Project 52 is a group of professional pet photographers who are provided a new theme each week. We then interpret that theme through our pet photography and post a blog. We link to each others blog posts to create a "circle of pet art". It is very inspiring to see each photographers take on the theme. It pushes me to think more creatively and to try new photography techniques.

This weeks lesson in our quest for improving our photography is, "ask better questions". I am going to revisit last week's blog photo's and go in depth on the aspects that I like about the photo's, what I was trying to achieve with my settings.

My goal for this photo was to freeze action, which I achieved. I knew that I had to crank up my ISO in order to get a high enough shutter speed to do that. I also wanted a shallow DOF to create a creamy bokeh in the background. This also put Huck slightly out of focus which, in my opinion, helps to tell a better story. What if I had the aperture set to a higher number? That would have opened up the DOF and Huck most likely would have been more "in focus". I think that would have detracted from this photo.

I took this photo in the evening, and at that time felt it should have been taken mid-day with brighter light. But, I would have lost the beautiful evening light coming in through the trees and it would not be as appealing.

I had my husband throw the tennis ball right at me for this shot. Even though I used my 70 - 200mm lens, I still had to crop in. This is most definitely not the most technically correct image, but the viewer can really get a sense of Huck's intensity for that ball! What if I had cranked my ISO just a little more? This would have given it a more "grainy" feel but perhaps it would have been a sharper image?

So many questions to ask on this one! If I had shifted my angle and been higher up, looking down on her, been a better perspective? What if I had changed my position so the entire wood pile, and not the bench, was in the background? (This can be removed in post processing but is very time consuming). I can try to recreate this image incorporating the options, but capturing the moment of her sass would be difficult. This image may not be perfect, but it captures Lucy perfectly.

This is an image of Cashew I quickly took this weekend because of our bitter cold temps. I wanted to tell a story of textures with this one. His scruffy fur, the snow on his snout, and his colorful coat. Using a 70 - 200 lens allowed me to zoom in on the features I wanted to showcase. Setting up a shot requires asking a lot of questions: where is the light, what angle would be best, where do I need to stand for the best background. Of course, this is not as easy with a dog who is a moving target. So the other part of a good shot requires luck!

Let's see what Ono Pet Photography of Fairhope, Alabama is asking in this weeks blog!