Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Ferret

I suck at shooting live subjects (except the cat, he's a natural). People are hard. I decided to try with ferrets. Low light made this doubly challenging. I don't monkey with my shots (too cheap to buy decent software) so this is basically straight from the camera...might have adjusted the white balance or something:


I like this shot, but it's not quite working for me and I can't figure out why.

So...tell me the truth. What do you think?
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6 comments:

  1. Bruce Robert WahlJune 3, 2010 at 8:11 AM

    it's the bars....
    they are keeping the viewer...me from really connecting with the subject.
    unless you want to say something with or about the Bars of the cage....
    think how different this photo would be with a child in the same place as the Ferret.....
    so either the bars need to be less in focus...or more prominent... or non existent.

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  2. ZotiJune 3, 2010 at 8:21 AM

    I agree with the previous comment. I keep getting distracted by the bars. Either it should be a more substantial part of the piece or far less.

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  3. Sean McNamaraJune 3, 2010 at 11:00 AM

    Definitely the bars, but once you're in there you want to capture some sort of emotion or make a statement. I'd say decide what you want the picture to accomplish - maybe it's just to say "Look! A cute ferret!" - and work on finding the most effective framing. I'm thinking that you'd want to get in on the eyes, ears, and nose.

    Pets can be tricked into doing some amazing things with food. Tempt them with a treat until they're doing exactly what you want in the camera's viewfinder, then zip your hand out of the frame as you make the shot. Sneaky, but effective.

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  4. Sean McNamaraJune 3, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    Also- NEWS in the background is stealing the show. I'd recommend including a graphic/text element like that only if you're using it to add effect.

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  5. BikEthanJune 3, 2010 at 12:07 PM

    Ditto on the bars. I kinda want to be closer. There's a lot of basically empty space that isn't doing much. Also if you were closer and the ferret was still in focus the bars would fall further out of focus, perhaps to the point of not showing up at all.

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  6. AlexisBJune 9, 2010 at 4:34 AM

    i think the bars are ok, because it adds to the feel of the shot but i feel like the stuff on the right and bottom of the picture are too distracting (like my eye is drawn to the word 'news' and that's not the point of the photo) - i'd prefer a tighter crop.

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