This is a portrait of my Dad which I took whilst going home in the Easter holidays. I took it outside in our garden to get natural lighting. I got him to act natural and pose how ever he felt comfortable. I took many shots of him whilst he was stood there and after refining through them all I decided that this was the most engaging one. Even though he isn’t looking directly into the camera you can still receive the expression off his face. My Dad is a very calm and caring man and I feel like this is portrayed through his eyes in this photograph. I like the way the lighting has hit his face, causing his skin to glow and his eyes to have a reflection. The depth of field is shallow which is what I like in portraiture as the main focus is the person within the photograph, not the background.

My only criticism about the image is that a is a little grainy, it could be clearer but this is my first proper attempt at photography and I have learned a lot so far.

My second image is of my Dog Poppy as she is a big reminder of my home life.  I have had her for now 11 years so she has been around for more than half my life. This was a hard image to get of her as even though she is old she still acts like a puppy. I took this image in outside lighting as I find the lighting is more prominent and effective to the lens and the naked eye. I had to pretend to throw the ball for her to get her in this position. As you can see her tail is wagging and she is ready to run for the ball. Her eyes this way are also intently focusing on the ball, which i placed behind the camera so therefore I could get a clearer shot of her face. I took the photo at a landscape shot to match the positioning of her body.