Urgent Portrait Help

scrag68

scrag68

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180
Name
Craig
Edit My Images
Yes
Guys - i need some urgent newbie help please?

Im new to Photography and have got some kit together a 450d, 50mm lens, 18-55mm lens and a 70-300mm lens im still toying with the kit and finding it difficult understanding the settings etc.

I have been asked by someone who has a yorkshire terrier thats has cancer if i could take a shot of the dog before she dies, the dog only has a couple of weeks left, they also want me to get it printed on approx a2 if poss.

My questions are, what lens should i use and at what settings for the best shot, should it be taken in Raw or am i ok with jpg and is there somewhere i can get it printed i live in Wolverhampton West Midlands.

thanks in advance. :help:
 
I'm not really sure or qualified to comment on the settings tbh, but there will be an option to shoot in both RAW and JPEG, that's what I use, RAW files can be salvaged a lot more than JPEGs, so it's always safer!

I just did a few dog portraits, and there are loads on here if you need any inspiration just look for them, I'm sure a pro will be along later tonight to give you advice on the settings!
 
Hmm not sure on the best advice here, but I think either the 50 or the kit lens, the longer zoom won't let you get close up.

I'm guessing the poor dog isn't that active so the 50mm prime will enable you to get a good depth of field and throw the b/g out some more.

Do you have a flash, if so a bit of fill will brighten the eyes a touch.

finally try and get some of the character of the dog if you can, it will mean much more this way.

Can't help to much with printing, Lee from ISL / Togsprint (LeeP on here) would be able to advise.

Good luck with the shoot.

EDIT.. sorry missed some points, I'd shoot raw but then I always do, you can do much more with a raw image. As for settings well it really depends on the effect you're looking for but I'd go quite wide to throw out any distractions in the b/g unless you are going for a clean b/g in which case you could shoot at f8.

just my thoughts I'm sure more qualified individuals will be along soon.
 
you seem to have done pretty well already with your avatar (or did you not take that?)
 
rileydoggy said:
you seem to have done pretty well already with your avatar (or did you not take that?)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies guys, the avatar is one of the shots ive done by playing around with settings thanks.

However beacuse of the nature of the shot of the Yorkie i need to make sure i get it right and with the best quality possible, also i need to get the shot printed on approx a2 which ive been told if your shot isnt of high quality then it will look very poor when its blown up, is this correct?

thanks again
 
I'd personally shoot with the 50mm if the dog isn't active.

You can get some great Depth of feild into the shot,

Forgive me if I am teaching you to suck eggs, But basically to get geood Depth of Feild (Make the backgroud blurry) You use a Wide apeture Meaning in normals terms - make the F numbers as small as you like. F1.8 is presumably as low as you lens will allow you to go to. I'd use it at about F2.8 though so you get most of the dog in focus, But then it blurs away into the backgroud.

Remember - natural light for a window is good (from the side/front) and that a Tripod will help you massivly too :)

Good luck
 
I have only had the 450D for a few weeks and havnt taken many shots as i have been reading up a lot in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the settings and what i should be doing.

Here are a couple of shots i have taken and as you can see from the shot in the snow i appear to be getting it wrong as the shot is very dark.

This is what im in fear of when i take the shot of the Yorkie i dont want to let the people down.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrag68/3336835643/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrag68/3337665072/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrag68/3337665272/
 
I like the first shot you posted, the eye contact and the 'softness' of the stair rail are great. The 2nd is a bit basic since it was shot from above, harsh flash etc. And the 3rd is just off because when shooting in snow you need to over expose by about a stop which you will know for next time and by shooting RAW you could correct the blueish tone of the snow in a few seconds leaving you with much nicer shots.
So dont be too hard on yourself, just shoot from the dogs level and as others have said capture some of the dogs character. Taking it outside where you are likely to have cleaner backgrounds and more light to play with might be an idea. Good luck.
 
Others have said about the settings, one thing that does get the dog to look at the camera is to use a squeaky toy, even if the dog is ill it will look alert and possibly put its head on one side when it hears one, which could get you a better portrait.
 
Guys - i have taken some shots of the Yorkie but in my eyes they havnt turned out very well please see below for 2 out of 120 shots that i have taken.

Are there any kind hearted people out there that would be able to spare a little time to edit the shots for me so that i can take the file to the printers to get it blown up to A2.

I have uploaded the files to my website as RAW and JPG the folder is rather large as there are 2 RAW files within the folder. The link for the folder is Click Here

Here are the 2 examples that i have resized.

IMG_0379.JPG


IMG_0404.JPG


This is very much appreciated.
 
A few points.

The dogs are not really in focus too well (particularly the first shot), try to focus on the eyes.

The background could do with being less busy and, personally, not of a similar colour to the dogs!

Lastly and most importantly, particularly with the 2nd shot, the faces are in shadow. Try using a reflector to bounce some light onto their faces (tin foil on a biscuit tin lid is free) or a fill in flash or turn the chair so the ambient light does the job.

2nd pictures composition is quite nice though so that would be my starting point. Also take lots of pictures and have a good look through them!
 
good advice from above. I have dogs and cats and have difficulty getting the right shot. pop up flash is a no no its too harsh, try as much natural light as possible even if you have to move the furniture. My best shot of my cat was simply plonking the camera on the bed and using the self timer.

DSC_0019_copy.jpg


Good luck and please post your results.
 
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