IS F/4 L lense shot free-hand with a UV and polarizing filter. Specifically, what can I do to make them better, please include instructions as I'm nearly camera illiterate and I don't offend easily.









#1 and #3 are my favorites if that means anything.

Number one could be better if you had focused on the dog's eye, it's not in focus. Also I'd have dropped it's position down and right a bit, subject is a bit to centered. In both 3 and 4 there's to much of nothing to the right side. Number 3 I would move up and right a bit. In number 4 the dog is looking to the short side and a lot of nothing to the right.

Take those same pictures into some photo program and crop them out to see how the change. My program's let me do it them back it up if I don't like it.

Put it in my photo program and noticed the snow too, it's not quite white enough. Need just a bit more light. Maybe 2/3 exposure comp? With that much bright background, the meter in your camera was fooled and didn't set the right exposure. Here it is with a bit more light added and the dog moved down and a bit right by cropping.



Here's your last picture cropped. Notice that with the big MTY area behind the dog gone, it becomes a completely different picture.


Play with them in your photo editing program cropping and changing lighting to see what you like. And shoot the biggest files so that if and when you do crop, you can still blow up the picture without blowing it out. Someone really good with photo programs can do a lot more than this. But mainly, watch composition and crop for it if necessary. You can zoom back out a bit and rely on the photo program to make the right composition, just as good. and watch the exposure. I was told by a guy that knows a lot more than me that if in a bind. Expose on your hand or green grass and lock the exposure there them shoot the scene. Green grass and human skin is close to 18% gray, what your meter meter's.

Hope this is some help.

EDIT:
I just noticed you had the camera set on "sports mode". I never use those programs. Rather I use aperature priority and let the camera set the shutter speed. You know that to make the dog pop out, you need to blur the foreground and background as much as you can, otherwise the dog get's lost in the photo as other things attract the viewers eye. So, if set on aper priority at say f4, no smaller, and +2/3 comp, let the camera set the shutter and the exposure comes out better.

You suppose the polarizing filter is the difference in lighting between your #1 and mine? I see what you mean about the snow and "whiteness" but it was 30 prior to sundown (sun setting to the left and foreground of the pic) and in my minds eye my 1st photo has the light about right.

I certainly appreciate all the pointers, I haven't ventured past the "auto" modes yet. I put the uncropped pics up for the very reason of having enough photo there for folks to "show" me their opinions on framing/cropping, much obliged you did so.

Thanks, might have to start taking notes.

Well I had to crop the other two too, I like fooling with this stuff! I think this first is #3. I just cropped it to vertical and pretty much left it.


I think this is #2. Took out the dead space behind the dog and lowered it a bit.


BTW, I have to crop out most of mine too. Don't think fast enough while I'm taking the picture.

Just for grins, here's a photo a guy in Nevada took. The snow was really gray from bad exposure and he got way to much of nothing on both sides of the dog. I lightened the exposure, cropped it and made a frame out of an old board for it. I like it!


Here's the origional after I lightened it but befor cropping it. If I had printed it and made it fit the page like it was, the dog would have been distorted.

I doubt the polorizer did that. what it did was to take glare off the snow or what there was. I know of a few guy's that never shoot without a polarizer. It will change the exposure a bit but the camera will catch that.

Right or wrong, for the outdoor pics I've taken I generally like them better with a polarizer.

