Reflections

I believe it's almost a catch 22 but I could be wrong....

How do you position yourself to avoid the reflections in the eyes of pups? If we rotate you will lose the color in their eyes, and they look flat (or dark). By positioning in the sun I feel like I can really get the eyes to pop, however you start getting reflections. Thoughts or advice??

Here are a couple samples

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …02-PsEdit-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …80-PsEdit-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A

Best way is to shoot from further away using a longer lens, you can also position yourself so you sit in the non-reflective part of the eye.

As you posted in the Critique Corner, here it comes.

The highlights in the eyes have more prominence partly because they're blown out. That's because your camera's light meter saw a black dog and tried to make it 18% gray. You need to reduce the exposure.

I realize from your post that your interest is in the eyes. However, you can't avoid other aspects that detract from the photo overall. The color balance in the shot with the out of focus nose looks a little off. Maybe too blue? Is it a blue dog or a black one? And the nose -- a smaller aperture or more distance from the camera would have put it more in focus. The eyes are the most important, but one should not take a portrait where other parts of the face are severely out of focus.

I can't tell if the second one is a selective color shot. But it looks like one. The collar is not the subject, but it draws the eye. It would be perfect as a commercial shot advertising the collar. The movement blur white thing (falling piece of ice?) below the collar on the right side should be cloned out. I would also clone out the reeds(?) that appear to be growing out of the dog's head. The well-formed snowflake on the ear is a serendipitous bit of fortune. It's a nice touch.

If the shot is selective color, my advice would be to outgrow this period in your photographic journey with due haste. It is considered by experienced photographers as the sign of a beginner or student. It has it's places, but it must be done artistically. Most of the time it comes across as tacky. It's says that the photographer was not confident in his/her composition/exposure/p​osing and had to tell the viewer, "Look here. This is what you're supposed to notice."

See how you like it with less tight cropping. These are a little tight to me. Others may differ. However, you didn't leave much space for a frame if these were to be printed.