There are times, when taking photos, that despite your best plan, things don't always work out the way you'd like them to work out.  Especially when photographing pets, like cats or dogs.  Movement can destroy a perfect pose.  A dog who might be afraid of a prop, will not give you a natural, happy facial expression.

It's times like these that require editing knowledge, and use of software to make a happy image as close as you can get it to the original blueprints in your head.

Our girl, Lilah, had a birthday this week, and I had a tentative plan for a birthday photo.  It included flower garlands, a subdued little pose in the studio, and an addition of texture to soften the photo.  Here's what really happened.

Lilah was not happy with a flower garland wrapped around her neck.  That was problem number one.  The minute I moved away from her, she would try to remove it.  So I quickly decided the garland had to go, but I did manage to get one shot with the garland placed there, and luckily, that shot was pretty clear in terms of the flowers.  Once I removed the garland, I was able to get Lilah to relax amid the flowers strewn on the floor drop, enough to get a pose I could work with digitally.  Here are both photos ("I hate the garland" and "thank God the garland is gone").

I also adjusted the lighting set up between the first and second image, and used a different angle in terms of the shot itself to bring in more floor flowers.  But I still wanted that garland to appear around Lilah's neck, and I wanted to add something more than just a texture to the backdrop. 

So I searched the web for a free backdrop photo and found this one of a garden arch.

I found hundreds of flower arches, but this one was bright, and seemed to me would be the one to work best as an overlay.  I placed this image over the image of Lilah in "lighten" mode using Photoshop Elements, then used a reveal layer to bring the parts of Lilah's posed photo back into the mix.  I then reduced the opacity of the arch layer to 42% so it blended into the backdrop.

Next I pieced together the flowers from the photo around Lilah's neck in the "Yes I moved" photo over to the posed photo of Lilah by using the rectangular marquee tool, along with edit-copy-paste, and masking off what I did not need to remain of the transferred flower images.  I also used the clone tool to take out some of the plastic stems from the floor garland because they were unsightly and drew the eye in their direction.  I then did some minor adjustments to brightness, white balance, and levels.

Finally, I added a top layer texture called iridescent brush to the photo (again, by placing it over the top of the finished product as an overlay), and reduced its opacity to 57%.  I brushed the texture away from the parts of the image that I wanted to reveal more with a brush set at 78% opacity.  Below is the final image.

Due to the holiday, it's a very short blog circle of two.  Be sure to check out Cincinnati pet photographer, Suzi Pix Photography's digital darkroom blog. I can't wait to see what Susannah Maynard and Mr. Bojangles have in store for us.

This week I'm going to feature one photo with a shallow depth of field and one with a deep depth of field. A camera will focus at a single point, but there will be an area in front of and behind this point that still appears sharp. This area is known as the depth of field. It’s not a precisely measured distance, but changes in size and can be described as either shallow--where a narrow area appears sharp, or deep--where the area of sharpness is larger.

I have to say, that I tend to use a shallow depth of field more often than a deeper depth of field.  Shallow allows for blurring.  Sometimes the background (behind the subject) isn't pleasing to the eye.  By using a shallow depth of field, the blurring of foreground and background can help narrow the focus of the image to the subject, and not what is necessarily around the subject.   In general, keeping your aperture wide and staying closer to your subject, allows for a shallow depth of field. But it also depends on your camera and your lens.

Below is a photo of a lovely merle Collie done at a local park using a shallow depth of field. Since the area around the Collie was strewn with leaves and tree shadows, I decided to use a narrower focal area.  You can see the resulting blur in the background and right up to the foreground of the image.

My aperture was set at f/4 on a very bright day, and I was very close to the subject.  I used a 50mm lens.

Below, is an image with a deeper depth of field.  I am using the same lens (50mm) but with an aperture setting of f/11.  I needed to make sure that all of the items surrounding this cute little Beagle man were brought into the picture as well, so using a shallow depth of field would not have worked well here, especially since I wanted the sign to be very visible as part of the backdrop.  This is Pup McGraw, and he is one of the dog models for a special project I am working on.  If his Mom reads this blog, this will be the first time she is seeing this photo.  Surprise!

You also need to remember to check your speed and ISO settings as well.  While changing your focal distance is an option (how close or how far you stand from your subject), it is often best to dial in the correct aperture, speed and ISO to achieve the best results. 

Now to see more of this week's theme, start here with Kathie Ono, Ono Pet Photography, and continue onward through the loop until you are back here again. 

I am no stranger to high key images.  I like the drama of a high key image. However, not every image will work when shot and processed using this method. 

Essentially you should look for a solid, light backdrop.  White seamless paper or a white wall will do the trick, or, as you can see in this image just below, snow works very well.  This image of Burton was shot in the snows of last winter.  The shot is overexposed, on purpose, to blow out the shadows and eliminate some of the contrast.  Since Burton is mostly white, the outlines of his body blended into the very bright snow as well once I overexposed the shot.

Once again, I used the process to design a card with the image of a shelter cat.  The cat was positioned against a white wall in a community cat room where the bank of windows caused sunlight to fill the space.  I used only that light reflected off the white walls to create this image, which, once again, I overexposed.

In both of these situations, I had ideal settings and animal colors (black and white) to produce a dramatic high key image.  Now onto this past weekend, and an image shot in less than ideal conditions.

Sassy, a visiting setter who came to stay with us on Sunday for the day, was my subject.  She is eight years old and a lovely girl.  The day was a bit overcast, but there were breaks in the clouds when sunshine came through.  The background is our patio, which I have completely washed out in post processing.  I used an open shutter on a 50mm 1.8 lens.  I then used my levels and contrast adjustments to tweak the image into high key.  There are  a few shadows below her chin and to the left, but the image is still dramatic and qualifies as high key.

There are only a few of us working the theme this week, so head to Cincinnati pet photographer, Suzi Pix Photography
to catch her high key images!

This week's theme deals with catch lights.  Catch lights are reflections in the eye stemming from a photographer's light source or set up.  They give the eye more depth and create a certain feel to the photo.  Most photographers strive to achieve pleasing catch lights at a 10 or 2 o'clock position in the eye, as these have been deemed the most attractive spots in which to accentuate the eye.

I decided to choose Burton for this week's photo project because he has especially hard eyes to photograph in various lighting situations.  Again, I've chosen a studio shot with a dark background. I wanted the shot to be more dramatic, so I planned for back lighting. 

Burton is deaf, and due to his pigmentation, his eyes include one blue, and some spots of blue in the other eye.  When I photograph him, then, I am trying to add a smaller catch light (which means I need to distance my frontal light source), and not have the light reflect too highly on the blues.  Sometimes they can be mistaken for catch lights.

Burton is a relatively calm (if you have a treat in your hand) dog who knows many commands and will "sit" or "down" for a treat.  I used an off camera flash on a light stand just over and behind Burton's right shoulder.  I used an umbrella light spaced three feet from the right tip of Burton's nose (camera left for me).  This allowed the catch lights to remain small.  I then simply used my treat to get him to look exactly where I needed him to focus, and as you can see, the catch lights are in the 10 o'clock position without affecting the blues in his eyes.

To catch up on more catch lights, head over to Cincinnati pet photographer, Suzi Pix Photography.  There is a small circle this week, but should nevertheless be fun to see the outcomes.