She has the eyes for it

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Hi there, I have been following DPS for quite awhile now gradually picking up tips here and there as I move from an average photographer to a slightly above average enthusiastic photographer. This site and the people who contribute have been a great source of information and inspiration and I've finally plucked up the courage to join and now to post my first photo.

I have been following a thread regarding portrait photography and decided to see if I could improve on some photos I did of my cat Lily a few days ago. I was pleased with the other day's photos at the time but after following some tips I'm now thrilled with the outcome today. Although, I'm no expert, but I think I've lost a bit of definition around her chin area How could I correct that? Please critique away, I'm all for improving my skills. (And the next time I decide to caprture her I need to do some serious eye cleaning! .




Camera Sony DSLR-A350
Exposure 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 250 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
X-Resolution 96 dpi
Y-Resolution 96 dpi
Image Description SONY DSC
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
Software DSLR-A350 v1.00
Date and Time (Modified) 2011:04:09 12:44:32
YCbCr Positioning Co-sited
XPTitle SONY DSC
XPSubject SONY DSC
Padding (Binary data 2060 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Exposure Program Manual

[karen_s]

Oh, very nice shot. Quite above average in many ways. You have wonderful focus on the eyes, nice composition, and natural looking color. You also managed to capture a bit of personality.

I see what you mean about the definition of the chin, though it really doesn't bother me. It looks like your light source just came in a little low as the top of her head looks darker than the lower part of her body. She also appears to be looking upwards which might explain why the light fell so heavily on the front and underneath the chin. As far as trying to fix it, do you have software with a dodge and burn tool? If you do, you could try burning (darkening) the lower part of her face a bit, maybe giving a smidge more definition to her mouth line (cat lips) and see if that helps. It may turn grayish though since you are working with a very light area. In all honesty though, the eyes are so strong that I don't even notice the slight lack of definition.

And just a tip on photographing animals, watch the ears and try not to clip them off. It's not wrong and sometimes it can work, it is just often more desirable to include them. I know my dogs ears are sometimes the most expressive part of their body so I try hard to keep them in the frame if I can.

Cute kitty by the way. Was she about to pounce your lens

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Thanks so much Karen for taking the time to respond. I did wonder about the ears, but at least I chopped them both! I have Photoshop Elements 9 and I'm on a very steep learing curve there and know about 5% of how it works. Now I have something to work towards, I can watch a couple of "how to" dodge & burn clips and try out my new skills.

She was asleep on the bed until I arrived with tripod and camera, this was the last of quite a few shots and I think she was thinking "are you quite finished with sticking that camera in my face Mum" because she promptly got up and left! Thanks again.