There is a cool-looking pile of rocks near my studio in Carrollton that have a moonscape / moon rock vibe to them that I knew would be perfect for this week's theme, "dogs on rocks", in the 52 Week Pet Photography Project. I noticed on the calendar that we would also have a full moon and thought what a great opportunity to make a different portrait of Ginger than others that I have taken of her in the past. You can never have too many pictures of your dog!
On the day I waited for the sun to go down and the moon to rise in the sky and then headed out with my best little dog model. As is my custom for outdoor portrait sessions, I brought an off-camera flash to fill in the shadows and make Ginger pop against the dark rocks. The flash produces true color even when the ambient light and surroundings change it to our eye.
My goal was to make a very natural portrait that didn't look like a flash was used. The moonlight gave everything a soft, blueish glow. A few treats and funny sounds later to get her ears up and a quick check on the back of the camera confirmed that I had a some great images to work with for my "dog on a rock" pet photography blog circle post. I loved how it turned out and the darker, moody image is a bit of a departure for me - one that I think I'll revisit again soon.
(click any image to view full screen)
Did you enjoy that story? I have a confession to make. I'm pulling your leg. The image of Ginger was taken at eight o'clock in the morning! It was only when I brought the image into my retouching software that I was inspired to make it into a moonlit portrait. I carefully adjusted colors here and there to make the transformation complete; reducing warm yellows and introducing cooler blues that would be present in the moonlight.
The image below was my first picture taken for exposure before I posed Ginger. It was only when I invested heavily in learning advanced retouching techniques that my work really took off and I was able to create the the kind of images that I had admired by other photographers and completely transform a photograph such as this. When recently asked by another photographer how many software programs I use, I replied "over a dozen". I'm always looking to learn more and improve my photographic and retouching skills for both my own creative growth and to best serve my clientele.
4 Comments
Jul 24, 2020, 1:53:26 PM
Angela - Nice work on that! Dang. A lot of people don't really understand how much work goes into one image, that's for sure.
Jul 24, 2020, 9:02:12 AM
Terri - Well you had me fooled! It's a lovely edit.
Jul 24, 2020, 8:59:04 AM
Nicole - haha, well done on both the story and the image. I love the moodiness of this image.
Jul 24, 2020, 8:47:30 AM
Kelly - Well you had me fooled! Beautiful image!