Master the Triangle - Week 6 - Project 52

The photography challenge for week 6 is to Master the Triangle. Let me start by admitting, somehow I misinterpreted the instructions. The instructions were to: pick a scene with a strong foreground and focus on that. Begin with the highest shutter speed and widest aperture at ISO 400 and then slow down each a stop for your next image. Keep stopping down your aperture and shutter speed until you get to the tightest aperture. Repeat these steps by adjusting your ISO. Keep doing this exercise until you're comfortable with the give and take each adjustment provides." I understood the part about 'pick a scene with a strong foreground and to adjust the settings' but I also thought somewhere it said that 'the subject needed to be stationary.' I have no idea where I got that from. I was thinking my subject needed to be perfectly still and I couldn't figure out how was I going to get a dog to be perfectly still. Well as I did last week, I went with Plan B this week too. And I love Plan B. Her name is Delilah.

She is a 2 year old cock-a-poo that I have the pleasure of seeing every week because I am her dog walker. She has the most scrumptious fur and the color of it is a wonderful mocha. I could drink her up! She is a curious one and she loves her backyard. I love her backyard too. It is one of my favorite places to photograph. I thought I might have a chance of getting Delilah to be stationary in her yard (since I thought that was a requirement) and that I would have a chance to snap some photos and make the adjustments to the various settings without her moving a lot.

Here is my final image and when I sent it to Delilah's mom, she replied back I LOVE IT!!! I know my images and my editing need a lot of improvement because I'm not a seasoned professional photographer but when someone tells me they love an image that I took, I could almost weep with happiness.

Below are two images and the only thing I corrected on them was the white balance and the exposure. I wanted to post two photos that have different ISOs. They both have an aperture of f/11. The first one has an ISO of 400 and the 2nd image is ISO 2000. With this adjustment of my ISO, the shutter speed went from 1/50 on the first image to 1/250 on the 2nd. When I zoomed in on the 2nd image, I could seem more noise due to the higher ISO and it looks hazier to me. This was a good exercise and one I should continue to practice so I can master the triangle.

As promised, this post is much shorter than last week. YAY for me (and maybe even more for you, the reader!)

Remember this is a blog circle and up next is Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati and the San Francisco Bay Area. Keep clicking the link at the end of each post to read each photographer's take on the assignment this week and to see the cute pictures they post.

PS I've read ahead to next week's challenge and I'm really excited to start working on it. I've also seen week 8.... oy! Week 8 is going to be hard for me! Stayed tuned.....

Project 52 - week 5

If this is your first time to my blog, welcome! I have joined a facebook pet photography group that challenges its members to blog and post pictures about weekly topics. This is my first week participating although technically the group is in week 5. The group is called Project 52 and this week's challenge is "Optimize your RAW Exposures." At the end of this post is a link to the next photographer participating in the Project 52 challenge. Be sure to click the link and read their interpretation of this week's assignment. Since I probably have some new readers who don't know me here is a quick blurb about me. My name is Kim and I started a dog walking and pet sitting company in 2008. (My 7 year anniversary is April 4. It'll be 7 years!!!) I started the dog walking business because I have always loved dogs. The photography didn't come in until 6 years later. I have always enjoyed taking pictures but I never really thought about it much more than that, until 2014. In 2014, our black lab Buddy's health was failing. I knew I didn't want to make the mistake with him that I'd made with my two previous labs, Sloan and Sam. One of my biggest regrets is not having great (really GREAT) images of them. I have tons of pictures of them but none are very good. So, in August 2014 I bought a Nikon. Buddy died 5 weeks later but the images I took of him I will treasure forever. A year and a half later I really realize how much I didn't know at the time I was taking those photos of Buddy. Someone was looking out for me because a couple of them are actually okay. And that is how See Spot Run Photography was born.

So back to Project 52 - week 5. Here is this week's challenge from this newbie's* perspective and here are the instructions I was given: For this week, turn the "blinkies" on (Highlight Warnings or something similar in your camera menu). Since we're shooting in RAW, don't use the LCD to judge your exposure, because it's reading the camera's JPG. Use the histogram for taking your images and try to keep the exposure as far right as you can. You'll adjust the color and exposure in your post-processing.

Let me just say, that I am proud that I actually knew what this meant. (Now knowing what this meant and translating it to an image are two totally different things as I discovered and you will too if you keep reading!) Someone a long time ago must've told me about the blinkies and the histogram because I look at them a lot. Blinkies are on the LCD screen on the back of the camera and they flash when the whites in your image are too bright. The flashing is generally not a good thing - it means you need to make some adjustments on the camera to tone them down. (I am sure if I go back and read this down the road I will be completely embarrassed that this is my explanation for flashing highlights!) To keep the exposure as far to the right as possible, that means when I look at the histogram on the back of my camera, all of the mountains (data) should be on the right side.

