First pics w/new xti- my dogs

So I got my xti and took some pictures w/the kit lens. I had a lot of fun, but my dogs weren't very cooperative! What do you think? (Don't mind the dead grass.)

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I am always shy about being very critical on someone's first post because I don't want to scare them off. BUT, you did ask, and I suppose you want real comments so here goes.

The first on sufferers from the most common fault that pet shots can have. That is, you shot from "People's Eyes View" - Above looking down. This is the perspective that humans ALWAYS have on their pooch, and, an such, usually makes for a boring photo. GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES and put me (the viewer) into the dog's world.

Also, the color cast looks a little cyan. That could be fixed in post processing, but is best fixed at the time of shooting by selecting the correct color cast.

Finally, it is blurry. Most likely out of focus, because at f/5.6 the depth of field is fairly shallow. That means that the area in front of and behind the thing in focus will be blurry. If you use something more like f/16, more of the dog (in this case, his face) will be in focus.

Another possible cause is camera shake. You shot this at 1/25th of a second. That is a LONG time to hold a camera still. Your ISO (The amount of sensitivity that sensor has to light) was set at 100. This is very low. If you had set it at 400 or 800, you could have gone to a shorter shutter speed AND a larger f/stop. THEN the pup would have had a better chance of not being blurry.

Second shot, I like, but the area on the bottom should be cropped out. And his ear gets lost in the dark thing behind him. Watch your background.

Third shot suffers from the same point of view as the first, as well as the same color cast issues.

Fourth shot is my favorite. It is on the same level as the dogs - which puts me in their world. Only problem here is ears. Not enough ears on the top of the frame, and one too many on the left of the frame.

So there it is. Don't let it get you down. My first post was (deservedly) trashed, and I like to think that under the tutelage of those here, I have progressed as a photographer quite nicely. But we all started somewhere.

If you just want to post pics of the dogs, without anyone commenting on the technique, please be aware of the "Sharing Photos" sections above this. The actual forum you posted in is Critique Corner. Posting here implies that you seek critique.

And again, WELCOME!

Rad

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. Most of what you had mentioned I had already had in mind and I appreciate an outside opinion. It was extremely difficult to get any of them to cooperate, so I was actually surprised with what I did get. The fourth is my favorite too... can use a bit of cropping and unfortunately he popped his head up right before I shot it.

I am trying to learn and I am lurking here a lot lately... I welcome the criticism as long as it isn't too mean. Yours was not, and I am looking forward to learning from everyone over here.