A Rottie and a Shepherd

[24Freak]

I just got my first DSLR, and am still getting used to the settings and such. I've learned loads however, and have been having a ton of fun with it.

What do you guys think about this shot? How is the composition? What could I do to improve it?

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/littlewolfe/My%20Photography/IMG_0076.jpg
No flash used.
32.0mm
Exposure: 1/1600
Aperture: f/4.5

[Deliquesce-Flux]

Congrats and learning how to use your camera! There is a load of information to process, but you are already doing good, I think :)

In my honest opinion, it's a good shot, but the composition is very awkward. With a portrait shot of a dog like this, I think that the lines should lead directly to the dog, so your eye will right away settle on the canine. Though the rottie is in focus, your eye doesn't directly settle on it because the background is very busy. I wish the german shepherd would've been more to the left, and not underlapping the rottwieler. Or next time, you can play with your aperture a bit to get the focus on the two dogs at once, then you won't have a problem with the overlapping and underlapping of subjects :)

I'm not a professional photographer, and I'm still learning how to photograph myself, but I am just giving you an opinion based on the visual!