German Shepherd photo

[Ketch]

I just found this section of this site and have been doing a lot of reading on tips and I have already learned a lot. Just thought I would throw a picture out to get some input and advice from the people of the board. A friend of mine recently asked me to take some pictures of her german shepherds for use on her HSOforum. She wanted very natural photos so I just followed the dogs around in the yard for a while taking pictures as I went.

The picture was taken with an E550 Fuji. The ISO was set at 200. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Steve Foss]

Ketch, that's a great spontaneous pose. It made me laugh. Dogs are so cool. When I work with people's pets it's usually the same way you did. Hang around the yard with them, do some posed stuff but focus on the spur-of-the-moment fun.

What post-processing program do you have? On my monitor, this is a little soft and could use some sharpening, and there's a lot of detail in the blacks and shadow areas that could be brought out with a bit of work in levels.

[Dbl]

I like the shot as well, I agree with Steve on some of the settings that could give you some improvement.

[MN Shutterbug]

Looks like he had a rough day at the office. A little USM would help. Good shot though, of a beautiful dog.

[Ketch]

Steve, I don't currently use any post-processing programs on my photos. I really only use my print program to resize and don't do much else to them. Or, more precisely haven't done anything with any of the photo editing programs. Suggestions.

[Steve Foss]

Ketch, Adobe Photoshop Elements is the version of Photoshop that's relatively inexpensive and still has everything most photographers need to improve our photos after we take them.

There also are other inexpensive programs out there that seem to do a very good job. Corel Paint Shop Pro is one I've heard good things about, but I don't have experience with those programs.

Lots of folks in here using Elements and some other programs, so you should get a lot of input.

Photoshop Elements 5 costs about $40 new online. Elements 6, the latest version, runs $50-$100 new, depending on what kind of deal you can find. Some sites sell it in downloadable form so you can pay with a credit card and use it right away without waiting. Adobe's Web site is one of them, and there's lots of free training from Adobe's site on how to use it.

A Google search for "Photoshop Elements" will give you everything you need if that's the route you want to go.

Post processing IS a brand new world, but once you get the hang of how to use the program your photos will be even better than they are now.

[MN Shutterbug]

Elements does everything I need to do. If you check hsolist, you'll find older versions at cheap prices. I have just version 3, and it's great for my needs. I also have Paintshop Pro X. This one will do a few things that Elements can't, like curves and frames. Elements seems a little easier to work with than PSP X.

[Ketch]

Thanks for the advice. I'll check out elements, if that is what more people are using, then I can pick your brains when I get stumped. Thanks.

[yakfisher]

There are quite a few people using elements and a lot of the functions in CS can be done with Elements at least most of the more basic ones that get suggested here. Elements can be a little overwhelming at first so be sure to post up your questions here. That was the biggest mistake I made when I started using Elements, not asking enough questions.

[Steve Foss]

And don't forget the Elements tutorials and how-to stuff on the Adobe Web site. You'll want to go through a couple of those before you start using the program to ease your way into it, and as yak said we're here to answer questions anytime you can't find the answer.

You are about to start having a lot of fun. Once you get the hang of it, it's kind of cool to be your own darkroom, and the sky's the limit these days.

On the dog shot, once you get the hang of elements, I'd try the shadows/highlights feature under the image adjustments. That feature brightens shadows to bring out more detail and can restore detail to blown-out highlights as well. That and the unsharp mask (which sharpens images) are features I use on all, or nearly all, of my photos.

All digital photos can use some sharpening because there's a thin protective transparent film over the camera's sensor, and that film softens images a bit.

[Sandmannd]

Shepards are my fav pup. Got one myself. I love seeing the pictures. Keep 'em coming.