Sunday, August 5, 2012

On Vacation???

Vacation


Vacation


Dog Blog Post #770


Photography Assignment


  • Our Daily Challenge - Aug 4, 2012 - "Journey"
  • 100 Pictures - "36. Vacation"
  • Daily Dog Challenge"278. With A Flourish"

Good grief, what are those two up to now?!?!

The Plan


The weather took a turn for the cooler, I had a bit of time to myself, and so off to Party City I sprinted to see if I could score some cheap props.

It did not disappoint.

The Problems


1. Can you say, "Wrinkles"! Geez, the bag even touted what a great backdrop the Palm Tree Scene Setter would be "as a background for taking pictures at your summer party". Really? And it's shiny. Shiny! Wrinkled and shiny!

2a. Hats - my love and the bane of my existence. I actually purchased two, identical, straw hats (well, as identical as two buck straw hats can get) but they stuck out so far that one kept taking out the other, and trying to get the boys to sit further apart wasn't happening.

2b. Hats - my love and the bane of my existence. I'm not sure whose head these hats were supposed to fit, but the crowns were too small for my boy's heads and most hats are too big.

3. Unlike the too-small hats, the leis were way too long for a dog (see photo #2 above).

The Solutions


1. Hey, it was just $4.99, stores in no space at all, and can be held in place with clips and tape, making it a bargain, wrinkles and all. I've since googled Scene Setters, and it appears that if I store it wrapped color-side out around a cardboard tube it might look less wrinkly next time. Tipping the board it's clipped to forward also helped with shine, as the flash didn't reflect straight back at the lens except from the wrinkled spots.

2a/b. How many hats do you see in the picture? One. Problem solved!

I left a hat on Zachary's head as it was the better fit of the two dogs, and gave Henry my sunglasses. If his smile looks extra big, it's probably because he's NOT the dog wearing the silly straw hat.

Zachary's smiling because he's a goofy dog who loves props - including silly straw hats.

3. A small binder clip neatly "resized" the leis behind the dogs' necks, completely out of sight (see photo #1 up top.)


Vacation


Editor's Note: Wait a minute... those are margarita glasses. ZACHARY!

-- Like the idea of a daily dog photography prompt? Click on Daily Dog Challenge and join us!

© 2012 BZ Training - All Rights Reserved

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Henry, Hey Zachary, Jet here.

Dudes, I want to hang with you guys... seems like non-stop fun with such a creative Mom.

I MUST reiterate (vocab builder)the need for a calendar, a coffee table book, SOMETHING... these shots are too special!

Uh... guys? Mom's still chuckling... I don't get it...

K-Koira said...

I think the Dollar Tree needs to be your next stop for props, because they sell that same backdrop for a dollar instead of for five. Either way though, the boys look happy and tropical.

Amy said...

Wow I thought I was back in Hawaii for a second there! Your dogs are the best models ever. They even have that self-satisfied, blissful look of tourists. Incredible.

houndstooth said...

You already know I love these! Those are just so darned cute. I have the same leis from Party City, and I am curious as heck to see what other kinds of backdrops I could find there. I can't wait until the Halloween stores start opening up! :P Props galore!

Zachary's gone classy! There are no Red Solo Cups this time!

Sue and Doug said...

nice 'vacation' getaway!!!

Unknown said...

Cool shades for the vacation dogs!. hahahahaha