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A Girl’s Best Friends
Children’s portrait sessions with their dogs are always a fun and exciting adventure. Some of the challenges involved are the personalities of the children and of the dogs, too! Are the children willing to handle their dogs and not give up if it a challenge to do so. Depending how young a child may be, he or she can have a tendency to want to give up if it is too much work for them. Having photographed hundreds of kids dating back to the mid 1980s I am pretty good at the the different personalities children can have and working well with them.
That is where my giving them directions and encouragement during the session is quite helpful. Also, at the same time I may direct a parent of the child or children to help out, too. During the actual taking of the portraits I continue to use the numerous noisemakers I have to keep the kids and dogs attention focused on me and my camera.
In this particular portrait, the girl is obviously quite confident to be able to handle her dogs and to smile nicely at the camera. She exudes a charmingly cute nature and an easy going friendliness. This really add to the charming nature of this portrait.
The Multiple Dog Portrait
There are many challenges when photographing the multiple dog portrait. Among them are the various personalities of the dogs, their energy levels (which can vary greatly) and do they get along well together. My number one goal with the portrait session is that when we are done and the portraits are selected, every dog will look good in the portrait(s)
The first thing I make sure happen is when the dogs arrive at my studio is to give them plenty of time to sniff all the dogs smells that linger in my studio from previous sessions. This may take 5 or 10 minutes, no problem as I have endless patience and this activity is totally necessary before I begin the portrait photography process.
Of course, I have the set all ready before the dogs arrive. I have picked out the appropriate background based on the color of the dogs. And I have all my various squeakies, whistles at the ready (There is at least twenty at last count) I use these to get and keep the dogs attention. Plus, I have tested my lighting and made any necessary adjustments well before the dogs arrive.
Once we begin the actual photography, the dog parents are a critical help. They are the wranglers of the dogs and listen to my exact, ongoing directions as I continue to take the portraits. I like to take lots of images. On a portrait like this one I like to capture anywhere from twenty to thiry images. When I am done with the group portraits, I alway take individual portraits of each dog. After the session is done we do the selection process and by a process of elimination, we narrow it down to the my clients favorite poses. BTW this is a fun process and an easy way for my clients to choose what they want to order.
I love the challenge of photographing multiple dogs, there is really nothing quite like it! I am blessed with endless patience and I have a relentless desire to create portraits that my clients will love and treasure for years to come.
Handsome Husky – The Right Pose to Fit the Breed of the Dog.
Handsome Husky.
As a professional photographer, now in my 38th year in business, I have lots of opinions on the right or wrong way of taking portraits. These days, that is especially true about the way I take pet portraits, specifically dog portraits. How I take them depends on the size (small, medium or large) and personality of the dog.
With this portrait of Kaya the Husky, I captured it by having her look away from the camera. Notice the front of her body is pointed to the left and she is looking to the right. I like this pose for strong dogs like Huskies, Boxers and German Shepherds. The tongue is out and the eyes are laser focused. It is cropped head and shoulder for a very effective look. Of course, during a pet portrait session I take a variety of poses that capture the pet pet in a way that I feel the proud pet parent will love.
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