Photographing dogs is a delight. Pictures have been made in pet shops, with friends’ pet dogs, and with strangers’ dogs seen on the street.
Photo Tip: Making unstaged pictures requires selection of background. Take care to reduce clutter and unwanted distractions. One set of images was spoiled because the pet store employee holding the dog had a bandaged finger. The store manager insisted that the employee had to hold the dog, so, it couldn’t be avoided.
Dog portraits are not too different from people portraits. We prefer a natural final image, not one with a studio look. So, we rely on natural lighting with only fill flash to get the catch light in the animal’s eye.
Photo Tip: some photographers may not at first notice the importance of getting the catch light in the subject’s eye (animal or human). Take several of your pictures and compare to portraits in a magazine. It is that tiny white spot (catch light) in the eye that gives life to the subject.
Our dog picture inventory provided several favorite animal pictures to use on products at Cafe Press. My current favorite is the sheep dog photographed on a downtown street. The owner was delighted when we asked to make photos. Even the dog enjoyed it!
