best laid plans

[Bentwing]

I thought I had this picture set up well but then she turned her head and looked behind her. I took the picture any ways and cropped some from the left hand side. She would not stay still after that so this is the best I got for that day. I think my focus is off a little bit as well. Do you think it works as it is.

[camyam73]

I don't mind the position of the dog! I think it is quite natural actually! Your focus is just a smidge soft, but you can easily correct that with some software. Sharpen the dog, and blur the BG a bit, and bam, a PERFECT shot!

[peeperita]

i think it works too....she's a beautiful animal....

thanks for sharing...

peeper

[Robin Sarac]

It would have been like every other shot were she looking forward. This is a great shot...consider it a lucky break!

[Olivier H]

The shot would have been a little dull if she was looking forward. This adds a lot to picture dynamics... And it adds some kind of a story to the shot, as if she was leading a herd and waiting for them, for instance...

[wulf]

Having taken a look at the full size version, I can't see anything that is razor sharp. It may not be that the focus is off so much as that either:

(a) you moved a fraction during that 1/40s the shutter was open

(b) the lens gets a bit soft stopped down to f/22. Most lenses are sharpest a stop or two down from fully open but you have gone well past that (although that might have been a necessary compromise to get the dog and the distant mountain reasonably in focus).

I think the move of the head was actually quite a fortunate accident. In particular, I like the look of the dog's muzzle casting a shadow on its flank. Sometimes it is good when things don't go quite to plan!

However, it might be worth cropping in a bit closer - I think you could afford to lose a good amount of the background, making the dog relatively much larger in the frame.

Wulf

[Klaidas]

A nicely composed shot (especially the fact that mountains far away start where the head does and end at the same spot as the tail does). The only thing I'd correct here is the shadow - I'd prefer it not to have one :]