Get Down....all the way down!
For the 2nd Embark Challenge, we were told to get down as we were photographing our dogs for this week. This is probably the one thing that is so very different between dog photographers and portrait photographers. The angles you use are (of course) super important and change so much in any photography, but with dogs, it brings the viewer into their world. It is amazing how much changes when you're down on the ground. The focus points are different, the dogs ACT differently, and it's almost like a different world when you see it from so low.
We had very little direction other than to get down. You'd think with so much freedom it would be a super easy challenge; it was NOT. I debated over and over until the last second on which photo to submit, and ultimately, chose the wrong one.
Enjoy the before and after sliders on this one! Make sure to check them out!
When I started the Embark challenges, I put out a model call to Facebook and had over 50 people volunteer their dogs to model for me. One of the dogs that caught my eye was Lane here. I LOVED her coloring and eyes so much, and she is one of those amazing dogs that just live for training. For every day sessions, I love to have dogs of all ages and temperaments and training. For the challenges though, I do generally want to have a well trained dog so I don't have to edit out leashes and collars and such, as well as to make the actual shoot go as smoothly as possible. Because I'm putting so much brainpower into learning and pushing myself, I don't have a whole ton left over for dog handling on these. Lane is the perfect model. She learned to bow with her mom, was just the sweetest thing, and had a blast doing all of my poses. She has the cutest expressions and I just love her. I think I'll be doing quite a lot of practice with her, the camera loves her so much!
My original idea with Lane was to have her do a play bow towards me, where her nose was right in line with my camera. This is a SUPER hard thing to train, and Lane was so good and tried so hard. I wasn't fast enough to get her with her nose actually down. It's very hard to learn a trick at home and then bring it out in the "wild" with so many sights and smells. I was so very impressed with her! I loved the photos I got with the backlighting behind her, but wasn't 100% sold that I'd gotten what I wanted to do.
Alice (Lane) in Wonderland
After getting so many shots of her bowing and sitting and playing with the backlighting behind her, I decided to try another idea. I moved her over to a different area of my favorite location with a pretty garden pathway there that reminded me of "The Secret Garden" from childhood. Especially down on Lane's level, the hostas and other shrubs looked really magical and gigantic, almost like Alice in Wonderland. I took quite a few different poses in this area and was thrilled with them!
Getting back home though, the editing didn't go as smoothly as I'd thought. I just could NOT decide what I wanted to submit. I loved her bowing as well as a few others. I narrowed my choices down to these 3 photos.
Wait, where did the pug come from?
Well, this photo is one I had from doing the "colorific" challenge with Fiona. I'd edited it to take out the umbrella, I just LOVED her facial expression. She looks so distinguished and noble here. I'm right down on her level and she looks monumental looking up like that. I love it, so I couldn't decide between these three. I eventually decided to submit Fiona for the next challenge, which has to do with centering. After talking to my husband and son, I was convinced to submit the one in the center of Lane in the garden. I'd struggled fairly hard in editing it, but that's a long story nobody wants to hear. So, I did. I submitted it while in the back of my head still not being confident I'd done the right thing.
Well, turns out I was right. My struggles with editing showed. I used my sharpening software on Lane, and it got sharper on her haunches than her face, which is a HUGE no-no. The removal I'd done of the sky in the background using AI looked muddy and indistinct, and Lane was a teeny bit skeewumpus. So, despite loving the idea and the photo, I didn't make it further because of technical defects. When I say I am so mad and upset at myself, PHEEWWWW. I'm SO MAD. I was too worried about standing out with my photo, I overlooked the basic tenents of photography and editing! Who doesn't submit a super sharp face to a competition!? GAH!
Time to re-edit
After mourning for a few days, I finally got the gumption to go back and fix my mistakes. I went back into my raw photos and got a shot where she was actually in perfect focus. I re-did the background where it was muddy and started over from scratch. I love her facial expression in this one, it's quite funny. So, I've resubmitted this as the image for my portfolio review at the end of the challenge. I wish I'd have paid attention and caught it all before the judging! This week's I'm going to over-analyze every single thing, I just know it!
Want awesome photos of your dog too?
Now booking dog photo sessions!
All dogs can be models, not just highly trained ones. Contact me today and we can book a session celebrating your favorite dog as well as the connection between you two. Sessions are filling up, don't wait to reach out, send me a message below! Let's capture your favorite fur-baby!
