Photographing a black dog. Help!

[Angel_A]

Hello Everyone

I’m new here and this is my first post, so please just let me know if I missed some information or anything I should have included and I’ll update Also I’m pretty new to photography and a total newbie to DSLR so please bear with me.

I’ve been trying to take some photos of my doggies. One of them I’m finding very difficult as he is a black Giant Schnauzer (as you can see from the photo). I’m having trouble getting any detail on him without the rest of the photo being very overexposed. I think this photo I managed it ok but I think he still looks a little bit too dark maybe. I would love to get some feedback on this.

So, my question is: do you lovely people have any tips for photographing a dark animal on a light background without using a flash? (I do have a flash but I haven’t used it much at this stage as frankly it scares me lol.)

Also I would appreciate some general feedback on my photo as I am new to this and I would really love to hear any criticisms you have.

One thing that I feel is missing from the shot is that it doesn’t show any of his great personality but I was mainly struggling with the technical aspects of trying to capture his glossy fur at the time and he was having a very rare quite moment so I seized the opportunity.

This was the best shot I got that day from that point of view without the background being very overexposed but I still feel it is lacking.

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

Angel-A




Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Exposure 1/200 sec.
Aperture f/5
Focal Length 43mm
ISO Speed 400
White Balance Auto

[Angel_A]

I thought it might be an idea to show you a different photo from the same set that is better in terms of what I am trying to capture of his fur but the ground he is laying on is so white it makes him look kind of like he is floating in space.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/...d251422c_z.jpg

I hope this is ok to post in this thread, please remove it if not.

thanks

Angel

[cyber3d]

Your exposure setting seems ok. But your composition needs help. You could compose more on the dog's face and eyes and nose. Filling the frame more with the dog would bring out more visibility in the hair.

I guess for me, when I can't see the personality (ie. face) of the dog, it lacks something.

As far as exposure. All you can do is use a selective metering or spot meter setting and bracket your shots. At least that is what I'd do. My dog is white so I have a similar issue.

Also, I would suggest trying to shoot the dog on a variety of vivid background colours.

I do not recommend flash on black haired animals. But good side lighting or back lighting.

Experimentation.

Oh BTW, do some editing with DPP in raw. Especially with Highlights and Sharpness settings in DPP. It can really help with black fur.

[Angel_A]

cyber3d thanks for your input, it’s very helpful.

I know the composition on this photo isn’t good but I thought it was the best photo for explaining the problem I was having so I included it for that reason mainly.

I was really wondering if there is a solution for shooting a dark subject on a light background because the fur isn’t as glossy as I would like.

Like in this photo I think his fur looks great (bad composition, I now, but as an illustration of what I mean.)



But I think you are quite right about going in close when I have done that there isn’t so much of a problem as in the shot below. But you can still see the top of the wall he is looking over is still too white. Basically anything white in the shot becomes a glare.



I’m really sorry about this I don’t think I am explaining this very well...

I really appreciate the tip for using DPP and I will certainly try that.

Thank you for taking the time to look at this :-)

[Angel_A]

Sorry about this, but I think I should have put this in the Techniques section not the Critique, please forgive me - newbie error.

Thank you for your understanding.

[Ladyblackswan]

My dog, Bella is all black too and I found honestly that I have the best luck photographing her either in the early morning or around sunset....actually kind of before that, late afternoon. I like the way the light gives her kind of soft highlights and the black doesn't seem quite so harsh. I dunno, I'm new too,lol.

[Angel_A]

Originally Posted by Ladyblackswan

My dog, Bella is all black too and I found honestly that I have the best luck photographing her either in the early morning or around sunset....actually kind of before that, late afternoon. I like the way the light gives her kind of soft highlights and the black doesn't seem quite so harsh. I dunno, I'm new too,lol.

That's a great idea LBS, I can imagine that would work really well. soft highlights sounds like just what he needs to make his glossy fur glow.

I will defiantly try that; thank you

[zona5101]

there is only so much dynamic range in the sensor (or on film). It is impossible to get detail in the shadow and highlights at the same time. Some use techniques such as HDR (high dynamic range) to blend multiple instances of the image, each with different exposure values, together in to a single image to overcome the limitation. Short of HDR, you will just have to decide which is the most important thing...detail in the shadow or blown highlights. You can help make the shot less objectionable by not shooting scenes where you have really bright areas when you are tying to get detail in shadows.

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

I've been following your thread Angel-A hoping for some tips too as I have a black cat and have trouble catching the fur just as I see it. Taking the picture against another colour and also in the golden hour, late in the afternoon/early evening has helped me, this one just has the setting sun as a light source-


Exif data
Camera Sony DSLR-A350
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 105 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV

[Angel_A]

Zona, thank you for the detailed explanation about the dynamic range in the sensor, I think you have hit the nail on the head as to the problem and that is invaluable information for me to know. They are also very interesting tips on how to overcome the limitations, I will be sure to try those out.

FKG, what a lovely photo of an adorable kitty! I think you are right about a colored background, it has worked well on your photo. It is looking like the best plan is to just try not have any white areas in shot if it can be helped. The golden hour is always a nice time to shoot so I will definitely take your advice and try that.

I guess somehow it does make sense to shoot in lower light so there will be less bright areas to interfere with the shot but at the same time it is somewhat counter intuitive as I would normally think you will need more light to shot a dark subject (but I am a novice in these things so don't really know much lol)

Thank you all for your input it is very much appreciated. I'll have a play around and see what happens and maybe I'll get back to you to show how I've got on, if that ok?