Trying to Improve - Next Steps?

[kaphinga]

OMG my heart breaks a little for that dog So cute! You're doing good work!

Thanks! Fortunately, that little fella was adopted fairly quickly.

Do you think if you put a treat where they should stand it could help?

I go through 1/2 pound of cheese and 1/2 pound of hot dogs every shoot, in addition to having an arsenal of toys and squeakers and an entire repertoire of very bizarre vocalizations.

I usually try to do some *very* brief training, just enough to gain their trust, before I start photographing. Sometime it works, sometimes not. Interestingly enough, one of our volunteers is a professional dolphin trainer. When she brings a dog out, my life instantly gets easier.

Anyhow, onward we go. The shelter took in over 900 dogs in July, and August hasn't been any better so far. There are 83 dogs on the photo list for tomorrow, and I will be happy to get through half of them. It never ends.

Thank you a thousand times over for your help and advice.

 

[Klaus dk]

[...]
I get the idea about the inverse square, falloff and distances (although, admittedly, I didn't get it until fairly recently).

Right now, I am having a hard time applying the principles in the dog sessions because I am never quite sure where the dog will be. I diligently tape some marks on the floor to indicate where the dog is supposed to be. I meter and place the lights based on where the dog is supposed to be. And then the dog winds up two feet behind the mark or two feet in front of the mark or heaven only knows where.

Thinking out loud here --- I probably need to practice to the point at which adjusting the lights becomes intuitive. I am not that far along yet.

Have you tried using TTL? That should take the guesswork out of constantly changing conditions. It's not always 100% spot on, but usually within the editing headroom of raw files.

 

[Off The Mark]

I go through 1/2 pound of cheese and 1/2 pound of hot dogs every shoot, in addition to having an arsenal of toys and squeakers and an entire repertoire of very bizarre vocalizations.

LOL! That's what I eat during each photo shoot. Got to keep my carbs and protein levels up!!!

 

[kaphinga]

Have you tried using TTL? That should take the guesswork out of constantly changing conditions. It's not always 100% spot on, but usually within the editing headroom of raw files.

Thanks! That's a good suggestion, and I will likely try that soon.

I am beginning to get better at taking flash meter readings at multiple locations at the beginning of the shoot and then adjust the aperture on the fly. It takes practice, though. Maybe one day it will become more intuitive.

 

[kaphinga]

I go through 1/2 pound of cheese and 1/2 pound of hot dogs every shoot, in addition to having an arsenal of toys and squeakers and an entire repertoire of very bizarre vocalizations.

LOL! That's what I eat during each photo shoot. Got to keep my carbs and protein levels up!!!

-- You know, I don't think I have ever eaten any of the cheese or hot dogs, but if I ever need a snack ...

 

[MikeInOr]

While capturing photographs of the dogs use a cell phone to capture images of your setup. This will allow you to go back and equate this setup gives me these results.

Better, more expensive, bigger equipment have very diminishing returns. Analyzing how your lighting setup affects your photos will have a MUCH greater return at a MUCH smaller price.