What iso film should I use to do portrait photo's of dogs ?  Took some today which are good, but I would like the black dog to stand out more !  They are mainly head studies.

Sam would be the best one to answer this but I've not seen her around for a while. For what it's worth I would use a 400ASA. It means you can use a faster shutter speed which would help if the dog happened to move. Aim for a fairly small aperture to give you a reasonable depth of field. I would bracket a few exposures ranging from two stops below to two above.

Black dogs are always a problem getting detail in the coat and I usually find that a little under exposure helps, which is the reason I suggest bracketing the exposures.

Best wishes, John

[QUOTE] John
For what it's worth I would use a 400ASA. It means you can use a faster shutter speed which would help if the dog happened to move. Aim for a fairly small aperture to give you a reasonable depth of field. [/UNQUOTE]

For what its worth I would use as slow a film as possible something like 50 ASA(ISO) It does mean you need a slower shutter speed for the same aperture but the quality of the emulsion, and thus print quality, is better. The difference is shutter speeds between 50 and 400 especially when bracketing is actually quite minimal. A large depth of field is not necesarry in portraiture only really in landscape photography. If you view the old portraits from Hollywood stars etc. you will see that the point of focus is th eyes and the depth of field is so small that almost all the rest of the face is out of focus (very slightly) - I know this is NOT what is wanted in this case but a small aperture and faster shutter speed would be my preferred option.

As for backgrounds I would concur with Kerioak and probably go for a mottled effect rather than plain.

I have no idea as to which film you should use but whatever you do, do not use a white background for a black dog :-) a terracotta type colour seems to work for me or something with a dull (matt? ) colour

Go out and buy yourself a grey card, take the readings off that and lock the camera, or alternatively take the light readings off the dog.
Auto cameras will take a light meter reading off the whole subject so anything dark will be under exposed.

can you not ask the lab to lighten the pics a couple of stops?-i dev pics & will do it automatically on animal pics that need it
if they are posed shots stick with 200,cant go far wrong with that!!!!!!

Thanks for that.  Took some more yesterday of my friends dogs, they usually come out well, but when I did Moby, the black boy they looked really nice but just not clear enough for my liking.  I'll have to start going to night school I thinks :d

You might want to try lighting  the scene even if the pictures are taken outstide this time of year there isn't really enough light unless it is a cloudless very bright day

Ditto re the white background big no no I used to s lot of shots of all black GSDs & I used to have the proper photographer lights that you can bounce the light with

The problem using a slower shutter speed with a dog photograph is that they move so quickly.  If there are any distractions you can bet they'll move at the last second just as you click :rolleyes:  I would use a flash (fill-in flash if possible) even in excellent outdoor conditions (and especially in winter in Britain) to create the shine on the coat that will give you the definition you're after.  If you're photographing outdoors in Britain at the moment you need to do it as early as possible on a clear day to make the most of the light (before 12 noon rather than after, as the light is then starting to go ;) )  If photographing indoors, flash directed at the ceiling and fill-in flash should give good definition but you'll need a directional flash attachment for that.

John....youre right..... the puppies have kept me too busy to look in here more than once every few weeks!! :)
Hmmm,,,well to be honest the white background isnt an issue....I often shoot black dogs on a white background & it makes for very attractive high-key portraiture.the problem depends entirely on the sort of camera you are using. if it is a cheap point & shoot you are unlikely to be able to do much that will help the situation as its all done automatically & you cannot expose for the darker colour of the dog. if you have manual settings and ideally spot metering, then you wil be able to do more. Spot metering is ideal for black dogs! Another problem is that if you use the wrong type of light you will end up with very pigmented dogs....but not a black one. eg black poodles uner artifical light often come out as dark brown...as do briards and newfies!! if its the actual clarity that you are struggling with then may I suggest a better quality glass. people always spend lots of money on the camera & skimp on some generic lens!!! Its far better to budget on the body & then spend spend spend on the lens!! :)  (well thats what I tell my business manager!)