relative noob needs some pointers

[Gavlar82]

Hey all, i've had my camera almost a year now, and not really tried every aspect of photography yet. a co worker and her dog won a trophy at a labrador retreat and she has asked if i can take some pictures of the cheeky lab and the said trophy either outdoors if the wether allows or in her house if its a bit pants.
I'm not sure what kinda set up i should be using to take the best pics of this black lab. I dont wanna let her down by taking dull lifeless pictures. any pointers much appreciated.

 

[rtjdesign]

Personally if it was me I would try and keep the shots as vibrant as possible with some nice subtle lighting nothing too harsh, keeping it soft should look pretty good.

Try to find an interesting background that is not going to take the focus away from the main subject in this case the dog. Just play around and dont try anything too fancy. Take a look at some dog show images and it should inspire you!

Hope that somewhat helps. as I said im no expert just a beginner myself but thats my opinion on it.

 

[Dave W]

I have a black lab and photographing him is an absolute nightmare.

Black labs are very, well erm black and it makes getting the exposure correct a very tough proposition.

I've found that trying to put him against a very light background helps out the metering a lot. So my tips would be a light background with soft light.

Just try adjusting the ev value if you're struggling.

 

[arclight]

I have a black lab and photographing him is an absolute nightmare.

Black labs are very, well erm black and it makes getting the exposure a very tough proposition.

I've found that trying to put him against a very light background helps out the metering a lot. So my tips would be a light background with soft light.

Just try adjusting the ev value if you're struggling.

I have a black lab too and recognise that problem.
Shoot RAW & bracket in addition to the above.

Suggest spending a little time with the dog first to let it calm down.