et tu Brutus?

[villenadecorte]

Brutus, my blue Doberman. This was meant to be my attempt at a silhoutte(spelling?...need coffee).
Instead I got awkward sunset behind him.
Brutus is a good boy and minds mommy while I take pics, so we will have many more attempts.... how do I improve this idea?
What I do love is the blue of the sky and his eyes, as well as the last of the sunset playing on his rust markings.

Aside from the border and a little poorly done photoshopping/removal of his leash (unfortunately a dobe off leash is not well received, even for sweet Brutey boy), this photo is "as is."

Please, rate and help!

Thanks!
VillenaDeCorte

[Lava Lamp]

Brutus, my blue Doberman. This was meant to be my attempt at a silhoutte(spelling?...need coffee).
Instead I got awkward sunset behind him.
Brutus is a good boy and minds mommy while I take pics, so we will have many more attempts.... how do I improve this idea?
What I do love is the blue of the sky and his eyes, as well as the last of the sunset playing on his rust markings.

Aside from the border and a little poorly done photoshopping/removal of his leash (unfortunately a dobe off leash is not well received, even for sweet Brutey boy), this photo is "as is."

Please, rate and help!

Thanks!
VillenaDeCorte

I tend to think that a with a silhouette, you want it to really be a silhouette and not something in-between. This shot is sort of a "tweener" from the backlight. The black dog looks grainy and washe out. I played with Brutus (so to speak) in Photoshop to show you what I mean. The result isn't great, but it may give you an idea.

[villenadecorte]

Wow, a reply finally ;) What would we do without you LL?
Thanks for that, I guess I really didnt want a silhoutte with Bru anyway.
He's too handsome. He does look very grainy in this shot. Like I said, poor lighting. It was at sunset or dusk whichever you prefer.
I do have some better shots of my boy now... I should post some new ones.

[another view]

He does look very grainy in this shot.

I think that's mostly from overexposure, black subject in the shade will do that! Noise (digital grain) will tend to show up in dark areas. Look at the histogram on your post, it probably doesn't have a good black point (meaning there's some space on the left before the levels start coming up). Since you want a good solid black because that's the color of the dog, the levels would have to start coming up all the way at the left side of the histogram, even cutting off a little on the left side. For a silhouette (you spelled it right, I could never do that before coffee ), you'd chop off a lot on the left side.

Hope this makes sense. I'm not sure how to post a screen shot showing this like others have here occasionally.

[villenadecorte]

My dog Brutus isnt black, he is a blue coated Doberman, which is a "dilute" of the black coated Doberman. So, his coat is more like a silver/grey color and he has the traditional rust markings. Here is a better picture, with his traditional black/rust great aunt, Cassidy.
When you see them together you can tell the difference.
Thanks for the feedback AV PS- Your explanantion of black point made perfect sense.

I think that's mostly from overexposure, black subject in the shade will do that! Noise (digital grain) will tend to show up in dark areas. Look at the histogram on your post, it probably doesn't have a good black point (meaning there's some space on the left before the levels start coming up). Since you want a good solid black because that's the color of the dog, the levels would have to start coming up all the way at the left side of the histogram, even cutting off a little on the left side. For a silhouette (you spelled it right, I could never do that before coffee ), you'd chop off a lot on the left side.

Hope this makes sense. I'm not sure how to post a screen shot showing this like others have here occasionally.