I couldn't come up with a good idea for this challenge, so this is what you get. I have been taking some advice that I've been given in the forum about adding contrast to avoid flat photos. I think this one has a pretty good depth to it. I don't know how, but I got some really harsh light on this one. I was using my 580 EX II on it with a diffuser (pointed to the ceiling) and it still came out harsh. I tried to fix it with a little burning, but it's still pretty bad...my dog's coat is just really shiney I guess. Also has a snapshot feel to it.
post processing
brightness, shadows, highlights, dodge and burn selectively, claify, highpass sharpen, resize, USM, one step noise reduction, clarify again, USM again, JPG optimizer..then I took it over to photoshop and did an auto color and save for web.
I took this with a high ISO (800) and there was a ton of noise. The "one step noise reduction" took out a LOT of detail and gave it this kind of "smooth" appearance to my dog.
This is, by far, my favorite image that I have submitted....I hope to score well....if not I still love it.
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I have little nit-picky things...the name brand on the sock, I'd rather have seen a bare foor. I little too much dead space at the top, just a weensy bit of cropping. For some reason the clothes distract. I can't decide if the gray pants blend in too much with the dog, or the black blouse is out of place or if it's the red jacket. There is just something that leaves me feeling like it was a snap shot.
The details on the dog seem a bit over enhanced. the overall shot is ok, but not great. I can't quite put my finger on a good suggestion though. Might be the lighting is just too plain, and a slight tilt to the pic.
In most circumstances seeing the back of a dog as a major part of an image would be a negative for the image but in this case it works very well.
The image is crisp sharp and has a great prespective also the colors are in good harmony but my dislike is the plain inside house wall, I never like seeing these in images but that is just my taste.
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