Bambi Cantrell: Blowin in the Wind

Bambi Cantrell has been photographing weddings for over 25 years. She is a wedding photographer through and through. In fact, in March of 2007, American Photo Magazine named her as one of the 10 Best Wedding Photographers in the World.

Still, that’s not to say that when she has a camera in hand and a subject invites her to play, she won’t gladly accept. “Pet portraits are not usually part of my professional 
repertoire,” she says. “However, that quickly changed one day after I observed Ms. Molly, my friend’s Labradoodle, poking her head out of a car’s back seat window. She looked so excited and cute with her ears blowing in the wind and tongue hanging out that I couldn’t resist. I had to record this familiar dog moment.”

Bambi used a Canon EOS-1D Mark III digital SLR set on Manual with an EF 24mm f/1.4L wide-angle lens set at f/2.8 to get this shot. “Composition is crucial for me, so I waited until Ms. Molly’s face was centered in the back window frame and then captured her in action.”

She continues, “After successfully recording and 
processing the image, I used a variety of Photoshop 
filters from Nik Software Bleach Bypass to give the white and dark tones a bit more separation. I also applied Extreme Makeover, a Photoshop Action by Ryan Shembri, to soften Ms. Molly’s fur. Finally, I applied Marcus Bell’s Photoshop Action #21 to add warmth and darkness to the outer edges, and I dropped clouds into the 
background to diffuse the bright light.”
To see more of Bambi’s wedding and other portrait work, visit www.cantrellportrait.com.

Ingredients
• Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
• Lens: Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM lens
• Exposure: 1/500 at f/2.8 at ISO 100
• Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
• Computer: Gateway
• Software: Adobe Photoshop CS3
• Filters: Nik Software Color Efex Pro™ 3.0 Bleach Bypass
• Actions: Ryan Shembri’s Extreme Makeover;  Marcus Bell’s Photoshop Action #21, and Jim Garner’s Cloud Background