The Puzzled Look

Pit Shepherd mix puppy with a lot of questions. Especially, when the

hell am I going to get out of this shelter?

Bill, I like this much better than the other I saw up for critique.  Still, on my monitor, it looks like the plane of focus is on the ear or shoulder and not on the eye.  Are you using a focus mode with which you can put the square/dot on the eye and nail the focus on that spot?  It could also very well be due to movement--certainly a huge challenge given your energetic subject!  The shadows are a bit distracting as well--maybe use some reflectors or lighting on each side as well?  (I am no expert with studio lighting.) I do like your background choice and I really admire what you are doing (finding them homes).  Sometimes, personlly, I seem to have more symphathy and feeling for animals than I do for humans...maybe because of the simplicity, purity and innocence of animals? 

I appreciate your interest and your comments. With this new venture I had create a makeshift studio at the shelter consisting of sturdy table, a neutral backdrop I had when doing studio work because in one two hour session shooting 8 to 10 animals I will get all white, all black, and every color in between., and all sizes. Changing backdrops is not an option. Perfection is not the goal, getting shots that help the animals get adopted is the goal. I copied and pasted the following from another critique that will give you a better picture of how this works, and why. I use continuous AF and lock the focal point in the center. Here's that other lengthy critique you might find of interest.

I'm still i making adjustments in settings, since I started this a few weeks ago. Here are some of the parameters involved in shelter photography. Must be continuous light, stropbes and flash don't work. I use two 500 watt floods. Set WB at 3200 Kelvin. Manual mode,  1/160 -f5 to f5.6. The animals are constantly moving. Need two shots of every animal for shelter's web site. Facial closeup and body shot so a full range fast zoom lens essential. I'm sitting on an office chair with wheels at eye level to animals moving with them, continuous AF fast trigger. Two handlers helping, one behind me to get their attention, another at table to keep them from jumping off. Do 8 to 10 animals in an hour and a half. They range from 150 lb dogs to kittens. I've done studio animals in the past, in this case throw away the book. It's a challenge like no other I've ever experienced. You're not looking for blue ribbons, just help these poor souls find a loving hoime. If it seems like I'm on a crusade to get other phtographers to consider shelter work ... you're right!