Below is an example of what a histogram in Lightroom looks like. I couldn't figure out how to copy the histogram for one of my photos but this is basically what I was trying to achieve. I wanted to take a picture and I wanted the histogram data (mountains) to look similar to this one, with the data mainly on the right side. If you are looking at the histogram, the far left side is black and the far right is white so it goes from dark to light. Since the project 52 challenge was to have the data on the far right side, I knew I needed to find a lighter colored subject. This histogram could represent a photo of anything but there is definitely some lighter colored objects in the photo since that's where most of the data is.

My goal was to have as many light colored objects in the image as possible to keep the data to the right. Blacks are on the far left side of the histogram so I didn't want anything black in the image. Task #1, I needed to find a dog to use as my subject.

I knew I was going to be walking Bailey today and Bailey is a precious, light tan colored, big-ole-fluff of a golden doodle. Unfortunately my walk with him was going to be around 1pm which is not ideal photo taking time but he is the only light colored dog I was seeing today. My 2nd problem was, I had no assistant to help me (which is frequently an issue I have.) Trying to take photos of dogs without someone to help is REALLY hard. (That's a topic for another discussion though.) After asking his family's permission to use him as my model and after our walk, we went to his backyard.

My initial thought was to have Bailey sit which he does really well if he knows he is going to get a treat. I thought I would position myself on the ground near him and shoot up at him with the sky in the background. It was pretty overcast (which was helpful since it was 1pm). I thought: light tan colored dog + overcast sky = most of the data pushed right. Right? Well, not exactly or at least not exactly when I took the photos. Bailey did great but he really didn't really understand why I so close to him on the ground. He kept wanting to stand up and when he stood up, he'd move around which is not an easy shot to try and take especially for me. (Why does my best assistant have to be 13 years old and in middle school at 1pm on a Monday?) Do I need to mention that at this point I am thinking to myself, " I hope the neighbors aren't watching!"

I moved on to Plan B even though I didn't really have a plan B. I did have an eye doctor appointment in about 30 minutes so I had about 15 more minutes to try and get a shot of him that met the Project 52 assignment. I can snap a lot of pictures in 15 minutes but getting a decent picture in that amount of time is hard and getting a decent image that meets the Project 52 challenge requirement might have proved to be impossible for me. But hey, that's why I'm doing this challenge, right? Chin up... I will strive to do better next week.

LESSONS LEARNED IN PROJECT 52 - WEEK 5: 1. Taking photos of dogs with long hair around their eyes is hard - I couldn't find them! 2. A black nose, black in the background and green grass will show up on the histogram on the far left and in the middle. Not the far right which was the assignment challenge. 3. By cropping a photo of Bailey, I was closer to fulfilling the assignment of creating a photo with most of the data on the right side of the histogram. (The 3rd photo.)

So, here is my effort for Project 52 - week 5.

If I crop this photo and get rid of most of the blacks and greens in the photo, then my histogram data is mainly on the right. :) Trust me on this... I cannot figure out how to copy the histogram here. I know it can be done but apparently not by me.

And lastly, *how long can I call myself a newbie? I am hoping for a very long time because I still have so much to learn.

If I haven't mentioned that I love doing this, I do! The feeling I get when I'm behind the lens photographing a dog is priceless and to discover that at this point in my life is well... life changing. Who knew!

Remember to check out the next photographer's take on this week's assignment and next up is Hoof N Paw Fine Art Photography. I'm excited to read everyone else's posts and see the cute pictures they post (remember this is a pet photography group!) Be sure to continue clicking the links at the bottom of each post. You'll end up right back here at See Spot Run Photography when you're finished.

PS I promise to try and make the next post shorter! Whew... congrats if you made it through this one.

The Photography Learning Curve

In the past 3-4 months, I have been thinking a lot about what I'm calling the photography learning curve. I applied to and was accepted to attend a pet photography workshop this spring. (Look for future posts about this exciting... and I mean EXCITING news!) Once I was accepted to the workshop, I knew I needed to spend time on improving my photography skills. I know the point of attending the workshop is to become a better pet photographer so perhaps my previous statement doesn't make a lot of sense to some of you but I want to get everything I can out of the workshop and I don't want to feel like the topics being discussed are over my head. I knew I had a lot of homework to do prior to the workshop. I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and he was asking about See Spot Run and the conversation turned towards my pet photography. I told him about the workshop this spring and how excited I am. His comment was "I didn't know there was so much to learn about photography." I laughed and told him I had no clue when I bought my camera in 2014. Let me just say, the photography learning curve is steep. The 'pet' photography learning curve is just plain hard. But oh how I love it!

