I don’t tend to share much of my personal life on here but I strongly believe you can tell a lot about a person when you know more about their pets and that’s especially true of dogs. So I’ve decided to take the plunge and share with you a piece of my own home in the form of my Shetland Sheep Dog, Bubba.
Pet portraits are a whole different world of fun and I’m lucky enough to live and work with Bubba every single day. As a result he’s given me a lot of practice of what works (and what doesn’t!) with trying to get that perfect shot of a dog. I can’t complain though, he’s such an attractive canine that I could take photos all day every day given half a chance.
Now the key thing I’ve found with working with animals is capturing their character in a portrait and the key to this, like most forms of portrait photography, is getting a good shot with the eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul and this is particularly important with animals. As they can’t talk to us using conventional methods their eyes can tell all kinds of stories without us even knowing. Whether it’s fun and playful, friendly or mischievous, dogs are easy to ready when you have a good steady focus on their eyes.
Now my other trade secret for pet portraits is to use natural light. Wherever possible natural lighting is always better than artificial but with something as natural and free spirited as a dog this is even more vital. Even if artificial lighting is necessary there is nothing more terrifying for an animal that is not to having photos taken using flash photography!
Pet photography is a great way to get involved with a family and I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of pet portraits over the years but one thing that always sticks in mind is how much character our furry friends have. Visiting a family with a pet is an experience like no other. Taking portraits of pets takes much longer than human portraits and that means I get this wonderful opportunity to spend time with the family and pet on a much longer term basis. Of course no matter what we have scheduled for the day always gets thrown about anyway – pets have a way of working at their own pace no matter how much of routine they have every other day!
Working with Bubba is always a way to switch off for me and I am truly lucky to be able to share my life with this wonderful creature. He’s always there for me when I’m happy or sad and let’s face it, he takes wonderful portraits too! So here is a little bit of me in a picture in the form of my wonderful, mad, special canine friend, Bubba 🙂 .