Pets and I have a life long history. Looking around my desk as I write this I see Percival in the window to my left. He is a rescue kitty ~ one of 79 Cornish Rex cats confiscated from the U.P. in Michigan. At my feet, ALWAYS is Angus, my Standard Poodle boy. He literally is the heartbeat at my feet. Snoozing in the sun on my bed is Edgar, a wirey mix that was rescued on his last day before being gassed at a shelter in Georgia. Pippa, who does bad things, has interupted this by chewing on my honey's string of his shorts. She is our most recent resident. I am a sucker. Through and through. And she was a shelter pup that needed her photo taken for the website. Volunteering will be the death of me lol. Wouldn't have it any other way! Since I can't bring them all home, my best friend and neighbor adopted a fabulous boy that caught my heart. I get to see him every day. And my father in law is enjoying the company of another of my volunteer endeavors. Hey, they are the gift that keeps on giving. And in a most selfless way. Last but not least is Puccini. He is an oldie these days (and I DO love an oldie). A French Bulldog that could not be any cuter. My husband brought it to my attention the other day that he thinks P Man is "losing his marbles". He has taken up guarding, guarding things that are not there. So around that we work. No toys are allowed to be left around the house unless you want him to get riled up. This morning he was having a good morning, running through the house like a little pig. Hilarious! Tickle his belly and it really winds him up. All of this to say, obviously pet photography is as natural a thing for me as breathing.
I have always said that if I ever were to go into photography as a business I would be tickled to just do pets. Why? Not only do I know them like the back of my hand, but I have this idea that people always think their pets hung the moon, and don't think they take bad pictures. Take the same person, the owner of the pet, and take their picture. They are more than likely going to have insecurities about their appearance. And this is no matter how good the picture is. Take a picture of that persons pet, and they are goo goo over it. Pets in this day and age, more often than not, are really and truly family members. They can render their people helpless against their charms. People turn into baby talking softies around them. This leads me to think that since pets wear their hearts on their sleeves, no pretences, that it is a contagious attitude. And it is one that we should all strive for.
So where do you begin? A successful pet portrait is one that shows their personality. And since they are expressive beings, dogs especially, one "pose" can have many different looks. You want this to be your main goal ~ the kind of portrait is where your style comes in. You have to know what type of pet portraiture you want to do. I love candid lifestyle type of photography, for humans and pets. I get a lot of details, what they would be doing in their day to day, playing, eating, whatever. The key is to keep their attention...and depending on your model,this can be easier said than done. Get acquainted with them. It's a common courtesy that you would extend to a two legged subject. These guys are no different. Maybe play a game with them a bit. Bottom line is, if you want a successful shoot, you have to speak their language.
What do you do? Pets are like kids in a lot of ways. They are definately more comfortable in the surroundings they are familiar with. Where that is, is really up to the pet. Some pets are used to the dog park, others are home bodies. They are usually pretty wound up for the first 15 minutes or so. Get some practice shots off to check your light. This also gets them used to the sound of your shutter. My shutter is really loud, and this can be a benefit and a detriment for me. Sometimes I can't get a puppy at the shelter to sit still or even look at me. That shutter is sometimes the only thing that gets them to stop long enough and look at me. I will say that it has really been my experience that even my dogs don't like the camera right in their face. So give them a chance to get used to you being there with this weird thing on your face lol. If they don't warm up, ask the owner if they have a treat you can use, hot dogs are a dogs best friend.
What equipment do you use? Lenses are the major important thing here. I shoot almost exclusively with my 50mm. It is a good length for me, person or pet. It is fast, so it's good in low light. It doesn't hang off of my camera ~ great for those bouncy dogs. But I also shoot with an ultrawide angle 18-35mm and a super cheap, gray market 70-300 lens. This is why. That lens is light. It gives me great reach for shy animals. And if a dog crashes into it, I will not cry over it. It's actually a nice lens for what I need it to do, if it is good light. So it is ideal for the shelter which was my sole purpose for purchasing it. Those dogs can be very shy and just simply shut down if there is a person there, let alone a person who has a camera. You have to have the ability to shoot in different types of lighting. Natural light is ideal for true to life images. But I also had to be able to shoot indoors with crummy lighting if I was going to be confident that when someone paid me, I could deliver what I said I could. Since actual posing is not really an option (like turn your head this way, laugh, bend your leg, etc...) the creativity of different perspectives and angles, lenses, backdrops go a long way. And you can't be afraid to make odd noises to get their attention... :) You may even have to get down on your belly. Get down to their level. You will be amazed at how it changes your image. Focus on their eyes unless you specifically want a "parts" shot. It is definately a work out. It can be frustrating and trying, especially when you are asked to work with an animal who isn't well trained. If you are frustrated, they will sense it. And if that happens, you might as well pack up and go home because the session is finished.
How do you get better? Practice! Of course! Volunteer. Our shelters nationwide, are understaffed. And these animals lives literally depend on how they are campaigned. If they don't make it to the website, and their hold time is up, no one has seen them, and they are euthanized. It is a major epidemic not only in our country, but our whole world. You can never fully know how your volunteering has helped, and even saved lives. So it is a tenfold gig. You get practice, under challenging circumstances (which makes other sessions a cake walk and really prepares you for the worst case scenario). You save lives. You enrich peoples lives by bringing these pets into them. You help carry the load of these over worked shelter staff. And so much more. Look at it this way. You have the opportunity to shoot every shape and size pet in one after noon. That's like some sort of marathon! One of the pet photographers that I adore, and look up to even though we don't have the same style of shooting is Robyn Arouty ( www.robynarouty.com ). She turned her passion for volunteering for these animals in need into a rockstar of a business. But she STILL volunteers. Leesia Teh is another one ( www.leesiateh.com ). These ladies give back and I firmly believe they are as successful as they are because they give back and are selfless. Such inspirations! If you feel up to it, volunteer with local private rescues. They always can use a great shot to get these pets in to fab homes.
We can leave the world a better place with the gift we have as photograpers. Why not change the world for a homeless pet, with our gift as photographers? It happens. And it is utterly gratifying.
This is a span of my beginning to present day work :)
On my bedroom floor, Angus on my bed looking down at me.
This was shot at a newborn shoot (twins!).
I kicked the ISO up as high as it would go. My house is like a tomb it's so dark. And it was rainy and gray out. He was facing the only window (above door) that was getting light at all. 50mm.
Percival the same day as the one above. This also shows his character ~ he is a big mouth :) Talks all the time!
Very very low light in the aquarium. But still, I caught this rays expression ~ even fish have personality!
Through glass. But the lighting is natural. Taken at the same aquarium as the ray above. Even through the glass this is very nice! This penguin was strutting for me.
This is the sweetheart that my best friend adopted. I get to see his handsome mug everyday! He had been at the shelter since April, after the tornados ripped through the southern states. Our area was hit very badly. His adoption occured soley because his picture was put on Facebook. It saved his life.
This pretty lady was also adopted the same day that Apollo was. She too had been there since April. Yay!
This is P Man. Feeling a little sheepish after coming back in the house completely crummy and cobwebbed up. This is a snapshot because I thought it was funny. And he HATES to have his picture taken. But I had his bone...so I won.
