I need advice/help for a photo with a white old dog with little color...

[praline3001]

Hi ya'll!

I could really use some help or advice for this photo.
This is my 13 year old dog, China. She had one of the roughest starts in life that most have ever heard about. I typed up her story and put it in the comments on flkr under the photo so as not to get it and my questions messed up.

1. Do the eyes look too fake? She is going blind and her eyes are seriously cloudy. It is due to her age but I wanted her eyes clear for the photo so I re drew them.

2. Does the left side of her face look blown out? I didn't use a flash as flashes really bother her eyes. Her face is really that white as she is old as dirt. I am not sure how I can tone down the white without losing her age and dignity?

3. By the nose and mouth area, is the blur too much? Again I can't use flash and the tripod really makes her nervous. She doesn't get upset but I don't get the calm sweet relaxed look I want from her when I pull it out. She has to get up and start sniffing it and then leaning on me ... I just lose the whole moment I am trying to capture when the tripod comes out lol

Basically I really love this photo of her and am trying to fix a few things. I want to try and get it printed and framed on a wall in my bedroom. If you click on the photo, you can read about her story on my flkr page of this photo.



EXIF info:
I used my canon G10 for this photo
Exposure 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture f/4.0
Focal Length 18.1 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias +1/3 EV
Flash On, Did not fire

[clackedy]

I am no expert but in my opinion I would not change a thing. I love the soft natural look of this photo. I found the expression very heart warming. What a lovely looking, sweet natured old girl. Which has been portrayed beautifully.

[Peach]

(also posted this on your Flickr for this picture)

I love this picture, and the story behind it both breaks my heart and infuriates me. If I ever saw anyone abusing a dog, God help them. I'd gladly do jail time.

As for pictures, because her face is lacking color my suggestion would be to ignore the fur on her face. What we want to see is her EYES. She has gorgeous eyes and a cute nose, so I would expose for them just enough for the fur to ALMOST be blown, but not quite. I've no idea how to accomplish this, but that would be my idea.

[karen_s]

I like it. I read the story too. Terrible start in life. Sometimes I wish our laws were based on the principle of an eye for an eye. Good for you for taking him in and giving him a new life.

As to your questions ...

1. No, they look really good to me.

2. No, still detail there. What you might be seeing is that the left (looking at the photo) side has a blue cast and the rest yellow. I come across this every now and then when mixing light sources. My house lights spew yellow light while light from the windows and flash are a little bluer. When that happens (it's really best to avoid it I would think), I've found converting to black and white works well. Or, if you have Photoshop, you might be able to warm up the blueish areas a bit and bring a balance to the image.

3. I don't mind blurry noses. Ideally it would be nice if it were in focus but in the end, a shot with a blurry nose is better than no shot at all.

And I have the same problem with light on my yellow lab. My Golden mix is soooo easy to shoot cause he registers as the perfect medium gray. The lab on the other hand is a challenge. I have to compensate on the exposure and I often find myself using the dodge and burn tool in Lightroom to ad contrast. I try to mold his face a bit by darkening the medium areas and lightening the lights.

I understand not wanting to use flash, especially head on. Does he react the same to an off camera flash that's bounced from a distance? You could use a black foamie thing too as that keeps the light from hitting sensitive eyes. Of course, it's not worth upsetting him if he doesn't like that either.

[Doug Sundseth]

I'm not bothered by any of the things you have questions about.

I would like a bit more space below the dog's nose, less space above the top of his head, and I'd like to not have his legs cropped at the edge of the frame.

Mostly that's for next time, though. The expression you captured is very nice, which is far more important. When given a choice between expression and perfection, always choose expression. (Not my aphorism, but I can't recall the source to properly credit it.)

[praline3001]

Thanks everyone! I am going to try and reshoot it tonight, after the kids go to bed.
I got some pretty good ideas and am going to try them out.

[Weird Girl]

I really like the photo and as a Registered Veterinary Technician, I have had to see traumatic events such as your dogs story... needless to say, I have 5 dogs myself LOL. Anyway, The expression is perfect. I do not think it's blown out at all but would like to see a little more light in the eyes. Do you have a white sheet or anything you could bounce some light off of, maybe from a window? Since you can't use a tripod, I would try resting your camera on something to help with any movement. You can also bump up your ISO and shutter speed a bit. If you open your aperture, just remember that will give you a smaller area that will be in focus so really focus dead on those eyes. I can't wait to see what you try!!