Taking christmas photos of the dog

[rupypug]

I am wanting to take photos of my dog in front of the christmas tree to practice for fridays shoot. I am thinking pose hime 6 feet in front of the tree with two off camera flashes to light him. Where should I put the off camera flashes and how high? I am thinking about 5 feet away on either side and dile it down. I would like to just light hime and the christmas tree stay dark so I can see the pretty lights. I am thinking correctly or is this impossible with my equiptment?

[Reflection]

Try dragging the shutter.
Set your flash to fire at the end of your exposure, Then use a slow shutter speed. This will allow the Christmas lights to show and brighten everything.

[brucep]

Experiment, experiment! Modify just one variable at a time and write down how that changed the photo. Then vary something else and write down that result. If your dog is as uncooperative as most, it will be a good stand-in for the kids. :-)

We're so fortunate to be able to try some lighting and immediately see the results on our LCD's! We used to need to take an experimental series of photos with small signs (in each photo) saying what we'd varied in that shot (what the f-stop was in that shot, for instance) and then develop the film before we could see if we were headed in the right direction at all.

[Skippy]

When setting up your lighting just remember your dogs are pretty short even compared next to a kid. :-) You might to put them on a short stool.

Skippy

[rupypug]

Thanks guys. Should I keep the lights higher than the dog or lower?

[brucep]

A photographer has to be observant. Look around... are most light sources you live in higher or lower than YOU? In a dark room, light your face in a mirror with a flashlight. Which angles best show the planes of your face? Which angle do you think they call "ghoul lighting?"

Get your lights out and experiment. Show us your results and tell us what you learned.

[rupypug]

I will play around with the lighting and post photos.