It's almost here. Christmas is just around the corner and the theme is "light" for week 51 in the Pet Photography 52 Week Project. I have 5 lights in my life; my husband Wayne, Dingo our almost 14-year-old pup who's cancer is in remission thanks to modern medicine, Ginger who's 12, Gracie who's 10 and Rooney who just turned 1. We always say that Jiffy the Cat is ageless as we adopted him as an adult and really have no idea how old he is. I love them all, but Ginger holds a special place in my heart. No matter where I am in the house, she's in the same room with me and she's my snuggle buddy in bed; close is never close enough for Ginger. So this week Ginger gets to shine!
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Ginger
Behind the Scenes
Playing with the theme "light", I had the idea to create my own bokeh in the studio using an old string of icicle lights. My husband came along to help as Ginger is wise to the photography game now. She knows that treats are involved so she tends to jump down and run to me after - every - single - frame - to get her treat. Having someone deliver treats TO HER in place makes the job much easier!
I flattened out my futon, put a comforter on it, strung the lights from two stands and positioned Ginger as far away from them as I could while photographing her as close as possible, wide open at f2.8, to get the bokeh effect on the lights. Once home I played around with the edit until I landed on a classic, film-looking silver and gold tone.
Below is how the image looked "as shot", straight out of the camera. I included a pull back shot of the set up, not included in the frame is a fill light far off to camera left, just to fill in the shadows and lighten the back wall a bit.
Belly Rubs from Dad
There's nothing Ginger loves more than a belly rub. If you reach down to pet her, she immediately rolls over and shows you her belly. If you try to stop rubbing, she'll grab on to your arm with her paws to hold it there. I was adjusting my settings when I saw this going on and quickly snapped the frame, hoping to catch this sweet moment. Ginger loves her Doggy Daddy.