Yorkie Crop

[Kinjo]

This is Giselle my new 2.5 months old super mini Yorkshire Terrier and a picture of her I just took today. I am currently undecided of these two crop options below and need help in choosing the better one. Any other critiques will be appreciated. Thanks for looking!

EOS KISS X4
Exposure time 1/250 s
F-number f/5.6
Exposure program Manual
ISO speed ratings ISO 800

[karen_s]

What a cute little gal! I bet you have a lot of fun trying to get pictures of her. She looks FAST!

As far as the crop, I think both work but I would vote for the first photograph as the composition just seems a bit more dynamic. The pup looks as if she is on the move to find something and the space on the right allows her that room to move into. The second doesn't have that room so she just kinda sits in the middle with nowhere to go, looking pretty none the less.

As far as the processing, she looks so good in black and white that you might consider removing all the color to see if it works any better. My eye keeps slipping to the lightly colored parts of the image but that just may be my short attention span ;-) The darks look a little heavy on the dogs derriere so you might try dodging them a little just to get a tad more detail. I love rich blacks but have found that when I print, the dark areas turn rather muddy.

Also, I think you did a great job of capturing her eyes and personality. You no doubt got way down low for this shot.

[Kinjo]

Thank you for your kind commentary Karen. Here's the all black and white version, with exposure level and clarity increased on adobe lightroom:



I shot it with 55 - 250mm zoom lens at 225mm.

[Kinjo]

I kinda liked both version. Still unsure which one should I use....

[karen_s]

I think I like this latest version best but ultimately, the decision on the final image is yours. It is your vision and your expression that matters. I could go all philosophical on this topic but I will spare you :-)

And I really do think you have a wonderful shot here. The eye contact is just great and that matters more than anything else in the photo.

(Added after posting: Oh, yeah, forgot to mention the details look much better on my screen.)