January 27, 2012 Learning Pet Photography 3

Olive, English Bulldog

On Wednesday afternoon, I photographed Olive, who belongs to friends, John and Barbara Crane. When I requested to photograph Olive, Barbara cautioned me that it might not work out as I hoped. Olive is an English Bulldog and I don't have much experience with this breed of dog so I just told her that we'd give it a try and see what happens.

Charming Olive: 1/2500 sec at f/4.5

Olive met me at the door and we became acquainted. She quickly lost interest in me which was good because it allowed me time to set up my camera and see where I might photograph her inside. The living room has high wide windows covering one wall and lets in all kinds of beautiful afternoon light. I thought it would be good to see if we could photograph her in that nice light. I used my SB600 flash on camera and I used my all around favorite lens: Nikkor 24-70 mm, f/2.8.
The 2.8 allows me to open up my aperture to let in all kinds of light and blurs the background somewhat. I used a tripod for all these shots.




Olive has a white coat, and I hoped to be able to find a background that would contrast with her white fur and, as luck would have it, the Crane's sofa is dark brown. I took some photographs of her on the couch facing the big windows.

Olive Inside: 1/320 sec. at f/2.8

Once John joined us, we went outside for some photos. We walked to a grassy area next to their building and Olive was patient and dignified as I took her picture. I think Olive might have enjoyed the attention for a bit because I was able to catch a happy expression on her face. Outside it was somewhat warm and humid so it wasn't long before Olive was panting. So, it was time to bring her inside. English Bulldogs don't need a whole lot of exercise, according to Wikipedia. I hoped to be able to capture her classic stature and stance.

When I got home and looked at the photos I was thrilled at what I was able to photograph not only her stature, but her wonderful nature. She exceeded my expectations. I hope to be able to photograph her again.

Olive strikes a classic pose: 1/2500 sec at f/3.5

Friday, January 27, 2012