Not Your Typical Photography

Being a Pet Photographer has lots of fun advantages, and means you work a little differently, work a little "outside of the pack" per say. You have to be a bit more creative, patient, and pretty decent with problem solving! Working with the family pet actually isn't a whole lot different than working with the family toddler!

 

• They will both be a smidgen more cooperative if a treat is offered.
• They both love to come up and inspect the camera and often leave their tongue print or nose print or finger print on the lens.
• Both are predictably unpredictable
• That amazing photo can come at the most unexpected moment.
• They have both tinkled on the back drops before.
• The amount of weird noses the photographer makes to get their attention is astounding.  I need a job as a sound affects person. Or I need to hire a sound affects person...
• Sometimes expecting them to "sit" is not a valid option....
• Expect messes, and chaotic behavior, and enjoy it! Just go with it.
• Both require patience and time :)  Dog shoots and toddler/children shoots can be the most time consuming but the most fun!

I love what I do! I love how I can go from photographing a family straight into photographing the family pet. I love homes that have both children, and pets.  Never a dull moment that's for sure!

Just recently I photographed a very adorable little 6 month old boy, who has the most softest gorgeous red hair.  Their family pet Sissy, an almost 2 year old Beagle mix who was adopted from the local shelter last year, was more than excited to be in on the action!

Was able to snap a few adorable photos of her after her little human's photos were done, she's one sweet pup that's for sure!

We literally went straight from THIS adorable photo
and little cutie pie

To this adorable cutie pie!

At Fur Ever Yours we don't mind a little fur on the back drops, or a nose print on the lens, or big ol' slobbery kiss across the face.  It just enhances the pet photography experience.

Some of the most adorable grateful dogs I've photographed are those at the local animal shelter.  You NEVER know what they are going to do! Often times they are so excited to be out of their kennels that they pounce on you and you go backwards.  I've landed on my bum more than once from a sweet pooch so excited to see me they land on top of me and give me those slobbery dog kisses.

If there is a particularly shy dog at the shelter I want to spend time with that pup and let the pup know it can trust me, and that I'm not there to hurt the dog.  A dog that trusts you is more likely to look happy in it's photos which leads to a better adoption photo! That's the goal, adoption so you want the dog to look it's best, which isn't always easy.  Sometimes they are still too timid and want to hide from all of the noise and stuff going on around them. For instance, this weekend I was at the local shelter and I was photographing with a different camera than I'm usually used to, so that threw me off (my own fault I didn't charge the batter for my good camera), so I had to use my backup camera that I have not used for awhile so I was out of practice with it.

Using a camera I'm out of practice with combined with several dogs who were very timid didn't lead to the best adoption photos.  Plus photographing in bright harsh light was not in my favor at all. Rough day for photography.

This little lady was full of ticks and dirty
when she got to the shelter.  A fantastic
volunteer took her time and bathed, and
de ticked this little sweet heart.  Too
bad the sunlight was so bright and harsh
that it did not do this little black
dog any favors for her photo!
Black dogs are hard enough to
photograph, but in harsh sunlight
it can be even more difficult.

Meet HOWDY! He was a little shy, but I was able to get him
to give me a bit of a doggy smile and perk his ears up
a bit.  Still not THE best adoption photo, but
it wasn't as bad as I had thought it was going to be. 
He is a very sweet boy!

Meet Perdeeta, she was another slightly timid, yet oh so
very wiggly pup! She kept dashing up to kiss the camera. 
Bright sunlight and white dogs are also not that good either.
You get a lot of glare off of the white dogs, so her
head shot isn't as good as I had hoped, but this one
was the one that turned out the best.  You end up taking
at least 20 pictures of each dog to only end up with a couple that
are good.  Sometimes I don't think people realize how much
work it can be to get a GOOD photo to use!

Beautiful Sooki, she has apparently weaned puppies fairly recently.
She was very cooperative at standing still and posing.
Unfortunately the sun was working against us, but at least
you can see her gorgeous markings! She is a very
beautiful brindle boxer! She has a sweet personality too.

Shy Ang (like Tang, without the T) He and his sister Katara
are kennel mates and Katara is the fun outgoing one and Ang
is the more calm and shy one, together they bring out the
best in each other.  I spent quite a bit of time getting to
know Ang and petting him helping him feel safe. 
Trust me, this photo is an improvement over the
others I had of him.  He was just very
cautious.  However, he really is a fantastic dog. 
He wants to be a lap dog and just be somewhere calm where
he can be loved and come out of his shell on his own.

This mastiff mix pup was another VERY shy and timid pup.
Unfortunately I didn't have nearly the amount of time I
needed to be able to get a decent photo of him.  He wouldn't
even step foot outside the shelter.  He just wouldn't budge. 
Friendly but very very cautious.  He was very distracted by the
going ons around him! Very sweet boy though and will
make someone an excellent pet.  However, be prepared
for him to be a pretty good sized guy!

However, this experience taught me a few things so that's always a good thing!

Just keep trying, keep practicing, don't  give up, and do better the next time. You won't always have the most excellent photo shoots.  Sometimes they will be more difficult than others!


Mahala
Fur Ever Yours Photography