How to Photograph a Newfie

[Introduction] | [Disclaimer] | [Equipment] | [Film] | [General] | [Indoor] | [Outdoor] | [Advanced] | [Internet] | [Closing] |

Introduction

I get asked over and over again: "How do take those pictures of Cozy? Anytime I take a picture of my Newfie (Or other all black dog), all I get is a big black smudge!". Well folks, you asked for it, you got it. On this page I will attempt to show how I go about getting pictures worth saving of your great black beasts, whatever breed they may be.

Disclaimer

I am by no stretch of the imagination a professional photographer, nor do I pretend to be one. If my advise causes you to spend $4000 on film and you don't get any good pictures, don't come blaming me. As with any advice you may take from the Internet, discretion and common sense should always be applied.

If you want to learn about photography, take a class or read a few books. Then take LOTS of pictures. I can give some pointers, but nothing beats your own experience. Experiment! Have a good time! If it's not fun, don't do it.

Equipment

The first question anyone asks me when they like one of my photos is: "What kind of camera did you use?"

Guess what the first question asked of me is when the picture sucks. "Who took that picture?"

My point here is that the equipment is secondary to the person taking the picture. I've seen great pictures taken with pocket cameras using lousy film. I've also seen (many) lousy pictures taken with great cameras. Don't buy a $4000 Nikon expecting it to take great pictures for you. If you buy a great paint brush can you paint like Monet? No. You need talent, and training.

For my pictures I use a Minolta 7000i with a 35-70mm zoom lens and a flash. That's all. Nothing extraordinary, but not a point-and-shoot either. A good camera that lets me shoot on all-auto or all-manual. For many people this camera would be overkill, for some, a toy. Only you can decide. Remember, YOU compose the picture, not the camera.

Film

Film use depends on a lot of factors. Ambient light, graininess of the final image, speed of the action, etc. etc...

Want to know something? I always have 100 speed film in my camera. Sometimes I'll use 400 for overcast days and such, but I really like 100 speed film.

What should you use? Experiment! I tend to stay away from 1000 ASA film unless I'm taking pictures of planets at night (Yes, I really do this). 1000 film is to grainy for me. 400 and up works for me most of the time however.

Taking pictures at night can be challenging. Just remember that the less light there is the faster film you need. Dark? 400 to 1000. Very bright? 100 or 200 should do. Taking pictures of the Orion Nebula through a telescope? How about 3200? But I digress...

General Techniques

If there is one piece of advice I could give, it would be: Use a flash. You'll be amazed at the difference. Just remember, a flash only works up to about 15-40 feet (depending on the flash). If you get nothing else form this page, try using a flash.

The new "smart" cameras are actually quite dumb. They make assumptions that are not always correct. For example, if you take a picture that's 90% bright green grass and 10% Newfie, the camera will assume that it's the grass you want a picture of, and expose your film to make the grass look nice. What happens to the Newfie? Black smudge.

Get close. The closer you are, the more of the picture your beastie will take up. The more of the frame is black, the more the camera understands that your beastie is the subject of choice. Once the dumb old camera says "hey, this big black thing is what you want to take a picture of", you stand a better chance of getting a good shot. Now this doesn't mean 95% Newfie and 5% grass, it means a good centered subject with 50% or more of the shot being the beastie. Try it and see.

Be patient. Watch your dog through the viewfinder for a while. Get a feel for what makes a good picture. When you see it happening, take the picture. Don't just point and shoot. These pictures invariably end up looking like point and shoot pictures. Think of a picture that you liked in the past and try to reproduce it. This picture is a point-and-shoot. It one sells because it's just too damn cute. If not for the three puppies, the picture of the pups with the camera bag would be in the junk pile.

Take A LOT of pictures. When I post Cosette's pictures, you see maybe eight of them. That's eight good pictures from a roll of 36! When you go to a gallery to view art, you see the best works the artist has to offer. The crap stays home or gets hung in his mothers basement. Use the law of averages. If you take 1000 pictures. there's got to be one gem in there right? Absolutely.

Sleeping beasts make great subjects. So do ones that know "stay". Puppies make for great pictures, but require a lot of patience (and film) on the part of the photographer.

Indoor Techniques

Here's the best thing to remember when taking pictures indoors. Use a flash! Every time you take a picture of a newfie, use a flash. Black newfs are well... Black! A flash sends light to their fur so you see all those wonderful highlights. That's why Cozy looks shiny in some pictures (That plus her beautiful coat of course). The flash reflects just a little bit off of her fur. The result is a picture that looks high in detail.

To be nit-picky, this picture is actually a little over-exposed. I like it anyway, and I don't think Cozy minds.

Outdoor Techniques

Here's some basic outdoor rules.

Always keep the sun to your back. Better yet, take pictures when it's overcast. Bright sunlight is very harsh. Cloud cover filters the sunlight and makes the ambient light much softer. This results in better contrast and more vibrant colors. Try it and see!

If it's sunny and your taking Newfie pictures and they still come out like black fingerprints, try getting closer and maybe even using a flash. That's right a flash outside! Sometimes the problem is that there is too much light behind your subject. If you can supplement the available light with a little extra from the front, it can being out detail in an otherwise overshadowed black beastie.

This picture of Katie was taken outside, but under a porch. The added light from the flash makes her look highlighted instead of washed out.

Advanced Techniques

Does your camera have a spot meter? Do you have a landseer? Learn how to use your spot meter and take a reading of of a black portion of your dog. Now save that reading and take a picture of the whole dog. This should expose the entire image so that the black portion is properly exposed.

Photos for the Internet

I could spend pages on screens vs printers vs film etc, but I'm not going to. Instead I will tell you what I do to get my pictures on the web.

1) I take the picture (pretty important...)
2) I get it developed
3) I scan it into my computer.
To do this I use a Microtek Scanmaker 3 and Adobe Photoshop 4.0.
4) Crop out the un-interesting stuff.
5) Resize the image so that the longest side is 400 pixels in length.
6) Save the picture in .jpg format
7) Put it on a web page

That's it!

In Closing

In closing I would like to reiterate; If it's not fun anymore, why do it? If you find your killing yourself trying to take good pictures and you just can't, drop me a line, I'd be glad to help. Taking Newfie pictures should be fun. The more you experiment the better you'll become. The better you get, the more fun you have. The more fun you have the more you Newfie likes you. Can you imagine your Newfie liking you more? OK, so it's not possible...

Comments, questions, or just want to chat? E-mail me at gad@gad.net

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