Episode 7: Armani & Kentucky in the Country
A beautiful rural property was the perfect location for these two high energy Hungarian Vizslas to run, swim, explore and investigate.
Kentucky is the older of the two and started out life as a show and stud dog before retiring to live a life of leisure, specialising in being a couch potato and class clown. Armani wears a few different hats; she's an obedience and show dog and is also currently in training as a service dog.
I worked hard to manage the dog's energy levels in this supersize 50 minute episode - exploiting their high energy for some fun action and play shots - then dialling it back to capture some beautiful environmental portraits. I found out what drives each dog - hint: it's not the same thing for both - and fully utilised this get their attention and focus and capture expression.
Watch the Teaser...
"This one had me laughing out loud a few times! Definitely fun to see how a professional like Charlotte handles easily distracted dogs. Loved that we got to see a natural area and what caught her eye for a scene and how to get a variety of images in one similar setting. Continue to love this series!"
Stephanie Miller
USA
What you'll learn in this episode
-
How to find awesome private property locations to shoot at
-
How to improve your background when shooting with backlight
-
Techniques for working with dogs to capture candid action photos around water
-
Which exposure mode I shoot on when I'm not shooting in Manual mode
-
How to capture the perfect group shot of two dogs
-
How you can still get great shots of a dog, even if you struggle to connect with them
-
The trick to working in hilly locations so you always have the best light
-
How to still get great shots when the light changes unexpectedly
-
What to say (and what not to say) when shooting family photos including the owner
-
The review setting you need to enable on your camera right now
Editing Tutorial 1: Histogram Deep Dive
The first post processing tutorial is 30 minutes long. It dives into a deeper understanding of the Histogram in Lightroom and covers how to bring back colour and life to a dull grassy background.
What you'll learn
-
A deep dive into the Histogram - how to read and fully understand exactly what it's telling you about your image
-
How to get rid of unwanted elements by using multiple images
-
How to deal with over-editing if you're a self-confessed perfectionist 🙋🏻♀️
-
How to improve a blah-looking background
-
Why (and how) to ask Photoshop's opinion on your image and why this is such valuable input to your final edit
-
A step by step guide to creating your very own Action in Photoshop
"Fantastic! It was great to see how Charlotte handles not only one high-energy dog, but two at the same time! Lots of information packed in on how to make the best use of a shooting location, lens choices, fixing tones in images and combining two (or more photos) to get the ultimate shot."
Debby Herold
Canada
Editing Tutorial 2: Head Swap
The second tutorial is 23 minutes and demonstrates a quick and easy head swap. You also get and in-depth look into my final Polish Up action, then I hand it over for you to install and use yourself!
What you'll learn
-
How (and why) to shoot with performing a head swap in mind
-
How to create a custom vignette in Lightroom and why you should use this one handy tool to do so
-
Watch the quickest, easiest head swap you've ever seen
-
Why attention to detail is an important ingredient of creating an outstanding image
-
A step by step guide to using my personal "Polish Up" Photoshop Action
-
You get to download and use my Action!
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!