Here is an example of a photo I took in December that I am really happy with the result and below it is a photo I took after having my camera for a few weeks. The differences in the photos are obvious, right?

Here is an example of a photo taken by me three weeks after I got my camera:

Both of these photos are close up shots of similar colored dogs. How can they be so different and why is one better than the other? The answer is what makes photography so complicated. (The answer isn't that one dog is staring directly at the lens of the camera.)

Photography and cameras are both complicated. How many of you have nice cameras but you don't know how to really use them? Are you confused by all of the dials and buttons? Is yours just programmed to be used on automatic?

I recently read an ebook entitled "Photo Nuts and Bolts" by Neil Creek. The introduction discusses understanding the theoretical fundamentals of a camera and let me just say, I struggled through my science classes in high school and I struggled with understanding the concepts in this book too. The ebook discusses how a pinhole camera works and how bending light affects all photography. This is known as refraction and is something I've not ever thought about when I am taking a photo until now.

Understanding aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (the exposure triangle) are critical to taking good photos. Understanding white balance, metering, focal length, depth of field, and even more complicated subjects like hyperfocal distance are all topics that are part of the photography learning curve.

To completely simplify photography, you can think about these 3 parts: 1. Understanding the camera 2. Actually taking the picture 3. Editing the picture

Once you know how to use your camera, then there are an entirely different set of issues to think about before snapping the shutter button. What is your light source and where is it? If you are outside taking pictures for 30 minutes, is your light source changing? If you photographing a dog and he is running around in the shade and in the sun, your light source is changing! Then there is composition. There are books written solely on composition and there are actually rules about proper composition. Who knew??

The last step in creating an image is the editing process. This is where Photoshop comes in. Photoshop was actually developed to be used as a graphic design tool so Lightroom was developed specifically for photographers. However there are things that need to be done to photos such as removing a leash from a photo that are done much easier in Photoshop than in Lightroom so understanding both is critical. To say Photoshop and Lightroom are complicated is an understatement.

So if you've ever wondered why it costs so much to hire a photographer, it's because the really good ones are artists. I hired a photographer to take photos of Buddy a few years ago. I think I paid around $400 for the photo session. That is a lot of money and at the time I'm sure I didn't understand why it cost so much but I really wanted to have professional images of my dogs. One of my BIGGEST REGRETS EVER is not having great pictures of my first two dogs Sloan and Sam. They are both gone now so I missed the opportunity to have great photos of them. I have a ton of pictures of them but none of them are great and by great, I mean the kind that come from a professional camera used by a professional photographer.

With the cameras that come on our phones these days, you can take a decent picture but most of us aren't going to take great pictures with them. You're probably not going to take a picture you can enlarge and hang on a wall in your house to remember Sloan or Sam when they're gone. But I do have enlarged photos of Buddy on the walls in my house and that $400 was worth every penny. Buddy was worth every penny.

I am going to master this photography learning curve so I can create images that will make others feel like I feel when I see those photos of Buddy.

2015 in Review

Happy New Year!! Here is a look back on 2015 in review. 2015 was an amazing year for me and I'm so excited to see what 2016 brings. 2015 was my first full year offering See Spot Run Pet Photography and I am so grateful that I have been able to pursue my dream of becoming a pet photographer. Prior to owning this camera, I didn't even know I wanted to be a pet photographer. Discovering this new passion at this point in my life is amazing!! In 2015, I took a lot of classes from The Photo Classroom, I've read a lot of books and I've watched a lot of youtube videos (mainly on photoshop and lightroom editing.) A local photographer, Sarah McGraw of McGraw Photography (McGraw Photography website) referred me to Australian photographer, (Charlotte Reeves Photography) who offers pet photography education. Through Charlotte I connected with a facebook group of pet photographers that has been an amazing learning opportunity. In April 2016, I will get to meet Charlotte when I attend a pet photography workshop facilitated by her and 2 other professional photographers. I'm so excited about 2016! I practiced my photography on several of my client's dogs. I am so fortunate to have so many dogs and cats to photograph when I am pet sitting. Ginger is one of the first dogs in 2015 that I photographed. While pet sitting with her, I brought an assistant to help me photograph her (one of my neighbor's daughters, thanks Shana and Emma!) This is one of the photos from that day and still one of my favorites from 2015.

