Police K9 shoot

did my third shoot with our Sheriff's office K9 division, the first night shoot. what ya think...

I think the reclined shot is the best. Both the officer and the dog have eye contact with the camera, which makes a stronger image. The one with the vehicle has a deer-in-the-headlights look. Too much direct high intensity light. The officer is looking at the camera, but the dog is clearly distracted by something else. In the one walking the dog is out of focus. A narrower aperture might have saved it. It's also noisy.

#3 is a classic pose - and yeas, with eye contact - but not really very interesting. I like the first one much better and that one would have been even stronger with a slightly different composition: dog and handler slightly to the left (rule of thirds) and dog and handler both looking in the same direction. That gives the impression of action and concentration on the job.

2nd two are my favorites, first seems a tad too harsh in some way, too much clarity perhaps?

The 1st shoot is really great but suffers badly from uneven lighting - the bottom third (and dog) is over exposed/washed out. I would do a bit of PP to that area to balance out the dog and trainer. I added a vignette to focus on the dog more....

Nice edit Spike. Dog looks great.
OP, what kind of gun is the Sheriff packing?

Thanks! I do like that PP Spike, im gonna have another go on them and see what i come up with. I do have more infront of the vehicle where they are facing the same direction. K9 kept getting distracted by the flash.

Qbx wrote in post #16665021
Nice edit Spike. Dog looks great.
OP, what kind of gun is the Sheriff packing?

He totes a Sig Sauer

#2!!
Very "On the job" looking! It seems to demand respect!
#3 is a good shot but (and this is gonna sound weird, because it sounded weird in my head) I don't like the expression on the dogs face

mojo_plasma wrote in post #16665084
#2!!
Very "On the job" looking! It seems to demand respect!
#3 is a good shot but (and this is gonna sound weird, because it sounded weird in my head) I don't like the expression on the dogs face

lol. i agree. Its his eyes. I liked the composition and lighting on it... so i just sorta am gonna live with the eyes...

I kind of wish that the light in #1 was more dramatic. Maybe less fill would have worked better for me. Still, it depends on whether you're shooting for you, or for him.

flipcrab85 wrote in post #16665109
lol. i agree. Its his eyes. I liked the composition and lighting on it... so i just sorta am gonna live with the eyes...

I used to have a G. Shepard, & it looks like he's thinking, "Is that food? For me?" ; )

PhotosGuy wrote in post #16665199
I kind of wish that the light in #1 was more dramatic. Maybe less fill would have worked better for me. Still, it depends on whether you're shooting for you, or for him.

This was my first time utilizing multiple lights for a shoot. I've typically followed suit with natural light, but at night, that really isnt much of an option. I was worried about under exposing, i guess which is why i blew out a few of them.

It appears im slowly establishing myself as the law enforcement photographer for our surrounding agencies, (I'm former Deputy). Which is kinda fun. I'm planning on setting up a shoot with one of the entry teams.

Would this one be a little better, I did some work on the concrete, and they are showing a common focal direction...

^^^
This is much better than the 1st above and the lighting is more even. I think also it is good to get the SUV and parish name in the shot also ......better than the other 2 above. Good expression on the dog's face and good angle. I would clean up the officer's lace hanging down.....small detail.

1st is harsh lighting wise but as you can see can be cleaned up.

The 2nd one you didn't get enough DOF and the dog is out of focus.