Staranais Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 OK, so this is probably going to be a dumb post, since I know very little about photography. I have a lovely malinois girl with a dark mask and dark eyes. I find it really hard to capture her expressions in photos, her eyes seem to blend into her mask since her whole face is so dark. I'll include some examples to show what I mean: This is the kind of photo I get of her - nice photo, but can't really see her face! Same with these ones! Does anyone have any tips & tricks how to make her face and especially her eyes more visible in photos? I've fiddled round with camera settings but no success so far since I don't really know what I'm doing. I've also tried lightening her face in photoshop, but then she ends up with a grey mask that just looks silly. I only have a point & shoot (canon powershot a470), and access to photoshop elements, so I guess there's only so much I can do - but any advice would be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 In the first pic it looks like you are shooting into the sun. Better with the sun behind you and maybe try with a lighter plainer background behind her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest belgian.blue Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 I have the same issues with my Groenendael but she's alllll black. Don't have any photos to show you right now but you can see some in my siggy, natural light is what I've found works the best. Have her looking into the sun whenever possible, also around noon is a great time. I've fluked a few times getting a good shot of her inside, with a DSLR, but no idea how I did that. Helps having a DSLR as you have adjust everything just that little bit more. Black faced dogs are a task! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 Thanks you two, I will try to have the sun in front of her & not behind. Hopefully that will make some difference! That is a pretty shot of your dog (Ivy?) in your signature, Belgian Blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Also time of day is really important. I have got some of my best pictures in full sun, once shadows start to happen I lose a lot of detail in my black dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda K Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 the best is to go to an area that is not that contrasty, as unlike our eyes, a camera can only capture 5 stops of light, so if you are somewhere where there is very harsh light (like shooting as someone suggested in noon sun), you are not going to get the best results - the camera is going to clip data and render areas with very little detail - it simply does not have the pixels to record all the data. Looking at the histogram will tell you if this has occured, as you will have the data squishing up against one end or the other - ideally you want the histogram to not be clipped. Natural light is certainly the key, and try areas of lower contrast than what you have here - a patch of full shade if you must shoot on a sunny day (not dappled shade), or ideally wait till the sun is a little lower in the sky (like a couple of hours just before sunset or sunrise - winter time we can get away with shooting just about all day, as the sun is not directly overhead, but on a sunny cloudless day you are making it much harder. The best of all is shooting on a bright overcast day (when it is totally cloudy, but not gloomy), as you then have the whole sky acting like a giant lightbox, diffusing the light, and making for brilliant shooting conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest belgian.blue Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 (edited) Thanks you two, I will try to have the sun in front of her & not behind. Hopefully that will make some difference! That is a pretty shot of your dog (Ivy?) in your signature, Belgian Blue. Yeah that's Ivy .. I'll post a few good ones of her now for you to see Mind you, these are with a Dslr. These two are Ivy looking into the sun .. One of those indoor flukes .. eta .. all without flash as I hate the way it gives the photo a fake appearance Edited December 4, 2010 by belgian.blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairo1 Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Have you tried using a 'fill in' flash?? Cairo1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted December 8, 2010 Author Share Posted December 8, 2010 Oh those are pretty, Belgian Blue. Cairo1, what is a fill in flash? My point and shoot has a flash, but it gives my dog red eyes when I use it (looks like the vampire dog of doom)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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