In December I carried out a portrait shoot for Rufus the Boxer dog. (see archive for Tuesday 8th December). This is what Liz had to say about the portrait session:
'We had a formal photo done of my daughter's Boxer dog as a Christmas present for her partner. Sam went to a lot of trouble to gain the dog's confidence and we ended up with a lovely photo. My daughter's partner was thrilled with it. It now has pride of place on their wall. Taking photos of animals (especially a lively boxer) is not easy. We shall be using Sam again.'
Liz Enfield
Thank you to Liz for those kind words. Working with Rufus was a lot of fun.
Getting an animal's character to show through in a portrait is not ea
sy and you can't ask them to stand or pose in a certain way to get the photo you want the way you can with people - even the most obedient dog will only sit or stay for a little while before they get bored and walk off. You can have an idea in your head of a great shot you want to take but the animal usually has other ideas about what they want to do.
sy and you can't ask them to stand or pose in a certain way to get the photo you want the way you can with people - even the most obedient dog will only sit or stay for a little while before they get bored and walk off. You can have an idea in your head of a great shot you want to take but the animal usually has other ideas about what they want to do.My philosophy when it comes to pet portraits is one of oberservation. I let the animal go about it's normal behaviour, playing, sleeping or whatever activity it would usually do. Not only does this help the animal to relax (yes, even animals get camera shy!) but they will interact with you keeping their interest in staying with you and not walking off.
Patience and adap
tability are essential. A camera can be a very intimidating thing for an animal to have pointed at it. Some animals will not bat an eyelid at a stranger in their home pointing a camera at them but others will be more warey so you have to let the pet get used to you in its own time. You also have to be able to use lighting that the animal is happy with. Some will be comfortable with studio lights flashing, others will not and you have to use natural light to best effect.
tability are essential. A camera can be a very intimidating thing for an animal to have pointed at it. Some animals will not bat an eyelid at a stranger in their home pointing a camera at them but others will be more warey so you have to let the pet get used to you in its own time. You also have to be able to use lighting that the animal is happy with. Some will be comfortable with studio lights flashing, others will not and you have to use natural light to best effect.Taking photographs in this way lets the animals character show through and you can get some great photos of the 'personality' that the owner knows.
Of course, pet portraits don't just have to be for dogs. A portrait of any pet makes a wonderful and warming addition to any home and fantastic gifts for friends and family.
For details of our pet portrait packages please visit our main website at http://www.samcarterphotography.com/
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