A beautiful girl and her dog

[Marie Hass]

A portrait. In black and white.





Please tell me how I did?

1/160, f6.3, ISO 640, 24mm, used my off camera flash and Joe Demb pro diffuser. Cropped 18h by 16W.

I struggled with this one. I have never done a person and a pet. Only one or the other.

Marie

[Brownbear]

Hi Marie,

I especially love the composition, moment captured and the natural beauty of the lady. No experience to offer but I thought I should let you know that I adore this image.

[Shadowman]

First image looks a bit crisper, perhaps too much movement during the second shot.

[Marie Hass]

Thanks Christina. I took these pictures because her dog has some sort of progressive neurological disease. I offered to take these pictures for her. Practice for me = pictures for her (if they turned out) = paying it forward.


Thanks John. The dog is ill and aged. She has breathing problems. You are right there was a lot of movement. It was a very tough shoot.

Marie

[Mike Buckley]

Both are excellent shots. Very well done.

I prefer the first one because the darker tones in the dog provide more dynamic range. I wonder if the crisp quality due to the blacker blacks is being confused with crisp quality due to stopped action; both images seem to have all of the action stopped.

I also prefer the first one because of the separation of the dog's tongue from the woman's arm.

Regardless, I'm sure the woman and the dog are going to just love both photos.

[Kyle]

Great shots. The dog looks very happy in the second one. The first one is great as well, he looks really cute mid yawn.

[NorthernFocus]

IMO you did good, Marie. Both technically and otherwise. The photos will elicit many tears from the young lady in years to come. First of sorrow, then of joy.

[IzzieK]

I like the second one better Marie -- though both are good shots -- because of the expression of the dog's face. S/he sure looks proud of her owner and perhaps thankful for being such a wonderful friend and caretaker. The lady is beautiful, that is for sure but it would have been nice if there are shots of her interacting with the dog instead of just posing for you...you know what I mean???

[Marie Hass]

Thanks, Mike for your critique, and for assessing how the details all fit together.

Kyle, thank you as well. I will let Toni have both of these.

Dan, you are right. She almost put Daisy down this past weekend. At least she will have some images of her and her dog together.

I do, Isabel, but they did not turn out as nice as these two. Daisy is not as mobile as i would have liked, and she was scared to death. She has airway paralysis and was really having problems breathing. This pose seemed to be the best solution.

You have a good point, tho. I will re-look the pictures that I have. This evening, I will process some of the other images and let everyone have a look.

Thanks for your comment,

Marie

[Downrigger]

I like these both, Mike's reason for the first, and Izzie's for the second are good so I'm stuck. If there are more, it would be fun to see them.

[Quentin88]

I like both pictures, maybe the 2nd more because the dog have his/her eyes wide open =)

[FootLoose]

Two impressive photos, Marie. I think the look of adoration on the dog's face in the 2nd is priceless. I wonder if you can adjust the black point in this shot to match the tonal range in the first one?

[travis4567]

Very nice Marie, love the dog's eyes in the second shot.

[Joselito]

Love the second shot, Marie, her dog seems to be begging to be cuddled!
Patience is a virtue.

[Marie Hass]

Mark, thank you. I reviewed the other images and they all have flaws of some sort. I will post some of my fails.

Pellegrino, in many of the other photos, Daisy has her eyes squinted or closed. She was panting really hard - struggling to breathe.

Greg, i wondered about that myself. I will tweak it a little and see what I come up with.

Travis, thank you.

JC, thank you. Yes. Patience is indeed a virtue.

Marie

[nimitzbenedicto]

Hi Marie,

Wonderful pet and Beautiful girl photo.

Perhaps, you won't mind some observations. maybe some closer cropping . Straightening out or cloning out the background sheets. And the usual problem of how to place the hands.

Hope this helps.

Thanks

[jcuknz]

As a one time dog carer the second photo is far superior in capturing the natural personality of the pair despite the softness which is of course mentioned becuase this is a photographic site obsessed with technicality .... sad to hear about the background story

[Mike Buckley]

As a one time dog carer the second photo is far superior in capturing the natural personality of the pair despite the softness which is of course mentioned becuase this is a photographic site obsessed with technicality

For the record, I prefer the first one because of how it captures the personality of the pair, not because of any technical issues. You were a one-time dog carer, I grew up with four large dogs, and neither fact matters other than perhaps how it influences our respective thinking about the photos.

[Marie Hass]

Victor, this shoot was very stressfull for the dog, so the owner and I are in agreement that this was the only chance I've got for formal pictures. I do plan to crop the picture some. I was waiting to see what size Toni wanted so I could crop the oroginal to the right aspect ratio. Thank you for your comments. You are right - what to do about hands. they are always tricky.

John, thank you for your commentary. Both images seem to have their merits as evidenced by the comments.

Dear Mike. As always, thank you for your input. It is invaluable.

Marie

[Marie Hass]

Victor, this shoot was very stressfull for the dog, so the owner and I are in agreement that this was the only chance I've got for formal pictures. I do plan to crop the picture some. I was waiting to see what size Toni wanted so I could crop the oroginal to the right aspect ratio. Thank you for your comments. You are right - what to do about hands. they are always tricky.

John, thank you for your commentary. Both images seem to have their merits as evidenced by the comments.

Dear Mike. As always, thank you for your input. It is invaluable.

Marie