Oliver: Testing the new small studio

My wife is reluctant to pose for portraits. I enlisted my eldest pup. He has limited range pose-wise.

Pardon the wrinkled background. I will have to do something about before a use it for real.

Interfit Exd200 two-light 24" softbox and a umbrella for feather fill.
I am not sure if the second light was triggering though.

1.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

A great way to shoot a small dog...

I shoot my Maltese rescues and other small dogs using an easy chair in my family room. I have several different color fleece throws with which I cover the seat, arms and back of the chair. The color throw I use depends on the color of the dogs coat.

I use a Canon 7D with 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and light the dog with an on camera Canon 430EX flash bounced off the ceiling and modified with a Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Pro ( www.dembflashproducts.​com ).

I usually shoot at 1/60 second at f/4 using ISO 160. When I shoot, I sit on a rolling office chair which allows me to get down to the dogs eye-level yet move around freely.

To be honest, I wouldn't think of shooting a dog without my wife assisting me. We generally use a very thin show lead which I clone out when necessary...

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …151535&k=h5BZVW​D&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …749284&k=q2ZknQ​q&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …10683186&k=NCpP​D&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …37131197&k=uTv4​4&lb=1&s=A

Like the shot of the setup, and that last one is amazing

Rick,

The last shot is of, Joey, our friend's AKC Champion Maltese show dog, Shooting show dogs is easier than shooting the average pet. Not only are they really beautiful but, they are trained to stay where they are placed.

I most often have to use a show lead on the rescue and pet dogs that I shoot because they are usually a bit skittish. It is easy to crop out the show lead since it is not very obtrusive.

My wife controls (or attempts to control) the dog using the lead.

I often use a canvas BG and a green cover on the shooting table for bigger dog portraits.

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …91839093&k=WDAq​S&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …91865496&k=Y8vA​3&lb=1&s=A

@RPCrowe,
Good tips. Thanks.

Too lazy to set up my background or studio lights. They are snug as bugs in their cases, rarely if ever seeing the light of day. Oh, well. At least my new 600ex's get used.

Ranger, 6 mo old rescue:

btw, the yellow and green in the background is a cast on his leg. A mere thousand dollars and your dog can have one too.

wow nice set ups

Rescue dogs, like Ranger, will give you more unconditional love than you ever imagined. Very nice pic.

hey, your pic looks over exposed to me.. and the angle is kinda weird..