Episode 2: Bandit at the Park
Bandit is a three year old rescue dog, adopted from the shelter just a year ago.
His parentage is unknown, but there's thought to be some Rhodesian Ridgeback in there somewhere and I'm not sure where those ears come from, but they are super cool. Bandit doesn't have a high level of obedience and isn't really interested in chasing a ball, much preferring to wander off and in typical boy dog fashion, check his pee-mail in the nearby bushes!
The location for the session was a suburban park with large open playing fields, cute little creek and a secret graffiti spot. In this 26 minute episode, I work directly with Bandit and his humans to create environmental portraits, dog-and-owner shots, candid and directed action and expression filled portraits.
Watch the Teaser...
"The shooting video is full of great information to improve your own dog shoots, and the post-processing videos are very easy to follow, very clear, she explains everything perfectly - not too fast, not to slow. "
Laetitia Rodriguez
Australia
What you'll learn in this episode
- What to do when the owner is running late for their session
- How to shoot action when the dog won't chase a ball
- How to obtain standing portraits with a dog that doesn't know stand and stay
- Finding the best light when there's complicated patterns of light and shade
- Creating funky dog and owner shots with selective focus
- Creating scenarios to obtain the shots you want when the dog is off-leash
- Shooting to cut through the clutter in a busy environment
- How to get the best expressions when shooting family groups
- Setting yourself up for success when shooting candid action
- Why it’s important to end the session on a happy note
Editing Tutorial 1: Backlit Portrait
Follow along with the full Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop post-processing process for a backlit portrait image of Bandit from the shoot. This comprehensive tutorial is 23 minutes long and shows the process used to transform a cold underexposed shot into a riot of warm colour and life.
What you'll learn
-
Adjusting white balance without a neutral reference point
-
Selective colour adjustment with the HSL panel
-
Why subtle adjustments rule
-
How to save time when using the Adjustment Brush
-
How to selectively improve detail in the highlights
-
How to remove stubborn colour casts on the dog from green grass
-
A tricky method in Photoshop to remove colour casts
-
How one filter can sharpen details and remove noise
"When it's not feasible to travel half-way around the world to learn from one of the best dog photographers, this training series is the next best thing!"
Megan Murray
USA
Editing Tutorial 2: Family Portrait
Crafting great group shots can be a challenge, but in this tutorial we explore how to use some digital trickery to capture that perfect group shot where everyone is in focus, and has a great expression. Follow along with the full Lightroom and Photoshop editing process. This comprehensive tutorial is nearly 25 minutes long and will set you on the right path to creating family portraits - where everyone looks good!
What you'll learn
- The number one thing you need to do when shooting groups
- Why deliberately underexposing when shooting backlit shots can help retain detail in highlights
- The surprising difference between vibrance and saturation
- How to easily copy your edits between images in Lightroom
- My file management technique for exporting images from Lightroom to Photoshop
- How to fix the image when not everyone in the shot looks their best
In every RealShoots episode you get
Shooting Video
A two-hour, real-life dog photography shoot professionally edited down to around the length of a TV episode. Watch anytime, anywhere. No deadlines. No pressure. Tons of value.
Learning Guide
A downloadable companion learning guide to summarise and expand on the video content. Includes handy tips, images with full settings, some with behind the scenes photos.
Daily Tips
Optionally subscribe to the daily tip series accompanying the episode. Bite sized ways to improve your pet photography – delivered daily so you can read and absorb straight away.
Client Gallery
Exclusive access to the full client image gallery. See the actual results of the shoot in high quality, just as the client would see them.
Editing Tutorials
Comprehensive editing tutorials. Watch a complete image edit using professional Adobe photo editing software - Lightroom and Photoshop.
RAW Files
Download the RAW image files used in the editing tutorials so you can play along at home, while watching the editing videos. Nothing better than learning by doing!
Fun Quiz
A challenging and super fun quiz to test your knowledge and keep you on your toes! Download the Cheat Sheet for full explanations of the answers.
Discussion Areas
Ask questions about the training and interact with other students. No such thing as a silly question here - and all are answered personally by Charlotte!
