Portrait of Bo, the First Puppy -- Ugh.

19 June 2009 | Just Me

[FourPeas]

This is obviously not a BIG issue considering all that's going on in the world. Still, with all that Obama is concerned with his image, I'd think he could hire a photographer who had a better eye. The portrait looks like one made by an amateur using photoshop!

The composition is terrible. With the dog's head so close to the strong horizon line, it's painful to look at. The depth of field is awful. Who in their right mind would put this photograph out on purpose?

[rstark56]

Paid for by tax dollars I suppose

[BeerLover NYC]

Does it look more like BHO or Michelle?

[LottieDah]

He is a cute dog...too bad the adult humans in his family blow chunks!

[stuartcr]

Who in their right mind, would criticize a picture of a dog so vigorously?

[Made In The USA]

Does Bo know what happened to the fly???? Might want to steer clear of Barry ‘The Swatter’ Soetero.

[rom]

The girls and the dog are the best thing about the Obama administration.

That is one adorable doggy.

[DogBarkTree]

Agreed, cute kids and a cute dog. That’s where it ends.

[FourPeas]

It was the tipping point for me on the tackiness of Obama’s image management.

[LottieDah]

The girls and Bo are very cute...I feel sorry that they have to be subjected to Zero and Aunt Esther on a daily basis.

[toast]

Good looking dog.
It’s hard to photograph black dogs.

[BigEdLB]

Recently we bred our Standard Poodle, and based upon what we have seen, one pup usually steps forward when people come... That is, dogs CHOOSE their primary person. What does that say about `Bo`, anyway?
Portugese Water Dogs are a quirky breed, used in Portugal to retrieve game from lakes and rivers at hunting time, much as Standard Poodles are used in Germany, and France. But no one has ever extolled the intellegence of a PWD, as they have the Poodle. And according to my original thesis, `Bo` chose Barack. Need I say more?

[missanne]

Yeah I feel sorry for the dog and the daughters...BHO loves himself so much there is nothing left to share!

[FourPeas]

...and, of course, because WE likely paid for it.

[paulycy]

[wolfcreek]

Wait one minute!

Muslims don’t like dogs!

[Robert A. Cook, PE]

OK - Lines and setup stink, but why the dark (tree-limb) shadows distracting from the dark white & black outline of the dark dog?

[RegulatorCountry]

I’m just pleased to see that the dog looks happy and well cared for. He can’t help it if he’s being used as a prop.

[phalynx]

The use of a flash in that picture would have easily isolated the black dog from the shadows.

[brytlea]

Indeed it is.

[libh8er]

Amateur is right. The cardinal rule of portrait photography is never to use a wide angle lens and stick it close to the subject’s face, which results in distorted features. The vast majority of ‘cell phone self portraits’ posted on the web are like this, including this one. The right way to shoot portraits (other than with good lighting) is stand back, as far back as possible, and zoom in to the subject’s face.

[brytlea]

I don’t think poor Bo did any choosing at all. He was simply available.

[GSWarrior]

Who in their right mind, would criticize a picture of a dog so vigorously?

A photo editor, perhaps.

[Cuttnhorse]

Who in their right mind, would criticize a picture of a dog so vigorously?

You may have answered your own question with the..."who in their right mind," part.

[Doogle]

I suspect, the first Mutt will be banned from making appearances. He gets too much attention. Narcissistic character tendencies will be dealt with quietly and swiftly. There is only room for one under the spotlight of glory and admiration.

[steve86]

Nice arms.

[FourPeas]

It's definitely a cute puppy.

And, you're right with black dogs/cats/whatever are hard to get a good exposure and depth of field. That's why professional photographers get paid well for a good portrait.

[InvisibleChurch]

h a l f b l a c k a n d h a l f w h i t e

[GatorGirl]

I always have to laugh when I hear that dog’s name—who names a dog after himself!

[FourPeas]

You may have answered your own question with the..."who in their right mind," part.

Thank you. I resemble that remark.

[JW Brown]

I believe that every person, no matter how mean his character, should have something that loves him unconditionally. The Obama kids have Bo. Their daddy has the main stream Media.

[brytlea]

I like to fill the pic with the dog, especially the face if there's no action going on. Of course I'm not a pro (but I get a lot of people around here who call me to come take shots of their dogs).

[JennysCool]

For consistency, why couldn’t they have photographed the dog in Air Force One over New York?

[freekitty]

That’s a funny picture. Thanks for the laugh.

[17th Miss Regt]

The dog is about half black and half white, just like...

[freekitty]

Great picture.

[paulycy]

:0)

[Little Pig]

It does look ‘shopped. I tried to find a comparable pic of Barney, but I didn’t see any “posed” pictures; they all seemed to be of the “candid” type.

[fso301]

Does Bo know what happened to the fly???? Might want to steer clear of Barry ‘The Swatter’ Soetero.

Was there ever a fly?

[Carley]

Consider that the swimmer named his dog ‘Splash’.

There is something very sick about these people.

Kennedy and Soetero.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"Who in their right mind, would criticize a picture of a dog so vigorously?"

Exactly. Get a life already was my first thought ... back away from the computer and kiss your spouse, hug your kids, or get a breath of fresh air outside. This stuff is worthy of lesser forums on the liberal side.

[SparkyBass]

"...when the dogs of war drop a rocket on the white house lawn."...
Big Guns - The Swirling Eddies

Yeah, I find pure-bred rare dogs at the pound allllll the time.

[albie]

“The girls and the dog are the best thing about the Obama administration”.

...too bad those girls are going to grow up to be vicious, Marxists like their pissant of a Dad.

[rom]

You never know. Look at Ron Reagan as an example of how far the apple can fall from the tree ;)

[nikos1121]

where’s the photo?

[cynwoody]

Who in their right mind would put this photograph out on purpose?

Probably the same doofuss who put this photo out on purpose:

[brytlea]

Thanks, it was one of those powderpull chinese cresteds at a show. Most

[mrmeangenes]

Mmm... Maybe someone who was not a professional photographer or photo critic ?

[tumblindice]

Commander Zero should have the following printed-out and hung on his wall: “I hope some day to be the man my dog thinks I am.”
Unfortunately, we’re stuck with the 2009 version.

[usmcobra]

And now a rebuttal from Barney, former first Pup.

Bark

Bark Bark

ruff bark bark rufffff

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Bark

Ruff rufff ruffff Bark grrrrrrrr.

Bark!