Photo for a cause

[cherrygirl]

I am a board member of a nonprofit that rescues dogs and cats from our local shelter, places them in foster care and then into forever homes. We have an annual fundraiser in October and I am their photographer.

I am wanting to produce some photos featuring our rescues that can be blown up and auctioned off at the event. This photo is of one of my dogs, Rusty, who is a rescue. We literally saved him from being put down by minutes. It was crazy! He is a Redbone Coonhound mix.

Anyway, I love this photo and it is exactly what I wanted...however, his eye is not in perfect focus...my question is does it distract from the photo? I'm using my 50 mm and his eye is not in focus because obviously his nose and eye are on different planes... Some say it is fine but as a photographer I want the eye in focus but thought I would get the opinions of my fellow DPSers!

The info...Canon 50D, 50 mm....tungsten light camera left. 1/60 1.8 250

Thanks for the help guys!

[bigrobo89]

Hi there,

Overall I really like the image, the sharpness around the nose and the hairs along side it is spot on. However, the first thing I was drawn to straight away was the lack of focus on the eye (and also the heavy watermark ). For me sharpness in the eye for a portrait is key. To bring it up slightly you could try selecting just the eye in photoshop using the lassoo tool, and try to apply a little selective sharpening to it.


To compensate for the differing depths of the nose and eye, you could change the aperture to say F2.8 and therefore increase the portion of the image that is in focus.

Overall I'd say you're almost there with the shot and perhaps if you have the chance to re-shoot the image then you could have it nailed down perfectly!

Hope that helped a little bit

Paul

[cherrygirl]

Thanks Paul...that is exactly what I was wondering! As for the watermark...it is only there since I have it out on the internet...once I print it will not be there!

I'll reshoot and close down to 2.8 and see if that does it. I'm sure Rusty will pose again...all he cares about is if he gets treats!

[zona5101]

do some quick table checking and ensure your chosen aperture will give you the range of focus you need so you don't have to do it a 3rd time...
assuming:
camera to subject of 3 feet, nose to ear distance of 9 inches with a 50 on a crop body:
f13 gives you 7" and f16 gives you 8.4"....
(f2.8 is 1.6" f1.8 was1")

[cherrygirl]

Originally Posted by zona5101

do some quick table checking and ensure your chosen aperture will give you the range of focus you need so you don't have to do it a 3rd time...
assuming:
camera to subject of 3 feet, nose to ear distance of 9 inches with a 50 on a crop body:
f13 gives you 7" and f16 gives you 8.4"....
(f2.8 is 1.6" f1.8 was1")

Thanks so much, makes sense....but I"m worried about it being too dark. That will happen if I close down too much. Maybe I should use my 28-135mm instead of my 50 mm...would that make a difference?

Another question....my first thought was just the eye tack sharp...but do yall think I need to get his whole head in sharp focus?

Thanks for all the help!

[karen_s]

Originally Posted by zona5101

do some quick table checking and ensure your chosen aperture will give you the range of focus you need so you don't have to do it a 3rd time...
assuming:
camera to subject of 3 feet, nose to ear distance of 9 inches with a 50 on a crop body:
f13 gives you 7" and f16 gives you 8.4"....
(f2.8 is 1.6" f1.8 was1")

Totally agree.

In general, dog noses are MUCH longer than people noses and you really have to have a deeper depth of field. Shooting a profile will lessen that just a bit but you will most likely still need more than what 1.8 will give you.

Also, if you are not already doing this, try center spot focusing on the eye(s) and recomposing. In most cases (not all) the eye is what people will look at first and those should be in focus. If the nose is out a tad, it tends be less of an issue than if the eye is blurry.

By the way, love the light. Very nice. And what a cute dog too. He is a very lucky boy and good for you for rescuing him.

[cherrygirl]

Originally Posted by karen_s

Totally agree.

In general, dog noses are MUCH longer than people noses and you really have to have a deeper depth of field. Shooting a profile will lessen that just a bit but you will most likely still need more than what 1.8 will give you.

Also, if you are not already doing this, try center spot focusing on the eye(s) and recomposing. In most cases (not all) the eye is what people will look at first and those should be in focus. If the nose is out a tad, it tends be less of an issue than if the eye is blurry.

By the way, love the light. Very nice. And what a cute dog too. He is a very lucky boy and good for you for rescuing him.

Thanks for your info! I was trying to get his eye but he was moving fast! I believe the eyes are the window to the soul...especially in animals....yall have confirmed my thoughts that I need to redo and get his eye sharp.

BTW...thank you for your nice comments about his rescue...I still can't believe he was at the shelter and no one wanted him...he is perfect!

[zona5101]

the original is window light? Or strobe? If strobe then crank it up to get the aperture you need. If window light or constant light get as small of an apreture as you can afford vs shutter and focus on the eye - let the eats & nose go oof...

[cherrygirl]

Originally Posted by zona5101

the original is window light? Or strobe? If strobe then crank it up to get the aperture you need. If window light or constant light get as small of an apreture as you can afford vs shutter and focus on the eye - let the eats & nose go oof...

I have continuous lights...I had just one set up camera left with a black background...but I could put both up to boost light.

Thanks so much for your help...I will let the nose go oof...I'll redo and repost. Yall have helped so much!

Love how you called it "the eats and nose"!

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by cherrygirl

I have continuous lights...I had just one set up camera left with a black background...but I could put both up to boost light.

Thanks so much for your help...I will let the nose go oof...I'll redo and repost. Yall have helped so much!

Love how you called it "the eats and nose"!

Oh if only i was so clever...
because, admittedly, i am a sucky typer/speller and spell check doesn't work when you fat-finger a word into an actual word... that should have read "let the eyes and nose go oof..."