I like this photo... but is it too snap-shotty?

[TheMaggedy]

I captured this at our local dog park, and while I realize you can't see the woman's face, I love her body language with the dog - the way they are curved together, her hands buried in his fur. Is this a nice capture or just a snapshot? I am still trying to learn how to tell. Thanks as always for comments and critique.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2803/4030058493_dd070c6474_b.jpg

[battletone]

How much did you crop off the picture? I think the cropping is holding it back. Like walking in a crawl space instead of bending over.

[TheMaggedy]

I'd have to go back and pull the original. Are you thinking I cropped the top too much or that the whole thing is too square? Often with the dog park pics there is a reason I crop them a certain way (to cut out half a dog or half a human etc). I'll look back and see if there was a reason or if I just goofed :)

[aroundlsu]

I think it is a great image and could be a stock photo except that it is a little too grainy. Looks you pushed the ISO too hard. I am guessing ISO 800. Stock photos are always take sharp and clear. Other than that, yes it's a great photo.

[TheMaggedy]

Wow. I just checked the EXIF data and the ISO was 100 for this shot! However it was near dusk so maybe that's why it has that grainy look. Perhaps fill flash would have helped?

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 85 mm
Exposure: -0.25
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

[aroundlsu]

Maybe I am losing my mind, but it looks grainy to me. Anyone care to differ?

[Television]

yeah it was grainy to me too

what iso were you shooting at?

[TheMaggedy]

Believe it or not, the EXIF shows ISO 100. I agree it's grainy. I was more wondering if I was on the mark liking the mood/composition of the photo. I think this was shot at near dusk - would that contribute to the grainy look?

[jetcode]

It appears to be (snap-shotty) but that doesn't bother me in the least. I am interested in why the gravel appears to be blue on my monitor. Also those cones in the back, one is sticking out of your subjects back. For the most part that's a no-no in portraiture but hey I photograph weird things that few people can relate to so I'm becoming much more relaxed about such matters. I do like the play of blond and blond but I wish you had spent a little more time sussing out the backdrop all of this was taken on. A favorite tool of mine is to cut out a 2"x3" (full frame) rectangle out of a 8x10 grey card and use this to frame the image before using your camera. This came from Ansel Adams who used this technique before setting up the serious wood (8x10 camera). For me it makes a difference though I am getting better at viewing a setting without it.

[TheMaggedy]

Hmmmm, jetcode. Blue gravel. Possibly a white balance problem. I'll run it through Lightroom again. Then again, that's basically the color of the gravel that time of day (6:30 PM) - it appears very gray-blue.

Good tips on framing the image. Thank you.

[jetcode]

Hmmmm, jetcode. Blue gravel. Possibly a white balance problem. I'll run it through Lightroom again. Then again, that's basically the color of the gravel that time of day (6:30 PM) - it appears very gray-blue.

Good tips on framing the image. Thank you.

Did you saturate the color? If so sometimes when dealing with a grey scale type element I will mask off that element and saturate the color of the elements that really need it.

[griptape]

It is pretty darn noisy, and in my opinion, over saturated, but saturation is a matter of taste. The noise can be fixed though:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2547/4030748179_74e0d4855b_o.jpg

[TheMaggedy]

Wow, griptape - how did you do that?! It looks fantastic now (if I do say so myself). Thank you!

[griptape]

I used Nik Dfine (although noise ninja, noiseware, or neat image would have done a fine job as well). After I ran the noise reduction, the dog's coat didn't have enough detail, so I masked him out so only about 8% of the noise reduction was applied to her.