This assignment required six raw photos showcasing two themes: formal posed photos, and informal non-posed photos. For this assignment I chose to use my pets. I did research on how to capture the best photos of pets and used my new knowledge to take these shots. My only issue was getting my shutter speed fast enough to not capture my dogs as blurs. When that failed, I took a walk and captured some really beautiful informal photos of the ducks at my local creek.
After each photograph below, a journal entry will be found containing all the meta data from the camera at the time of the photograph, as well as any comments or concerns I had with each photograph. A paragraph of additional details will be rolled into the comments and concerns section. Overall, I really enjoyed getting down in the grass and at eye-level of my pets and the ducks to capture the best photographs. I ended up with some fun artistic shots, too!
Comments and Concerns: I wish I had better focus in this photo, but overall I’m happy with it for it being shot in a dimly lit room. My cat, Amélie, is very old and loves to sleep and cuddle. I saw her in this pose and had to get the shot while I had a few seconds of quiet to let her rest while I got close to her with my camera. Her colors look fantastic in this lighting, and I really like the softness overall in this photo--her fur and the blanket she is sleeping on, and the blurred background as well.
Comments and Concerns: This is my dog, Zephyr. He’s a mini American shepherd and has the most beautiful fur colors. I took him out into our backyard and got his attention with treats and his favorite toys. In this photo, I had told him to sit then had someone hold a treat in front of him to focus his attention so I could get this really clear shot! He’s such a good dog and this photograph is a beautiful look at him.
Comments and Concerns: Aika is a good dog as well, but she tends to be more shy around people and not too interested in other dogs. One of her favorite spots in our backyard is on the couch (much to my dismay) and this is a great shot of her being the Couch Queen that she is. I didn’t have to do any special commands for this shot, I just got low enough and close enough to get this shot without being intrusive. She didn’t mind too much, as she was pretty relaxed at this point.
Comments and Concerns: Informal photos should be of moments caught in action, and I really had good luck with this pretty duck! They came very close to me and didn’t seem to mind me photographing them. I snapped this shot just as the duck looked over its shoulder at me. It was a lucky shot, for sure! I also like how the sunset provided some pretty shaded, low-light for this one.
Comments and Concerns: I was trying to get a nice posed photo of Aika, but caught her tongue as she licked her lips, which changed this photo to an informal one. I really love how clear it looks and how shiny/wet her tongue is. Aika looks so relaxed and happy and I think that’s pretty hard to achieve with her, as she’s normally a very active dog.
Comments and Concerns: Getting a few of the ducks while they enjoyed their swimming was a lot of fun. I had to get very low in the grass in order to get a photo from their viewpoint. I like how the foreground grass is blurred so that the focus becomes the ducks and the water ripples. Their reflections are also really beautiful in the water. The shade and low light from the setting sun gave this photograph a very natural and beautiful look.
