I set a goal for myself to take an official portrait of Lip once a month. I would then publish said photos here on my site where we could all chronicle my advances in pet portraiture and the growth of Philip.
And it would have happened if I didn't also have to brush, chase, bathe, blow dry, train, clean up his car sick, pluck his ear hair, administer drops, and tempt him to eat something that has a few more calories than socks.
It's been like trying to raise a supermodel that bites.
WINNERS OF LAST WEEK'S CAPTION THIS AT THE END OF THIS POST
I got Philip on September 25th, 2021 and within the first few days I did a photoshoot the result of which you may remember was a bunch of blurry pictures of his butt and a couple of moderately in focus shots.
You can see the rest of Philip's first poodle portraits and it's blurry photographs here.
I resolved to never try to take another portrait of Philip and declared my photo series the stupidest thing I've ever done. And I've worn a sweater made out of live snakes.
The horror of shoot #1 stuck with me until Philip was 7 months old and slightly more manageable, at which point I tried again.
I was happy with the photos I got and decided immediately that I'd become a pet photographer. I just needed a bit more training and things like lights and a dog that could sit still for more than 1/800th of a second. Once I had those things it was all going to come together.
Since then I've bought $800 worth of portrait photography equipment including a new lens, lighting, tripods, receivers, and the Masterclass with iconic photographer Annie Leibowitz.
And taken no photos.
Which is where we were one week ago when I realized that it was Thanksgiving and I was hosting. That meant I was finally going to have to do something with the very large box of photography equipment that lived hidden behind my dining room chairs.
For 5 months that box has sat quietly and unopened. Thanksgiving forced me to open it mainly so I could find a place to store all the lights, modifiers and tripods inside of it.
Once I got everything out of the box I felt like I had to at least test it out. Even if it was going to end with me laying flat on my living room floor screaming and crying until my neighbours came to check on me.
I've only ever used natural lighting for photos. I didn't even know how to use lights. I didn't know how to turn them on or dim them or what direction to point them in. Nothing.
I still don't.
But no neighbours needed to check on me and I did get a decent shot of Lip. So I'm going to call this photoshoot #3 and I'm not going to miss a single month for the next year.
Philip - 1 year, 2 month stats
Height: 26 inches at the shoulders
Weight: 63 pounds
Coat Clearing*: Slight clearing of black to blue on his muzzle and ears, but after 1 year I have a feeling that he isn't going to end up being a true blue poodle. He'll appear basically black.
* Because Lip is a blue poodle it means he's born black and will "clear" to being more of a blue colour. The blue colour will actually look like more of a steely gray than blue. But it's really a crapshoot. You just don't know what you're going to get.
His coat clearing should continue until he's around 2 years old at which point he'll be whatever colour he's going to stay so he could still change quite a bit. Or not at all.
Ready for the photo that took 12 months to get?
This is a low resolution shot but you can click on it to get a larger view.
Here's the funny thing. I honestly could NOT figure out anything about the lights. I've since figured out how to dim them but that's about it. So this photo is very different than what came out of the camera.
I had to make up for my lighting inadequacies with Photoshop.
THIS is what the photo looked like when I took it.
There's always a lot of Photoshopping done with any portraits but the general idea is, the better the photographer the less Photoshopping needs to be done.
I spent approximately 3 elephant lifetimes editing this photo. Which is fine. I'll get better, they'll get better and Philip will get better. Although I have to say he was pretty good about staying still which made me pretty good about not throwing everything to the ground and applying for a job at my local Bulk Barn.
Of course, I have a puzzle of it.
Now for the winners from last week's Caption this contest. There are 2 winners of my favourite vegetable peeler. One person wins for the caption that made me laugh the most and the other was a random winner.
Everyone was asked to caption this photo after they completed it in the puzzle.
The caption that made me laugh the most was ...
Grab my, um, hand.
~ Laura
A TON of the captions were incredibly clever. But for whatever reason, this simple caption made me laugh out loud. Laura, if that's you leave me a comment here. If I don't hear from you, I'll shoot you an email.
The SECOND winner through a random draw is Rozi who captioned "Carrot to Dance". Leave me a comment Rozi, otherwise I'll send you an email.
The vegetable peeler they both won is the one I've been using since forever. It's a cheap peeler by Kuhn Rikon that just works great.
To my Canadians, I hope you're having a great Thanksgiving weekend. I'm having my dinner Sunday night and Monday I'll be making broth and possibly my turkey pot pies as well.
So I'll see you on Wednesday. Have a good remainder of your weekend.
Rozi
Yay! I never win anything! Thank you!