It's Monday morning and I haven't had my coffee yet so if I repeat any thing that's been said you'll have to forgive me in advance.
First you want to get out of the auto modes and into the creative zone. One of the reasons for this is that when you are in the auto zones typically ALL of your AF points are active. Don't let the out come of your shots depend on some random algorithm. If you use one of the creative zones then you can select a single AF point. The center one is used most frequently for several reasons.
Once you get out of the basic zone you will need to make sure on action shots that you set the AF drive mode to AI Focus or AI servo. Then select your AF point, ISO as well as your picture mode, WB etc. This might seem like a lot at first but once you go through it a time or two it's really very simple.
When you are shooting in the basic modes such as the sports program you will need to be sure that you get the center AF point on the area you want in focus. This is something you did not do in this series. The first shot is almost completly OOF. The AF point that did focus was on the ground to the lower left of the pheasant. When you get in the creative zones the same will be true with the exception that you will want the AF point you you select over the area you want in focus. If you want all your AF points to focus then you can play with the A-DEP program.
Make sure that you depress the shutter half way down and allow the camera to focus before you completly trip the trigger.
(Aim Small miss small) Yea ok it's a Mel Gibson rip off from "The Patriot".
You mentioned you are using a CP filter. Do you know how to set it to get the amount of polorization you want? If not that can indeed change the light in your images from frame to frame if the filter gets moved.
Be sure to go into your cameras firmware (menue) and set a dedicated color profile (sRGB). If you do not everyone may see the color in your images differently.
When it's time to post process your images I would start by leveling the horizen. Unless you are after a different artistic angle this is something you will learn to do as you shoot. It is very easy to correct along with the White balance and exposure. Almost any program can perform theese basic digital darkroom functions.
You may want to view your images after you shoot in the Zoom Browser EX program that came with your camera.
Find the file in the ZB with the photo you want to view. Left click it. It will expand. Left click the individual photo you want to view and again it will expand. There will now be a menue across the top of your photo. You will see the word "show". There are two boxes to the left. Click both of them. One will super impose your AF points on your image. The red boxes will be the AF points that were in focus. The other box you clicked will display your ISO, SS, A and other information in the upper right corner in a black box. This will help you learn to shoot better and as you scroll through your images you will quickly be able to recognize your own errors. This will help you in the field when it's time to shoot again.
BTW Nice looking dog!

Here's a screen shot of what you should be looking at in your ZB.
You may also notice in the first shot you were in portrait mode.

Sometimes it's easier said than done.

I whitened it up a bit to get rid of some of the blue snow. If you use RAW format, you can set the white balance to get it a true white. Shooting in snow takes some practice as it often comes out blue like that.

With outdoor dog pics, I like to use either spot or partial metering. This ensures your subject is exposed properly, regardless of how the background exposes. Then, very little photoshop or post processing necessary.

f/4 is a bit slow for action pics. It can be done, but isolating the subject is not quite so easy.

Try to get used to using Av, not sports mode. It will be very helpful. These types of shots should be shot at wide open aperture, with little exception. Using Av, and pegging the aperture fully open will yield the fastest shutter speeds for any given ISO. This is what makes or breaks outdoor action photos, along with subject isolation.

Super pic's of your shorthair!!

Thanks Don! She's my little sweetheart.

Also, to the original poster... Make sure you REMOVE that UV filter for these types of images.

The images will never come out well when using it in this scenario. You may get a lucky shot every now and then, but it's really not designed to be used in this manner.

I have to know what apperature you used? Wasn't wide open I don't think but maybe about 5.6? Forground, paws, eye's, ears and about half way back look to be in focus. Love the sharp eye's!

Hi Don. 5.6??? Not a chance from me. I'll bet my faster lenses have forgotten how to shoot at f/5.6

These were both shot at f/2.8, 1/1600sec, ISO-100

Canon 1DmkIII
300/2.8L-IS

Really the only reason I'd ever stop down and action image is if the shutter speeds were just getting TOO high -- 1/4000+ Of course sometimes it's necessary to stop down a bit, but only to gain some DOF. These were shot at about 60-80ft away, so the f/2.8 DOF was just about right IMO. If she was closer, maybe f/4-f/4.5 may have been necessary.

I'm just a sucker for an isolated subject and blurred background It's probably just me.

Rob

I love the isolated subject and blurred background too. The background behind this Junko is a line of trees. Shot this at 5.6 with a 150-500 lense on a D70.

Every time VTi posts some of his fuzzy, low-resolution pictures I end up surfing the internet to see if the price of a Canon 300mm f2.8 L lens like his has fallen to the level where I can justify buying one for the little time I have to use it!

Since I bought a really good computer monitor, I have become much more critical of picture quality, and more appreciative of the really good ones like these.

John

Thanks John! Yea the 300mmL-IS is a good stop gap until someone can get a real, sharp lens. LOL

You're spot on too about the good monitor. Isn't it amazing what a difference it makes? I just, well about a year ago now, got a high quality LCD myself, so I completely understand.

Thanks again for the kind words

Don-- Gotta love heavenly blurred backgrounds

Nice image!