My Dogs Eyes

[rklepper]

One of my favorite subject matters is my animals. My oldest dog (she is 14 now) is going blind and her eyes are clouding up. Whatever causes them to cloud up really lights up with the flash. Is there a way around this? Thanks for any suggestions.

http://www.iowalakes.edu/faculty/klepper/pictures/cocoa01.htm

[PhotosGuy]

You have to get the flash off the camera. Higher, or to the side, or both.

[jopfin]

Is that a Doxie? I have two of the psycho dogs, I agree with the move the flash comment, great pic otherwise though...........Joe

[rklepper]

I just purchased this camera and do not have a flash, just the one on the camera. So I hsould purchase another flash. Any particular one would work best? The camera is a Rebel XT.

Yes, these dogs and rather psycho, but I sure do love them. We have 2 the 14 year old and a 6 month old.

[PhotosGuy]

Why not take him outdoors on an overcast day? & get down to his level, too.

[sixshot]

Cool.

[scottbergerphoto]

Dogs retinas(vascular back of the eye that recieves light) reflect green, whereas the reflection off of a human retina is red. As your dog ages it develops thickening of the corneas or cataracts, which blur the reflection. The photographic solution is the same as for Red Eye.
This is from the EOS Flash Sticky:
"Red Eye" occurs when light from a flash, usually camera mounted, is reflected off the back of the subjects eyes and back to the camera. The red is the color of the blood filled vessels at the back of the eye or Retina. The smaller the angle between the flash and the subject, the more likely you will get "red eye". The best way to deal with this phenomenon is to prevent it. You do that by getting the flash off the camera on a bracket or in your hand and connected to the camera with a Canon "Off the Shoe Cord 2". That way you still have ETTL. You place the flash about 12 inches above the lens and pointed at the subject. It will also give some more depth to the picture. You might also try increasing the ambient light in the room if possible to reduce the size of the subject's pupils. Some cameras have a "red eye" reduction feature. The camera fires a flash before the flash (not to be confused with the pre-flash of the ETTL) to cause the subject's pupils to contract. The problem with this is that it makes your subjects look like their squinting and does nothing for that "headlights in the eyes" look.
In a pinch, most photo editing software has some method of removing "red eye" after the fact.
PS: My dog is getting older too. It's very painful because there is nothing I can do about it.