This week’s Friday 52 Week Project theme is “Focus”.
Next up is Charleston Pet Photographer, Dana Cubbage.
Dog owners seem to be most likely to hire a pet photographer, but it’s always a treat to do a session with cats. I would say I got my start in pet photography because of my own two cats. Cats are endlessly entertaining and so expressive, elegant and mischievous. Cats are tricky subjects to photograph but always worth the extra effort. Cats tend to be free spirits and homebodies, and aren’t usually trained to sit, stay or come back when called. Cats often take a bit longer to relax and are less predictable, so going with their flow is very important. Patience is key when working with all kinds of pets but cats need an extra dose to capture their natural expressions. I love it when cats convey that special mix of curiosity, caution, ferociousness and indifference all with one look.
One of the cats I photographed recently died unexpectedly about a week later. Dugin’s owner let me know how much she appreciates the precious keepsakes we created that day and how glad she is that she didn’t delay our pet portrait session by even one day. It’s gratifying to know that I contribute to lasting legacies of beloved pets in beautiful and meaningful ways.
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Welcome again to the international pet photography blog circle. This week our theme is Digital Darkroom, and the aim is to show how our use of digital darkroom tools have an impact on our images. First up is one image of Spike edited in a few different ways, starting with the image straight out of the camera and then six variations. These digital darkroom enhancements allow me to completely customize any image depending on the tastes of the pet owner, the mood of the image, the expression of the pet, or any other need the image presents.
For contrast I’m also including a flawed image from an old camera test for low light exposures. It’s underexposed and noisy, the white balance is off, the background is cluttered… these were never meant to see the light of day, but I LOVE Maddie’s expression. Rescuing this image was possible thanks to digital darkroom techniques that undid all the bad things: exposure and colour correction, noise reduction, background replacement, and recomposition. The application of various techniques and an alternate composition was another fun way to preserve this pouty face. This kind of digital darkroom adventure is a bit more complex, but I love the challenge and they’re really fun to do.
Let’s go see what the magic San Diego Pet Photographer, Karla Ogilvie has created in her digital darkroom this week, then we’ll follow the links around the circle.
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Really nice, I also like how you transitioned the photos.
Some really lovely edits there of both images.
[...] it’s time to check out Unleashed! Pet Portraits in Victoria, British Columbia! Be sure to follow the links at the end of each post ’till you end up right back [...]
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Wondeful depth of field, and such a relaxing image, I can almost feel the earth of the sun
Love it!
Some one needs a pedicure!
I really love how you applied focus . . . and foot shots are my favourite.
I love the depth of field in this image. Beautiful! PS – your link to me is missing
Very artistic Melissa! Love your use of focus on this image!!!
[...] more great photos check out the rest of the blog ring, starting with Melissa McCabe of Unleashed! Pet Portraits in Victoria, British Columbia. Posted in [...]