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Patient Pup

© Elaine Hessler

Patient Pup

Uploaded: July 01, 2012

Description

Exif: F Number: 5.6, Exposure Bias Value: 0.67, ExposureTime: 10/6400 seconds, Flash: did not fire., ISO: 400, White balance: Manual white balance, FocalLength: 55.00 mm, Model: NIKON D5100

Comments

Elaine Hessler July 01, 2012

We found this adorable dog in Monterey Bay, CA, just calmly waiting for his owner to come back. He just looked so dignified, I couldn't help getting a few shots of him! #1472341

Dale Hardin July 01, 2012

This little guy is definately adorable and your composition captures him beautifully.

To "perk" it up a bit, you have a number of options. One, you could get rid of the color cast, open the shadows a bit and add some sharpening.

Or, you could use your shadows/highlights tool to open the shadows and then add some high pass filtering.

It's a cute pix but would like to see the eyes a bit better and both suggestins would do that. #10209220

Elaine Hessler July 01, 2012

Thanks Dale! I just downloaded PSE on my mac and just got it to work with iPhoto-so far, so good! Will look into those tools! #10209251

Dale Hardin July 01, 2012

Excellant. Any time you need a tutorial on a specific task, let me know and I'll zip one out for you. #10209591

Rita K. Connell level-classic July 02, 2012

Elaine, what a great capture! He is so cute. I agree with the color cast, and the lighten the eyes.

Elaine do you shoot in Raw or jeg? because you can do a white balance check which will help with the color cast. by opening your image in camera raw in PSE and using the white balance dropper right on that cute puppy dog. #10211557

Elaine Hessler July 03, 2012

Thanks Rita! I've been thinking of making the jump to RAW because of that. What is the the advantage to this over adjusting the cast or color of the JPEG? Also, do you find that shooting in RAW takes up a lot more hard drive space? Thanks for the input!
P.s. still working on the image adjustments... Will repost image when corrected. #10212000

Beth Spencer July 03, 2012

What a cute pup!! I think everyone's suggestions should work. I shoot RAW and jpeg usually. You can make way more adjustments in RAW. You can also open your jpeg as a Raw. When in Photoshop go to File - then open as - find the file, click on it and in the drop down box choose RAW. #10213165

Debbie E. Payne July 03, 2012

Elaine, I hung onto diung just jpegs for quite a while because of the space issue, but you will never look back after you see how much latitude you will gain in getting "more" out of your photos. This is a ver cute picture. You have gotten good feedback on this one. #10213189

Rita K. Connell level-classic July 03, 2012

congrats on the EP Elaine as the girls said there is just so much latitude you don't have in the jeg in setting your image up before you start using your filters. just make the jump you won't be sorry I promise....!! yes it does take up more space but I just buy a 500g external drive and use that for saving my images and not using up my computer space. #10213251

Elaine Hessler July 04, 2012

Thanks! I've to a 1TB external hard drive that I have my iPhoto library on. I like to keep my computer no more than half full so it runs better. I may need to invest in another hard drive when I start shooting in RAW. Still haven't had time yet to play with this image PSE. So many new things to investigate! Thanks for the great leads! #10213677

Aimee C. Eisaman July 04, 2012

I like how you decided to include the wheels of the bikes in this image. It really does add to the story that this doggy was waiting for it's owner to come out of a local coffee shop or store. I agree the image just needs a bit of a boost so I can't wait to see Dales suggestions. :~) #10213706

lisa anderson July 04, 2012

Congratulations on your EP, Elaine! I really like the story of this picture, and think the small edits suggested will work really well-I want to see his eyes a little more too :) #10214320

Anthony L. Mancuso July 04, 2012

Cute pooch Elaine! Reminds me of Spuds Mckenzie a bit. Looking forward to seeing the edits. There really isn't much to debate out, RAW is the way to go... #10214532

Teresa H. Hunt July 04, 2012

I love the story this image tells. You've gotten some great advice so I'll sit back and wait to see what you come up with. :)

And yes RAW is the way to go!! If you have any doubts take a photo in RAW and jpg and then try making some edits on both files and see the difference. It's pretty amazing #10214697

Elaine Hessler July 05, 2012

Sorry this took so long to repost the corrected picture. I watched some tutorials on PSE and I learned to to sharpen, remove "blemishes", and I selectively change the levels of the eyes (used shadows on the eyes and surrounding black fur). I didn't like how the "adjust shadows" worked on the whole picture. Lastly, I did change the color cast by using the concrete as the grey. Oh, and I cropped this pic again. All in PSE. Guess how much time it took me to do this? :)

Thanks again for the comments. Please let me know if I performed the fixes correctly. If not, any pointers would be appreciated!!! #10215312

Aimee C. Eisaman July 05, 2012

Other than the sharpening I honestly like the first post better. I miss the warmth in it! :~) #10215388

Dale Hardin July 05, 2012

:o) And I like the last post better. I like warm tones if there is something to justify them such as an evening sun, but in this case this shot appears to either be in shadow or on an overcast day. So the corrected coloring looks natural. :o)

I have the gloves ready Aimee. Meet you in the ring. :o) #10216007

Teresa H. Hunt July 05, 2012

I agree with Aimee :) #10216061

Elaine Hessler July 06, 2012

Thanks for your honest input! I honestly don't know which one I prefer. By the way, it took me an hour to do those simple fixes... Lol. Still getting the hang of PSE. #10216593

Elaine Hessler July 06, 2012

Thanks for your honest input! I honestly don't know which one I prefer. By the way, it took me an hour to do those simple fixes... Lol. Still getting the hang of PSE. #10216594

Aimee C. Eisaman July 06, 2012

Dale I think we can agree to disagree much of time...lol! And Elaine I think you are doing a wonderful job with PSE! One day you'll be able to do things in a matter of minutes...just keep at it! :~) #10216624

Susan M. Reynolds level-addict July 07, 2012

Love this little sentinal guarding his master's ride...he's just so cute.
I'll agree that once you switch to raw you won't go back to jpeg, unless you just want quick snapshots that don't need to be edited. The quality of the edits from raw are so much better.
Can't wait to dig back in and really get back in the groove of photography, been absent way too long which makes me realize how much I've forgotten as I read the suggestions while I'm playing catch-up...
but I do love that little pooch! #10218017

Peter W. Marks July 11, 2012

Not sure which version I prefer Elaine. But then, I'm the guy who hates that there are around 100 different types and makes of salad dressings in our groceries. Dammit, just let me choose between French or Italian and forget the Walnut raspberry vinaigrette; the Asiago peppercorn and balsamic vinaigrettes etc etc! Heavens, I've had three wives and I'm done with all this choosing nonsense. But push me and I would go for the original or perhaps the second version or perhaps a compromise between the two. :0)
Am I the only one who doesn't know what breed of dog this is? I would guess a Boston Terrier but would appreciate it if anyone could tell me although I realise it is not your dog Elaine.
#10224764

Aimee C. Eisaman July 11, 2012

My guess would be a Bull Terrier #10224813

Elaine Hessler July 11, 2012

I agree Peter! Too many choices makes things complicated. I think the first version is too warm and the second is too cool. So I agree, maybe somewhere in between.... My dog is a black lab mix. Very hard to photograph...... #10225013

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