TtucsonPatty
It took me 44 minutes and something to finish that puzzle on an iPhone 8 Plus! I had to shrink it down down down to get everything into the frame. Then I read your hint about turning it horizontally, but I already had all my innies and outies sorted anyway, and it might have messed them up! 😂 Lip is absolutely gorgeous, Karen! Here is what I know about hair and photographs: if the hair/fur is smooth, the light bounces right off and it will look shiny etc. - think of a mirror. If the hair/fur is curly, you cannot get enough bounce off of the scattered individual hairs to show up as a shine. Think of a bush. That’s why that sleek, long, shiny black hair always looks so healthy. All the light reflects. I just take my clients out into the sunlight! Works here in Arizona! 😊
Maey
Karen, that boy is drop dead gorgeous! He certainly knows he is a regal specimen - is his full name Louis Philippe Bourbon? I am an iPhone photographer of an extremely virile Bulldog whose most beguiling poses are Xrated. I’ll send one to share if you are interested.
PS - love the puzzles!
Karen
Hi Maey! I understand your Xrated pose situation. I have a few myself. Feel free to send yours, lol. karen@theartofdoingstuff.com ~ karen!
Allison
20:03! That was a tough puzzle, and beautiful photo of a beautiful pup. :)
Karen
Thanks Allison. It was a tough one. I figured if my photo was difficult to take the puzzle should be equally as difficult.😅 ~ karen!
Laura
Hi Karen, it’s me, Laura! Glad I could make you laugh! Thanks for the win ☺️
Julia
Vancouver Laura?
Laura Case
Lorton, VA Laura!
Sarah
I'm looking forward to your photography and lighting tips. Photographing my lovely old Berner with her glossy black coat was a breeze, but the dull fuzzy coat of my black poodle is where light goes to die.
Mary W
I've been playing jigiti waaaaaay more than I ever should. Thanks for a new challenge. The winner was a great caption!
Quatorze
That jigsaw format is really tricky to negotiate. Is there a more useable jigsaw system. I enjoyed completing this, however, once I got the borders done.
Karen
Hi Quatorze. How easy it is to use is kind of dependant on what you're using to do it. On a laptop or desktop it's pretty easy. A tablet as well. On a phone it will give you a migraine. For today's puzzle, holding your phone or tablet horizontally will help. ~ karen!
Lin N
I have done a number of random pet portraits of friends & neighbors pets. Black dogs are the most difficult to shoot! On the other hand black cats usually come out stunning! Just sayin….
Dave R
26:15 to do that black on black puzzle.
Mind you, I am at work and there were a couple of distractions.
You know, like actual work. lol
Karen
I haven't done it yet so I can't compare but I'm guessing I'll clock in at around 45 minutes with no distractions so you're pretty impressive from where I stand. ~ karen!
Karena Cawthon
You've chosen one of the most difficult things to photograph... a dark (moving) subject on a dark background! Make it easy on yourself (in the beginning) and use a white (seamless sweep) vinyl background; another good and cheap option is a natural canvas painter's drop cloth. Set yourself up for success. Beautiful puppy-dawg, by the way... :)
Karen
Yes, I need backdrops! I just wanted to give this a quick shot when I finally opened up the lights. I was looking up backdrops and stands the other day and holy CRAP backdrops are stupidly expensive! ~ karen!
Norma
What about using some of that lovely linen you buy - like a sheet or table cloth?
Karen
That's a good idea. The Rough Linen tablecloth I just put down on the table would be big enough. ~ karen!
Patty
What a gorgeous doggie! That photo was worth the wait!
Wendy
Beautiful boy you have, also really enjoying the Sat morning puzzle with my coffee. I have two mini long-haired weiners that I can only photo when they are asleep or it ends up a blur.
Happy Thanksgiving weekend.
Karen
Thanks Wendy! I loveeeee long-haired wiener dogs and the mini ones are extra cute. ~ karen!
Renee
HAH! I did not know poodles could turn blue! I've owned Kerry Blue Terriers if anyone is interested in such a color. No, don't contact me for 'where to get them', I don't know anymore and you can't afford a mousetrap that costs a small fortune. They're shorter than Lip and bred to be a watchdog/family dog. (Irish farmers doncha know) Typical of a terrier, when they bite, they hang on so burglars beware. They were also great at keeping rats away or any other varmint that burrows. Supposedly, the short tail is intended to act as a handle for the owner to pull them OUT of a hole when they're hot on the trail of a stoat, weasel, ferret, rat, squirrel........terriers get a little intense.
Auntiepatch
Beautiful Boy!
Carrie Anne
Such a handsome regal looking boy!
The photo came out great.
I also enjoy photography and try and keep my camera with me at all times.
Nature is beautiful if you just take a moment to look around.
I’m loving these puzzles…..
Congrats to the winners. Laura’s comment made me laugh out loud as well. Bravo!😂
Abby Hall
Is Philip a good boy? Or a wild boy..I'm leaning toward wild. He has that look in his eye.
