UKC

Damp afternoon here and the rugby didn't grab me so commandeered the dog as a model

(Excuse to post pics of Monty)

Any feed back welcome

There's a nice intro guide here by sean tucker to using a single speedlight for portraiture, which could give you some tips including adding in the use of a reflector/softbox to soften the light on your subject (modest extra cost), and a backdrop to cut out distracting elements behind the model (this could be as simple as a dark blanket or curtain):

youtube.com/watch?v=nuoc53wcnbc&

Dogs are great portrait subjects, if you can get them to stay still.....like the photos, you have a cute pooch!

You could also look at this website, which is a great resource for learning how to use flash...

https://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/02/welcome-to-strobist.html

As was mentioned the light seems a little harsh on some; so you could use a modifier or bounce off a wall/ceiling to help with that. I also perhaps think that on some of the photos the flash would have been better positioned on the opposite side of the pooches face e.g. photo 4 & 7. For me the flash should light up the same side of the face as the camera is postitioned. A good suggestion is try and get a catch light from the flash in the eyes of the subject.

Enjoy though, it is one of my favourite things to do. Dogs are always happy to pose, for a treat!!!!!

Thanks Both.

Keeping the sugject still was my main issue. I was playing with differnet light diffusers... some through a cloth hood, some through an umbrella and others using a cereal box to focus undiffused light.

Back ground is an issue mainly as Monty ripped and chewed my backdrop a few months ago, but also because he keeps moving!

They're very dark. Pull up some photos on google which achieve the look you're going for and compare the brightness side by side before seeing if you can match it in-camera rather than fixing it in Lightroom.