I got a new lens and most of these shots are just testing it. Animals with black fur can be tricky to photograph. I recommend learning to use light to help define facial features and such. Beyond that; patience, patience, patience.
Aside from that and sorting out my new drone, this weekend wasn’t very productive on my end for photography. I had space, time, and gear; everything should have gone great. So what happened?
Pretty simple reason: I didn’t go in with a plan.
Without some idea of what I am working towards all that space, time, and gear isn’t going to be used effectively. For example, this weekend, I had access to models, but only at certain times – had I planned I could have found that information out earlier and planned accordingly. Furthermore, I didn’t take time to brainstorm in advance what techniques I wanted to try out or practice, so setup took longer as every item was a decision. Finally, there was no direction, so ideas bounced all over for a long time before a single camera was brought out.
All in all, it was unproductive.
What normally happens and what always happens when I am working for a client, is that I plan in advance. I do research on the location and review my notes on the session type. If it is a new type of photography or a particular style, I will research that as well. If the location is close enough and accessible, I will usually go and check it out in advance or at least show up an hour early to check the area out. Also, I will plan the actual shoot as well by coming up with a few poses and maybe even going so far as to test the lighting out. This all may take a week or it may take weeks of work to prepare for depending on the photo session but by planning ahead I can make more efficient use of my time and my client’s time as well as tap any resources ahead of time I think I might need. All this work results not only a successful photo session but also a quality photo session.
Be sure to plan, planning is very important to photography.