"Spike" the dawg

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  • 01-23-2007, 10:06 PM
    schrackman
    2 Attachment(s)
    "Spike" the dawg
    I've been messing around with making my own backdrop and playing with my poor man's 2- tungsten light setup, and found myself another victim, er, subject–my 1 year old German/Australian Shepherd mix.

    I also tried to shoot my big fat Labrador/Shepherd mix, Peter, but he wasn't as cooperative as Spike.

    Canon DRebel & EF 50mm f/1.8.
    Settings were f/2.2 @ 1/50th
    Shot in RAW, changed color temp to 3200 and added +0.02 exposure, and slight PS adjustments to correct the color of the backdrop.
  • 01-23-2007, 10:22 PM
    walterick
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Nice job Ray! It's nice to see what a cheap, basic setup can give you! I am planning on doing something very similar in my homemade studio, so this is nice to see.

    Just some quick feedback, it looks a little bluish to me, you might find a slightly warmer tone by playing with PS. On my screen at least.

    Good work!
  • 01-23-2007, 10:33 PM
    schrackman
    1 Attachment(s)
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Thanks Rick!

    Keep in mind that I'm on a Mac. I don't see bluish, except the backdrop of course. But Spike's color is pretty much spot on when I look at it on my monitor.

    But here's one of the above pics saved with a PC gamma of 1.2 and saved as a .gif. Tell me if looks any better on your monitor. It looks a bit washed out on mine.
  • 01-23-2007, 10:43 PM
    WsW-WYATT-EARP
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    i like the original posts better than the "corrected" one ... like you said it looks a bit washed out ... especially the blacks

    what technique did you use to make the backdrop ?
  • 01-23-2007, 11:05 PM
    schrackman
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Thanks Ben. Yes, the original is better IMO too..

    What I did was go to Wal-Mart and buy natural cotton muslin, 90" wide. Unfortunately all they had was 3 yards of it. So I took it cuz I need it for tomorrow. But ideally one needs about 5 yards of it.

    I also bought Rit Navy Blue dye. I filled a large metal pail full of hot water from the tub, mixed in a cup of salt (don't ask me why they tell you to do this...I'm sure there's a reason), and then poured the entire bottle into the pail and mixed with a stick. I then put the muslin in the washer (no soap, just plain water) and washed it on the short cycle. Took it out, then bunched up the muslin as I wanted a mottled look, not a solid color. Set it in the pail of dye slowly and did not agitate it. I just let it soak for about an hour and then rinsed out all the excess dye with cold water in the tub. I then put it back in the washer machine with a bit of soap on cold cycle to wash out any residue. After taking it out, be sure to do empty load in your washer with cold water, a bit of laundry soap and bleach. The only thing left is to let the backdrop hang dry.

    And that's it. :)


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by WsW-WYATT-EARP
    i like the original posts better than the "corrected" one ... like you said it looks a bit washed out ... especially the blacks

    what technique did you use to make the backdrop ?

  • 01-24-2007, 07:53 AM
    Old Timer
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Nice job on Spike. He must me one cooperative dog. My daughter had a whale of a time getting her dog to sit for their Christmas picture. Good to see budget setups work so well. Thanks for the post and the explanation.
  • 01-24-2007, 09:06 AM
    I_Fly
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Wow Ray those are nice. I, too, like the first ones you posted, the adjusted one looks washed out on my monitor. I wish I could get any of my three dogs to sit still for a portrait like that.

    And thanks for the explanation of the homemade backdrop. I may have to try that myself.
  • 01-24-2007, 11:40 AM
    schrackman
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Thanks OT and Troy.

    OT, no Spike is not cooperative, just more cooperative than Peter, lol.

    I was actually surprised how these two photos came out. Didn't think my tungsten bulbs would produce something this decent. So long as I shoot in RAW, though, I can control it. I did have to put a few sheets over the lights, however, to diffuse the light coming out. That seemed to have helped.
  • 02-08-2007, 01:11 PM
    schrackman
    1 Attachment(s)
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    I thought I would repost a new shot after having received my two new 30" Photoflex shoot through umbrellas. I set them up on the two BB-50 strobes. This was just a quick picture, didn't really take time to set the lights properly. I just wanted to see the difference between the silver lined reflectors and the shoot throughs. The light is noticebly softer and cooler than the previous shot.
  • 02-08-2007, 03:14 PM
    yogestee
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Nice looking dog schrackman...German Shepherd/Kelpie X???

    Jurgen
  • 02-08-2007, 04:36 PM
    Ridgetop
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Wow, came out very good. Love the expression. Great lighting.
  • 02-08-2007, 07:39 PM
    Ronnoco
    Re: "Spike" the dawg
    Better than the corporate portrait and the eyes are brighter too...:D :D ... I would suggest better framing by cropping at the chest area of the dog.

    Ronnoco