Karen
He's both. :) Mainly good, but the puppy in him dictates that he's also wild. ~ karen!
Meg
That is a solid photo! It's better then preliminary Lip photos for sure. A bit hard to see his eyes, but that dog is a HARD subject to light and photograph. At least in my not very humble opinion. (A big chunk of my career has been as a 3d lighter - one who lights 3d objects with digital lights that simulate real life lighting.)
Dark objects are hard to light well because black objects often need more light (or reflection) to define edges/shapes, and often you'll end up with variations of grey that are hard to gauge what the true value should be. You also want some contrast between light/dark sides of his face. But he's fluffy and the visual noise of his fur is going to always be hard. It's a hard job to define planes of his head or shape of his body when his fuzziness means there aren't strong shapes to see.
Lighting an easy subject (like a still life type bowl of apples/fruit and silver candlesticks or something) may be easier to learn what lighting is doing for a subject, but even so Lip's challenges are unique to big fluffy black objects. For him, I would definitely consider a nice big bounce or larger light (like a big soft box) so you get a nice big reflection on his eyes to make them stand out. He's got a really nice edge along his paws on the screen left, but could use a hair more rim light edging on his face to pull him off the backdrop.
I sooooo look forward to more photos of Lip. It won't take you very long to get even more good shots of him - especially as he stays put longer haha!!
Karen
Hi Meg, thanks! I actually did have a softbox on him. This was a really quick first try and I genuinely had NO idea how to dim or brighten the lights, lol. So I had to just move the lights around and back to get some kind of control. I didn't even brush Lip before - I just wanted to see what I would get basically. I was trying to get a light behind him as well but my studio (the living room with my coffee table pulled away) just isn't big enough. Feel free to give me allll the tips! :) ~ karen
Meg
Ahhh! Then I’m not sure you really need tips, tbh. I thought that might be some window light behind you, from looking at the shadows. But you are 100% on the right track since you're moving your lights. I'm pretty sure 80% of my lighting work is trying to get the light in the *right* place. Both the placement and distance. The farther your light is from your subject, the dimmer it is - exponentially.
(The math-y explanation: Brightness is inversely proportional to the distance from the source. In real terms - if 1 foot away is full brightness, 3 feet away is 1/9th the brightness, 4 feet away is 1/16th the brightness, 5 feet away is only 1/25th the brightness. Point is - the amount of light falls off fast.)
A good way of practicing finding the "right" place/brightness is in a dark room, turn on the fill/key/rim lights on one at a time to assess them individually. The goal is a nice amount of each light to tell the story you want to tell. Film noir puppers? Stronger key (like a harsh spotlight), very low amount of fill light, aim for hard shadows. Beautiful portraiture? Bigger key (like a soft box), higher fill to show the face, move lights to soften the shadows, and a nice bright reflection in the eyes. Also my first photo teacher used to say for animals especially, make sure the eyes are in focus - it’s what we connect to.
Can't wait to see more Lip portraits!! He is gorgeous.
Karen
Thanks Meg! ~ karen!
Aileen
These are the very best peelers EVER. I have used them for years. They last forever too. I keep my backup new ones in my underwear drawer so they are safe in case I have a peeler emergency.
Karen
When I first moved out on my own I feel like I devoted half my life to finding a good vegetable peeler. Not even a perfect one - just a solid good one! This one issssssss excellent. ~ karen!
Randy P
Sincere congratulations Laura and Rozi. Happy peeling! I HAVE become a digital jigsaw puzzle addict thanks to you, my fav blogger, mirth maker and merriment giver. This one was extra fun owing to your decidedly monochromatic persuasion. Thanks for sharing Jigidi with us.
Karen
Thanks Randy! Betty has recently become addicted to online mahjong so you could go that route when you get bored of puzzles. You know. Just to keep up an addiction. ~ karen!
suzanne
Philip is a beauty. We acquired a blue/black poodle when my daughter was 12. She enrolled into 4H (American thing?) with Sydney. Brilliant dog. High energy. Lived to be about 20. My daughter would groom in stages in her advanced years to keep it easier on her. Great friend and family member.
Sheryl
If you apply Fibonacci's Golden Rule, triangle, diagonals, or even grid to your photos they will be much more pleasing to the eye. You basically have the eye lead into the photo via Lip's butt. Beautiful dog! Don't give up because you have a regal subject. Bigger backdrop would give you better options.
Karen
Yeah, I don't have a lot of options here for shooting. Small house, BIG dog. I thought I was applying the grid rule.😆 ~ karen!
Karen
Grooming a poodle is no joke. It is a commitment! I'm hoping that when Philip's adult coat is completely in it'll be slightly more manageable. But I'm not holding my breath. ~ karen!