Three Cats & Chihuahua (Click to enlarge)
Easy to see who is it here, isn’t it? This isn’t one of the proofs my customer chose, but it’s one of my favorites. I happen to know the Chihuahua (so do you-see The Mothering Kind). Yep, it’s Phoebe. She is looking at her mom and dad, not at the jumping, noise-making, toy-waving photographer, as her cat sisters are. But that’s Phoebe as I know her. Although the predominant species in our studio is dog, we do get a number of cats as well. It’s always a challenge, but I’m never disappointed. This composition was quadruple the challenge! Nope, no Photoshop technique to report, just patience.
Yesterday I spoke of one of the four elements to better pet photography (see Eye Contact), Planning. Today it’s Patience. I can hear you now, “Come on, tell me something I don‘t know“. Well, I can’t. This is not magic. It’s not mysterious. If you want to make better pet captures, you just have to work at it, and if you follow the advice I’ve employed in and out of my studio since 2005, you will have portraits you can be proud of too. Patience is an integral element, without which nothing noteworthy will happen.
You can do what I’m doing. You can hang out a shingle, and charge for what seems like fun, but the captures better please your customers, because most of the fun in our studio is watching the faces of the human companions as they are surprised that their little Phoebe, or Samantha, or Priscilla, or Presley (pictured here) could behave so wonderfully, and look so photogenic. They know they have a beautiful family. They just didn’t know they would look so nice on a wall, or a mantle, or a table.
Occasionally I will hear of an event where someone with a camera and skills will announce they are taking pet photos, only to find out they’re sitting on the side of a highway, in an unfenced cement parking lot, when it’s 95° in the shade. You could do much better. You know your pet. You have the ideal location. You just need to learn about your camera and employ four elements and practice.
As always, please comment on this post or photo. Don’t forget to post your pics of your hard working dog at work for Take Your Dog To Work Day. You have until Friday, July 3rd to get them posted to get a free dog toy. See Happy Take Your Dog To Work Day for details.
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