Black Lab - Ideas/C&C

Below is a picture of my black lab Kayla. Shes extremely camera shy and usually heads for the doghouse when the cameras come out.

This was probably the best picture Ive managed to get of her, but it just feels like its lacking a bit. It was cropped 4X6 and I adjusted levels and saturation to +10. My monitor is a laptop screen though so what I see isn't always accurate. Also it appears to have lost some detail in re-sizing it for posting.

Any suggestions to make it better using Photoshop, or suggestions of things to do better next time are both appreciated.

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You might consider adding a little bit of vignette but otherwise, this is a very good pet portrait!

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #13560793
You might consider adding a little bit of vignette but otherwise, this is a very good pet portrait!

Thanks, I think I might try that. Don't know why it didn't occur to me to begin with.

Nice old dog, good expression. I'm surprised that you lost sharpness; but you can sharpen the smaller file, using radius, say, 0.6. I don't use the Rule of Thirds as forcing, yet would crop a bit off the left. Also, you may try different white balance settings, see which gives the most natural look.

Meanderthal wrote in post #13561077
Nice old dog, good expression. I'm surprised that you lost sharpness; but you can sharpen the smaller file, using radius, say, 0.6. I don't use the Rule of Thirds as forcing, yet would crop a bit off the left. Also, you may try different white balance settings, see which gives the most natural look.

Yea, I probably need to play with the white balance more often. Kayla hates cameras so I was so happy just to get the shot. Maybe Ill prepare the camera settings BEFORE I let her see it next time. haha

How did you resize and sharpen for posting? I don't pretend to know much about post-processing, but I use DPP to start work with my raw files and finish with photoshop. After adjusting white balance, cropping, unsharpen etc. in DPP, I transfer it to photoshop. The first thing I do in PS is unsharpen mask, resize and unsharpen mask again, then 'save for web'.
...Terry

Overkill-F1 wrote in post #13561405
How did you resize and sharpen for posting?
...Terry

I just made adjustments as needed, then went to image size and made it fit the regulated size, then when I save as a JPG I use the slider to make sure its just under 150KB. For that image I had to take it down to "MEDIUM" quality. I don't shoot RAW for day to day shooting, its just too much of a hassle to process every time. And I dont know much about post processing in general, so thats MY method anyway.

Perhaps a tight crop?...

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Is this any better?

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Just an idea - love the eyes, and yeah, I probably went too tight but I was trying to get Kayla's face a little off of center. Giver her a pat for me.

cacawcacaw wrote in post #13561557
Just an idea - love the eyes, and yeah, I probably went too tight but I was trying to get Kayla's face a little off of center. Giver her a pat for me.

I didnt mind the tighter crop. I went back to the original so I had a bigger image to work with. Then added just a little bit of sharpening. I like the off center idea, my OCD just has a problem with cutting off part of her ear..

The first pic is perfect

MDJAK wrote in post #13576790
The first pic is perfect

+1

What a lovely old girl.

MDJAK wrote in post #13576790
The first pic is perfect

Thank you. I don't think any of my pictures posted here have EVER had those words in a comment.

digidiva wrote in post #13578252
+1

What a lovely old girl.

Thanks, we've had her and her brother since puppies. Lots of fun over the years. Glad I finally got a shot of her that does her justice.