In March, I was invited to a 14th birthday party. This is Elliott. First of all, she is a black lab which is possibly my most favorite breed. Even more importantly, Elliott knew my Buddy (who we lost in Sept 2014.) Buddy was our first black lab (hence my love for black labs.) I have loved all of our labs but Buddy was a really special dog. Luckily for me, another favorite photo of mine that I've ever taken was of this special girl, Elliott. The 2nd picture is her enjoying her frozen yogurt... she says YUM!

Until April, I'd not photographed a dog I didn't know. That changed when I met and got to photograph Joey. Some of these photos were taken indoors which is also something I don't normally do. I was pleased with the results.

This beauty is Sunny and I spend a lot of time with him when his family travels. He is a dream to photograph.

In July, I turned 50. I wanted to go somewhere fabulous and somewhere it wasn't going to be hot and humid. I chose Banff and Banff did not disappoint. The entire trip was amazing. Highlights included meeting up with a local photographer, walking with wolves and touring a dog sledding facility. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trip (and choosing these was difficult!)

In early October, Don and I traveled back to southern California where we lived for 3 years. I love going back there, mainly because it is so pretty and because the weather is always fabulous. Here are a few favorite shots from the trip which of course included a stop at the Huntington Beach Dog Beach. It is just a few steps from the Huntington Pier and the waves were huge on this day!

In October, I was invited to photograph an event called 2015 Barktoberfest at Social Pet, a doggie day care and training facility in Pineville.

In November, a dog trainer Courtney Wise with Off Leash Dog Training asked me to photograph her dogs. As a new photographer, let me just say photographing a dog trainer's dog is a dream come true. I have really wanted to post the picture of "A Boy and His Dogs" but Courtney used it as her Christmas card so I resisted posting it until now. It is also one of my most favorite pictures I've taken this past year.

I briefly met this next dog Sonny at Barktoberfest. Sonny's dad Jay brought him there and when Jay's mom contacted me in November about photographing Sonny so she could surprise Jay with pictures of his dog for Christmas, I was beyond excited. My favorite picture I took all year, came from this session at Freedom Park. And I fell in love with Sonny.

So here is 2015 in Review. I'm excited to think about what photos I'll get to post throughout 2016 and which photos will make my 2016 Year in Review. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is so hard and yesterday I had to say goodbye to my client's much loved dog Dusty. I met Dusty on November 9, 2009 and I walked him pretty much every Monday through Friday since then. I was amazed when I looked back and saw that it had been 6 years. 6! No wonder this loss has hit me so hard. He was the best little guy ever and always such a happy dog. Dusty had a health scare 3 months ago and we knew his time with us was probably limited so we tried to enjoy every day we had with him.

I am so thankful that it stopped raining on Monday 11/9 and that Dusty and I had a nice walk. He couldn't see or hear well anymore but his legs and his nose both worked great. If there was a piece of chewing gum or other food on the ground, you can be assured that he would try and find it. Luckily for me he was pretty obvious about it so rarely did actually get to whatever it was he was trying to find.

When I think of Dusty, these things make me smile: 1. His name. Dusty Lovin. To most he was known as "Dusty Lovin", not "Dusty." 2. The brown spots on his white nose. I loved them. 3. The way his short tail would wag when I walked him. 4. His solid looking back legs and the way they slightly bowed when he walked. He always walked in front of me and I could see his little lets just going. They always looked so solid and coming from a mom of labs who tend to develop arthritis in their back legs, I always loved Dusty's. 5. His mom. She works a lot but she still left me a note almost every morning. Sometimes a thanks, sometimes have a nice weekend. 6. On that last day, when I rubbed his back, his little tail wagged. Thank you Dusty for that.

I love you and miss you Dusty.

'Don't be sad that it is over. Be happy that it happened.' Dr Suess

Layla

I used to pet sit for Layla's mom when she had another dog. I'd not heard from her in a year or so (unfortunately she no longer has Abbie) but back in August I got an unexpected email from her. She'd just gotten an 8 week old puppy and she needed my help. She wanted to know if I was interested. She did not need to ask - yes, I was interested. Layla is a yellow lab and as most of you know, I have two labs. I've taken some photos of her with my phone during my visits with her but only recently were her mom and I able to coordinate our schedules so I could bring the Nikon and photograph her. She is growing so fast and I've loved being a part of it and seeing her everyday. I swear sometimes I can tell that she has grown over the weekend! Here are a few pictures from that day.