Rachel Sloan Photography

Meet Bubbles.  He was at the Bigwag party on Saturday.  He might not be a dog, but that doesn’t stop him from walking on a leash like one!

I’ve gotten several emails lately asking how I process my photos.  Sometimes I edit a photo a lot, and other times I only do a couple of things to it.  I’m a big fan of sharpening certain parts of the photo, usually eyes.  Here I tried to keep the emphasis on Bubble’s head, while keeping the background blurred using a layer mask with gaussian blur.  I sometimes use actions or a combination of actions, but usually it’s my own editing.

(click to enlarge)

A crop up of the little guy’s head…

I think it’s all about experimenting to get the look you are going for!

I still have a lot to learn about studio work, but I’m getting there.  I got a new white backdrop today.  Oliver was more than willing to roll around on it!

I promised more of Maggie’s “urban” downtown photos and here they are!  I had so much fun editing these.  Most of the time I meet my clients at a park, which makes perfect sense.  Dogs do hang out at parks, where they play in the grass  under tall trees, so lot of pictures with grass and trees suits dogs pretty well.  Photographing Maggie downtown was a nice change of scene.   Her photos turned out a little more modern and edgy.  There is such a variety of amazing backdrops downtown as opposed to the usual greenery at a park.  I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed making them!

I love this next photo.    Can you believe some people think dogs don’t smile?!!

I’m hoping a future client might want to take their dog downtown for some photos.  In fact, I want to take a client there sooo bad that I’m offering 25% off the session fee for anyone who books a downtown shoot during July!  I know it’s really hot outside, but 6:30 in the evening really isn’t that bad for a walk around the square.  Email me to schedule your session!

I’ve been playing around on The Pioneer Woman’s blog tonight.  I like her because she writes in a way that is easy to understand, and she has a good sense of humor.  I was inspired to try some new editing techniques after poking around on her blog, so I experimented on this photo of my dad’s dog Lily.  I’m pretty pleased with the way it turned out.  Sometimes I get lost in Photoshop, then realize an hour has gone by since I looked up from the computer or blinked.  I guess it’s true what they say – Time flies when you’re having fun!

So you can see them larger…

Whatdya think?  I’d love to know.  :)

I met 3 great dogs yesterday named Harley, Hercules, and Huckleberry.  I’m still working on their photos but here is a sneak peek of my progress.  Harley and Hercules look very much alike and I hope I have gotten it correct that this is in fact Hercules.

There are several things I like about this photo…

• Hercules’ expression
• I like how the tall grass almost makes it look like Hercules is playing peek-a-boo.
• The image is in focus (that definitely doesn’t happen on every shot, especially with dogs!)

Here is what bugs me about this photo…

• The icky grey tint most digital photos have straight out of the camera. (I have recently discovered new tricks to fix this.)
• That rock wall isn’t in the middle, but it’s also not far enough to one side to give the photo any extra interest.  I don’t like how it’s only behind his little ear.  I think it needs to be more behind him, or not there at all.
• I don’t like that blade of grass right in front of his tongue.
• The image needs to be cropped so that Hercules fills up more of the frame.

AFTER 15 minutes in Photoshop…

If I could, I would  mess around in Photoshop all day long and learn new things.  I think it’s the coolest invention ever.  I’m still trying to figure out my specific “style” for processing photos, and I think I’m getting there.  Whenever I have a bad or stressful day I just sit down at my computer, open up a photo and go to town on it.  It’s art to me…and I hope other people think so too.

And just for fun…head over to my friend Jamie’s blog for a little glimpse of our double bachelorette weekend.

While making some new headers for my blog it occurred to me that I haven’t done a “before + after” post in quite a while.  The first photo is Scout before any editing, straight out of the camera.  The second photo was enhanced in Photoshop and I removed his eye gunk.  I love this picture.

I’ll have some new photos to share next week.  I’m looking forward to my session with Abby and her mom Ashley tomorrow!

I was sitting in my office around 10:00 Wednesday night when Maggie walked into the room and dropped a wet rodent on the carpet. I immediately squealed and reached for my phone. I called Neill and asked if he could please come remove the dead mouse in my house (he only lives a block away, and what are boyfriends for?). While I was waiting for Neill I noticed the little guy’s belly was still moving up and down. I got a closer look and realized it was a not a mouse, but instead a baby squirrel and he was breathing! We put him in a shoe box with a towel on top of a heating pad set on low. He was pretty lifeless and wet from dog slobber. There were no wounds that we could see, but we figured Maggie might have damaged his insides. I honestly didn’t think he would make it through the night, but he did!

After speaking with a very helpful nurse at the animal emergency clinic, we decided to put him back outside and see if his mom would come get him. The experts say that human scent won’t matter to the mom. The vet I spoke to said that as long as the baby is warm and heathy the mom will take him back. We set him under the tree he fell from and hoped for the best. I glanced out the window about 45 minutes later and saw 2 adult squirrels hanging out in the tree above. I thought one of them might be the mom, but they couldn’t have cared less about the little baby squirrel on the ground. We decided to bring him in because when I noticed a hawk perching up in the tree. I couldn’t let him be hawk lunch! We thought about putting him back outside after the hawk left, but it started pouring rain. He is now safe inside his shoe box home and he just had 2 full droppers of puppy milk for dinner.

He can’t really walk yet so he drags himself around with his front claws to get comfortable.

We are still getting the hang of feeding him. It’s so cute how he grabs the dropper when he gets excited.

Does anyone have any experience raising baby squirrels? We like having him around for now, but we really don’t need a squirrel for a pet and I know he would be happier in the wild. He sure is cute!!!

I photograph dogs once a month at the Fayetteville Animal Shelter.  I decided to post them on my blog in hopes that they get even more exposure.  If you or anyone you know are looking for a new furry friend, please forward this on.  These guys are patiently waiting to be adopted.  For more information, please visit petfinder.com or call the Fayetteville Animal Shelter at 444-3456.

Dora, 2 months old   (UPDATE 3.10.09 ADOPTED)

Dora’s brother Dax, 2 months old   (UPDATE 3.23.09 ADOPTED)

Prissy was shy at first, but when she warmed up to me she was very friendly.

Dottie has a very silly and playful personality.  She enjoys chasing balls and licking humans.   

(UPDATE 3.20.09 ADOPTED)

Sweetie’s name sums her up perfectly.  She is gentle, loving, and her coat is extremely soft…great for hugging!   

(UPDATE 3.20.09 ADOPTED)

Stay tuned for updates.  I will also be photographing homeless cats once a month starting in April!

I’m trying to learn to get a better variety of shots when I photograph a dog.  I seem to end up with lots of portrait style photos, where their whole face fills up the frame.  Those are good, but I also like shots like these that have a more interesting composition.  I didn’t look through the viewfinder when I took these photos.  I just held my camera down at waist level and pointed it at Jonah…and I think I like what I got.       

I love a shiny button nose on a dog.

I would like to share some photos of 2 really cute kids I met a few weeks ago.  This brother and sister pair were adorable and very easy to work with.  I will always remember them because they are the first children I have ever photographed!  Although photographing animals is what I really love, I must say it was a lot of fun photographing these guys.  They were naturally happy and smiley during the whole session.  Remember Licorice from a few posts back?  Caroline and Charlie are his human siblings.

I found myself smiling while looking through their photos.  I hope these made you smile too!  :)