Sunset Scentwork

Hello, Elaine. Ruby has featured in your portfolio before, she is a delight. Yes, the sunset hues work well here. Shutter Priority is a good idea to use with an animal that is obviously moving about. You have lovely focus on Ruby's eye. She is coming towards you, and that works really well to engage the viewer. I like the way you have your dog over to the left of the frame. I'd like to have seen the original, prior to your crop, which you can upload here as a Modification, so we can perhaps give you alternative cropping suggestions. Firstly, I find those rocks at the top a big distraction. It's the dog, its reflection and the water that are your subjects. Keep it simple for best impact. I have done a modification where I cropped the top and left, placing Ruby on a thirds line. I cloned out what was left of the rocks. I then added a bit more canvas at the bottom, giving Ruby somewhere to walk and sniff into. I finished with a slight brightening and contrast adjustment. It's a fine image. Always try to get down low to take pictures of your pet, and focus on the eyes. [link=https://www.ephotozine.com/article/perfect-your-pet-photography-with-these-6-top-tips-13144]HERE[/link] is an EPZ article you might find of help. Pamela.

Hello, Elaine.
Ruby has featured in your portfolio before, she is a delight.
Yes, the sunset hues work well here.

Shutter Priority is a good idea to use with an animal that is obviously moving about.
You have lovely focus on Ruby's eye. She is coming towards you, and that works really well to engage the viewer.
I like the way you have your dog over to the left of the frame.

I'd like to have seen the original, prior to your crop, which you can upload here as a Modification, so we can perhaps give you alternative cropping suggestions.

Firstly, I find those rocks at the top a big distraction. It's the dog, its reflection and the water that are your subjects. Keep it simple for best impact.

I have done a modification where I cropped the top and left, placing Ruby on a thirds line. I cloned out what was left of the rocks. I then added a bit more canvas at the bottom, giving Ruby somewhere to walk and sniff into. I finished with a slight brightening and contrast adjustment. It's a fine image.

Always try to get down low to take pictures of your pet, and focus on the eyes.
HERE is an EPZ article you might find of help.

Pamela.

Thanks for the original - I know that sort of sunlight: it lasts very few minutes, and I think you've caught it well. I [b]recognise[/b] that light. It may not be objectively like that, but it feels it... I don't know what your attitude to lenses is, but I reckon you might find that something like a 24, 28 or 35mm fixed focal length lens makes the camera into a completely different beastie. It requires a little more walking, sometimes, but it's amazing how much you can do with one focal length if you try.And it transforms handling! I shoot a lot of people pictures, so I love wide-aperture 85mm lenses on full frame: and even they are lightweights compared with pro-grade zooms... Moderate-aperture wideangles are incredibly light.

Thanks for the original - I know that sort of sunlight: it lasts very few minutes, and I think you've caught it well. I recognise that light. It may not be objectively like that, but it feels it...

I don't know what your attitude to lenses is, but I reckon you might find that something like a 24, 28 or 35mm fixed focal length lens makes the camera into a completely different beastie. It requires a little more walking, sometimes, but it's amazing how much you can do with one focal length if you try.And it transforms handling! I shoot a lot of people pictures, so I love wide-aperture 85mm lenses on full frame: and even they are lightweights compared with pro-grade zooms... Moderate-aperture wideangles are incredibly light.

We had that light one evening recently, it bathed everything in an apricot glow... Here that contrasts with the gorgeous blue. This is a lovely shot. Essentially it's about the dog's face, apparently discovering its reflection (reflections in wet sand are especially rich tonally. The tyre track at the bottom of the frame makes an interesting baseline, the rocks at the top are a distraction and also make the frame top-heavy. Shutter speed priority is absolutely right, I would have been happy to trust 1/500 second, allowing a lower ISO. But we work on what we are comfortable with. Speaking of which, a plastic bin-liner takes up less space than knee-pads - either way it's the getting up afterwards that's the problem! I've uploaded two modifications based on your original file. The first, a tighter crop, with a tiny bit of cloning along the top; colour cooled slightly, exposure increased slightly, shadows lifted. The second modification is my little flight of fancy... Moira

We had that light one evening recently, it bathed everything in an apricot glow... Here that contrasts with the gorgeous blue.

This is a lovely shot. Essentially it's about the dog's face, apparently discovering its reflection (reflections in wet sand are especially rich tonally. The tyre track at the bottom of the frame makes an interesting baseline, the rocks at the top are a distraction and also make the frame top-heavy.

Shutter speed priority is absolutely right, I would have been happy to trust 1/500 second, allowing a lower ISO. But we work on what we are comfortable with. Speaking of which, a plastic bin-liner takes up less space than knee-pads - either way it's the getting up afterwards that's the problem!

I've uploaded two modifications based on your original file. The first, a tighter crop, with a tiny bit of cloning along the top; colour cooled slightly, exposure increased slightly, shadows lifted.

The second modification is my little flight of fancy...
Moira

Any 28mm lens will be good for full frame, I think. People tend to forget that legacy lenses were mostly designed for full-frame film cameras. I've got a very elderly 28mm f/3.5 Nikkor - at least 20 years pre-AF, and it gives decent quality, though it's a little prone to flare. An AF lens will be much more recent, and much better. And quality isn't a great issue with a brand like Nikon: it's only with crop-frames and zooms that there are real questions over quality. I've bought a fair bit of kit through eBay, and there's a money-back option if something doesn't work. A 28/2.8 is a bit unfashionable, and so likely to be reasonably priced compared with both a wider-aperture lens and a wider 24mm..

Any 28mm lens will be good for full frame, I think. People tend to forget that legacy lenses were mostly designed for full-frame film cameras. I've got a very elderly 28mm f/3.5 Nikkor - at least 20 years pre-AF, and it gives decent quality, though it's a little prone to flare. An AF lens will be much more recent, and much better.

And quality isn't a great issue with a brand like Nikon: it's only with crop-frames and zooms that there are real questions over quality. I've bought a fair bit of kit through eBay, and there's a money-back option if something doesn't work. A 28/2.8 is a bit unfashionable, and so likely to be reasonably priced compared with both a wider-aperture lens and a wider 24mm..