Hi, I am new here. I am a photographer who has just recently been asked to photograph a Great Dane Specialty. One of my questions is does anyone know where to purchase the little boxes/boards that have the signs that slide in and out for the winning dog photos? I can't seem to find any info. on them. Any help is appreciated! Thanks, Kim

Hi there,
I got nothin.... (I'm not a DS OP)
Just wanted to welcome you, and wish you luck!
And make sure the dog AND the people look good! Hard to do, you HOPE, the people will be "in the know", but not always!
Just went through a box of dog photos and I'm my worst critic, but I looked like I was going to sneeze! Before the days of digital!

Kim,
it ain't as easy as you might think . You can contact John Ashbey (Ashbey Photography) who is one of the top show photographers in the country and I believe he gets them made up for other show photographers. I actually had mine custom-fabricated.

On the other hand, with a bit of creative skill, you can make them up in PhotoShop complete with the club's logo and simply drop them into the finished images. Just keep track in a notebook which photo you took and in what order. If you prefer, use a wipe-off sign & marker to indicate the win and drop in the finished sign over it in post-production.

Good luck.

Jim

Thank you for your replies. I am pretty handy in photoshop so I think I will try the wipe-off board until I see if I enjoy it. I know it is not easy. I have photographed candids at shows before, but never the "Winning Photo". Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Which Great Dane Specialty are you doing?

Kim,
I like to shoot Danes low to show off their height and I shoot them 3/4 from the front. For a Specialty, I like to use a backdrop and studio lights if I'm inside; nice flowers behind the sign if I'm outside and there I use on-camera flash.

Shoot RAW and if you get a Black Dane, make sure to open up one stop. For Harls, I close down 1/2 stop.

Good luck.

Jim

Thank you for your suggestions. The show is outside and I do not have any props yet. I don't want to invest in too much until I know if I enjoy it. I have been searching around on some show photographer sites and flowers seem to be a good/simple prop for outside.

The show is this weekend in Flint, Michigan. It was very short notice so I am trying quickly to get prepared. Thanks again for any helpful suggestions.