I agree. I thought that creating a vignette around Lucky would make her stand out as the subject that tells the story best. But I may have got carried away and overdid a good thing and made it too obvious.

Looking back I wish I had shot on manual with a lower ISO so that I wouldn't have the left side of her nose "washed out." I panicked and took a shot quickly on "auto" not knowing if the farm lady would come out and call the dog off or not. Thankfully, she did.

I like viewers of my work to look at everything. Even the cat sitting behind Lucky trying to see what the heck is going on.

"Lucy's" nose was getting snow white and with auto exposure on, the left side of her nose was completely washed out. I tried burning it in with Photoshop but it just isn't there no matter what I do. (If my camera had been set with a lower ISO, I probably would have been able to keep it from washing out.) Any suggestions other than shooting in "manual" next time? Thanks!

Does the farm dog look better now with the post removed from her head, using the lighter version to gain back some over exposure on the left side of her nose?

Wow! Somehow I didn't even notice the post coming out of her head. I'll work on it in Photoshop CS4, which is my old version I purchased outright years ago, to see if I can remove the post. Thanks for sharing your expertise. Shooter 41

I will try again starting with the original lighter version to get back some detail and then just slightly darker rather than "pedal to the metal." Thank you for your excellent suggestion.

May I ask, "Do you prefer the lighter one or the darker one?"

I agree. I thought that darkening it would make it more dramatic, but instead it got rid of the interesting porch all around her. Thanks for the tip.

After taking a shot of a farm dog more than willing to protect her family's homestead when a stranger approached, I worked on it in Photoshop and can't decide which version is best. Would several of you take a look at the two versions and help me decide which is best? Thank you for your expertise and suggestions.
Shooter41 I darkened her nose where it was washed out and lightened the cat in the background. Better?

Hi everyone! I'm located in Wichita, Kansas and have been shooting indoor soccer games for over forty years for several Wichita Wings professional teams. Now that we are in the middle of a pandemic, I am more into photographing nature and animals and learning to use my new Sony RX10 IV. Hoping to learn a lot from other members.