I have volunteered my services at the local animal shelter to try and avert the “black dog syndrome” via *good* photos of their dogs.
The snobby jerks said they have their own photographer.
[an under-educated employee with a pocket camera]
But yeah, Labs tend to be like black holes, sucking in all the light of the room.
:D
You think it’s hard to photograph them, you should try painting one.
Yikes.
Stressful.
The key is disregarding what you *see* and painting instead, what the viewer should see.
Lots and lots of white/washed out blues, blacks and grays with bits of green, brown or red.
It defies explanation.
Black Poodles and Chows are even worse.
The defining highlights tend to just not be there so you gotta get “creative”.
Clearly shifting the lighting values is the only way to be able to see them. The Black Dog seems to have but purple highlights, not unlike Ravens.
I think it can be done digitally if the camera is initially setup to capture small variation in light levels in the dark region.
That's why I'm happy to have the Yellow Lab colored dog, 'cause I can actually see her on a dark night in the back yard. The Black Dog could easily work outside in the night for the CIA as a spook....