Help needed- Photoshoot of my Dogs

[lale]

Ever since I've gotten a DSLR, I've wanted to take some half-decent photos of my four dogs. About three months ago we have five but one was stolen, (leaving no good pictures behind) so I've really wanted to capture some good photos of them, probably because I'm paranoid that it'll happen again. (Touch wood!)

So, any tips for shooting animals? Would you treat them the same as for normal portraiture? Also, does coat color/texture make a difference? Two are cream colored with short hair, one is black and tan with short hair and the other is a poufy white Bichon Frise.

I'd really appreciate any tips you could give me regarding settings, flash use, etc. etc.

Thanks,

lale

[candleman]

Originally Posted by lale

So, any tips for shooting animals? Would you treat them the same as for normal portraiture? Also, does coat color/texture make a difference? Two are cream colored with short hair, one is black and tan with short hair and the other is a poufy white Bichon Frise.

having never photographed a pet.. my only tip would be to not use white or black backdrop.. you'll loose a dog or two either way.

think very carefullly about the backfround, and composition.
i hope your dogs are obedient and stay when told.
all the best

[mcdeegan]

This blog, which is about dog photography, was mentioned on another thread in General chitchat, favorite blogs. Maybe it will have some good ideas.

http://www.erinvey.com/bark/

good luck!! Our beloved Samoyed passed away unexpectedly a year ago and I was so thankful that I had hired a professional photographer to take the xmas photos of my three girls with Tasha.

[Jim Poor]

Start with stuffed animals. Seriously, get black, white and somewhere in the middle. Get the kind with marble eyes rather than plastic. Failing that, black, white and middle colored fabric of any sort will give you an idea. Couch cushions, even socks.

Play around with exposure and lighting so that you don't have to figure that out while dealing with 4 dogs at once.

As for backgrounds, find something that is complementary to all of them. White on white isn't all that hard to learn, nor is black on black. The problem your are going to run into is exposing for the Bichon and the darker dogs as well unless you can control your light pretty well.

I did a shoot last year for the Capital Bichon Bash where there were 200+ of the cute little puff balls. I used a fall / halloween theme.

I have two pure white American Eskimos in my clan of 5 dogs and they are nowhere near as hard as the Bichons to expose. Something about the different fur I guess.

The good news is that I get to do the event again this year. I'm about 90% sure I'll do white on white formal portraits, but I may also offer a second background choice.

If you come up with questions, I'll be glad to try to help.

[lale]

Thank you for the suggestions--the blog looks good! And the tip with the stuffed animals makes a lot of sense. Would you say black or white backgrounds are easier? Is black hard to get pure black with if you don't have a wireless flash system/fancy gear?

[Jim Poor]

Thanks. I'm actually having fits with the blog running really slow and frustrating.

I find white backgrounds easier to work with for two reasons. I find it easier to "get right" in the camera, and if I miss by a little they then it is easier to "correct" in post, though I try not to go there too often.

The key to getting pure black is controling where the light falls. You want the light on your subject(s) but not on the background. That's easier to do one subject at a time until you figure it out. You don't need "fancy" gear at all. My first few dozen paid portrait sessions were done with shop lights from Home Depot.

You'll need something to control where the light goes. Cardboard, black cloth, a T-shirt . . . just anything to block the light from places you don't want it to go. Just don't get anything too close to a hot light bulb to avoid that nice warm glow provided by a fire

[CatcherT]

I take alot of pics of dogs, cats. I have a non-profit rescue so we get alot of pics of the animals we're adopting out, we are trying for the cute ones. If your looking for markings and color to file for that just incase identity, go with someone holding your dog on a leash, right side, left side behind then front, if your looking for the cute, aim for eyes, or ears, or even a paw, catch them while they're sleeping or not paying attention to you, thats the best way for cute, trying to pose them or making them sit might be hard if they aren't use to a "sit and stay" command.