Liesje
Posted : 1/3/2011 10:50:19 AM
ShelterDogs, I got your PM and am responding re. the photography in this thread. Most of what I would say has already been covered above. Another thing is that you really have to know the dogs. When you are doing events this is more important than being a good photographer. What I mean is, if I am the official photographer for a GSD show, the owners would rather have a not-perfect photo of their dog stacked correctly and taken from the correct angle, than a photo that is not flattering to the dog that might be perfect as far as white balance, exposure, etc. I hope that makes sense! I get asked to be the official photographer for dog shows and events not because I am the best photographer with the best equipment (quite far from it, on both counts) but because I KNOW the breed and/or the sport/event. If I'm photographing a Schutzhund trial, I know *when* to take the picture, what types of action shots best showcase the dog and what shots the owner would delete. If a dog is not performing well, I know when to not take a picture so as not to inadvertently offend the owner. Again here I reitterate how important it is to be at the level of the dog. I've seen some great photographers with great skill take pics I would trash because they were standing up when taking a photo of a dog stacked on the ground. I've had people tell me that one of my greatest advantages photographing dog events is that I can easily squat down, sit on my knees, or lie on my stomach. Some people are physically incapable of getting correct angles. When crawling around I am also very conscious of being a fly on the wall, not EVER getting in the way of a judge, not ever creating a distraction for a dog or handler. At the conformation events I shoot, everyone in the ring yields to the judge, and everyone else (ring stewards, translator, secretary) but the judge yields to the photographer. I have some favorite ring stewards that are awesome about keeping people out of my way without me constantly having to ask. When I do a show with my little group of photogs we promise to get gaiting and stacked shots of every single dog and for the types of shows we do there are sometimes 20+ dogs in the ring, plus the handlers, double handlers, judge(s), translator, stewards, and other officials. I like being a photographer because I know German so I can hear what the judges are saying about the dogs under their breath, lol. It also gives me the best view of the dogs and I can hear the critiques in both languages.
Also I totally agree with buster, I MUCH prefer overcast days that have light, or even right before or after a light rain, to full noon sun. My preferred lens also seems to work the best in those conditions. I've actually gotten better pictures at dusk than in mid-day sun.