85mm 1.2L II on Haute Dogs

[LightCrafterPhotography]

The Haute Poochure in Southern California as seen through the 85mm 1.2L II + 5D2. This was from a pre-Halloween event in Long Beach.
 
Full resolution and complete gallery:
http://www.lightcrafterphotography.com/p644709762
Click on slideshow and use left/right arrow keys to navigate.
 

[LightCrafterPhotography]

Here's a cutie.

[LightCrafterPhotography]

More cuties.

[LightCrafterPhotography]

Surveying the scene.

[LightCrafterPhotography]

A zebra dog?

[LightCrafterPhotography]

The Hot Puppies.

[wickidwombat]

maybe its my monitor or the downscaled images on the site but the focus looks off, not saying it is on the proper ones but I know sometimes uploading makes things wierd

[victorwol]

Yep... They look a bit too soft, did you take them with the lens at f1.2? It's very tempting to do so, but this lens is so critical with focus probably as wide as a hair :-)))))))

[fallenflowers]

maybe the editing cause the soft look? the filters being used to achieved post process look may caused images to soften.

[sandymandy]

dof is too shallow for my taste. Decorated dogs and all u see is their face clearly

[Bosman]

He did offer a link to his full res gallery if you are critiquing and asking then go look. I for one just smiled viewing these.

[LightCrafterPhotography]

I would have preferred responses like “Whoa, how did you do that?”, but being this here is a forum, I recognize/respect everyone’s two cents.

So okay, here’s the context of the shooting that afternoon. Focusing an 85mm 1.2 LII mated to a 5D2 at f1.2 on the eye of a person is difficult. If you have tried this set up, you know what I’m talking about. Then imagine taking photos of an excitable pooch in a small crowded park filled with the scent and mugs of 101 other canines, their humans and mini humans. Let me tell you, it’s not going to be a walk in the park. You are literally crawling.

It was one of those days when I was shooting for myself, with no client to please or anything like that. I like to give myself some sort of a challenge on days like this, and sharpen my photographic reflexes, so to speak. The plan was to “work” the event with the gear I was carrying -one body and one lens only, 5D2 and 85mm 1.2 LII. Stick to ISO 100, and no aperture smaller than 2.5.

But why at huge apertures? Simply because it is not easy to do, therefore it’s a challenge. I could have just gone the way of the F8 And Be There Philosophy, but that would have been too easy, too formulaic and boring for me. I mean where’s the challenge? Let’s try something different. Maybe if I were shooting for Petsmart or Iams, I would get everything in focus from the whiskers to the tail.


All images I post in forums are at 75 dpi, and that might help explain the observed softness. Also consider that I don’t ever do any sharpening –that’s just a personal preference. Most of the images were shot with apertures between 1.2 and 1.8. (There were a couple of images wherein the dog owners requested copies of, so I made those at 4.5 or 5.6.) The narrow slivers of depth of field and low resolution contribute to the perceived softness. If you go to the full res gallery, you will see the difference. The minimum I require is that the nearest eye should be in focus, and that’s what you’ll notice. Maybe there’s an image or two that may not be spot on, but I’m more than happy with my keep rate. 

[Bosman]

I need to do what you say is working the photographic reflexes since i am shooting an 85L II again. This was a great idea and a couple photo sales for your fun isn't bad either. Win win.

[LightCrafterPhotography]

I need to do what you say is working the photographic reflexes since i am shooting an 85L II again. This was a great idea and a couple photo sales for your fun isn't bad either. Win win.

Getting out of the comfort zone makes for really effective exercise and help one prepare and get tuned-up for different shooting situations. Earning some money while doing it makes it more worth the while. In this case, it paid for gas and depreciation and a nice dinner for two after the event. And congrats on your return to the 85L II.

[Daniel Flather]

Looking at your link, did you use any kind of fill light on a few of they pics?  There are a few that seem to have a little fill, but that could also be by the chance that there was something near she scene reflecting light. 

Thanks.