Black colored dogs can often be difficult to photograph. It's usually because the animal is so dark that our cameras have trouble focusing or getting the correct exposure. I photograph them often so I've learned a few things about what to do and what not to do.
Some of the following things often occur: (please note, the following problem images are for example purposes only and are not good photos!)
Problem #1
The dog is just so dark, they are lacking details and look like a big dark blob. The dog's eyes will often disappear into the blackness. When it's so dark, the camera has trouble gaining focus on anything and your photo can often be blurry or the camera focuses on the nose instead of the eyes.
To combat this issue, try to avoid photographing dark dogs in dark locations like in dense tree cover. It's best to photograph on the edge of shade where there is more light, or you could introduce a light source like flash. If your camera isn't too grainy, you can increase your ISO but be careful you don't make the background too bright!
Many photos like the one below can be edited in post processing software like lightroom or photoshop to get correct exposure on the dogs.
Problem #2
Black dog fur also often takes on the color of their surroundings, causing their fur to be blue or green or magenta. Notice the strange colors in the dogs fur in the photo below. I promise you his fur was not blue or green. You can get color cast from trees, grass or blue from the sky.
You can combat this issue by using the proper white balance in camera, but you are still likely to get some color casts. You will likely have to do some post processing on the image to get rid of the strange colors. Just be careful not to remove all the color as it won't look natural.
Problem #3
When photographing a black dog in front of a dark background, the dog will often blend into their background, so you can't tell where the dog ends and the background begins, causing that dark blob problem. The german shepherd below was photographed in front of a black background so his fur just blends into what is behind him.
To combat this problem, you can photograph the dog against a contrasting/lighter background or you can light the background so its a bit brighter than the dog. You can also use a hair light to light the back of their head to produce a bit of separation between your subject and what's behind it.
Below are some better examples of well photographed black dogs from some of my recent photography sessions.
I hope some of my suggestions help you photograph your own black dog, but if not, feel free to connect and we can schedule a session to capture some well exposed photos of your black dog!
This blog post is part of a blog circle. We are all writing about our interpretation of "black".
Click the link at the bottom of each blog post to continue through the circle, until your return back here.
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