Re: Advice for starting pet portraits...lighting especially
My wife and I did volunteer work for the local SPCA last year doing dog photography of the adoption ready pups to post on their website and of some of their special events. It was a lot of fun, rewarding and a great experience. I had to resist taking some home with me. I highly recommend doing it.
You\'ll typically get better results with properly setup artificial lighting but I don\'t think you\'ll need for all your shots, particularly if you\'re shooting outdoors. Here are some things I learned about doing dog photography regarding lighting and in general.
1. An assistant will be your most valuable asset. It\'s difficult to try and handle various dogs AND do photography at the same time but it can be done. Budget more time than you think you\'ll need. Some dogs can take a while before they settle down enough to get decent shots not to mention all the other things you\'ll have going on.
2. Get your equipment setup first and then exercise the dog before taking photos. By giving the dog a chance to get their excitement out of their system they will be more relaxed and therefore more likely to be cooperative. The biggest challenge was getting them to sit in one spot long enough for a decent pose. But every single dog is different.
3. Of course use squeaky toys or treats to get them to perk up their ears, look at you and to get their attention. But use them sparingly and don\'t show them or squeak the toy until your are ready to press the shutter. It only works a few times and after that they become accustomed to it and less likely to respond. There are many similarities to photographing toddlers if you can imagine what that is like.
4. With some dogs you may only get a few shots with the lights since it can scare them away when it flashes, pops and beeps. Lights can make some strange noises. Sometimes it works in your favor. Also, they can be intimidated by a large umbrella or softbox so be aware of that.
5. Bring some props with you such as scarfs, bandanas, tennis balls, background, blanket, towel to clean off drool etc.
6. If you have access to a room or otherwise secure area you can then remove the leash and collar. They always look better without restraining devices but you also don\'t want to have to chase a run away dog.
7. Watch where you place your gear. Dogs will do what dogs do (especially pups). As I\'m sure you know, some dogs will try to claim your expensive new photo gear as their own, so be aware of that fact. This is another reason to walk or run them before the shoot. If you have a table or shelf, put your gear on that. Anything on the ground is fair game. If you have to lay it on the ground be sure to cover it with a trash bag or something.
8. Speedlights are fine for dog photography but I find mono-lights easier to use, setup, reliable, recycle faster, and offer a much broader selection of light modifiers. Personally, I\'ll take a mono-light over a speedlight any day but speed lights are obviously more compact and portable. I prefer Profoto lights myself since they are rugged, constant, easy to use, and very reliable but you\'ll pay for those qualities. The Paul C. Buff make some pretty decent lights at decent prices but I have seen some other brands come out with very capable monolights in the last couple of years as well as some more powerful third party speedlights.
9. Umbrellas are very versatile and I would start there. You can add a softbox later as you develop your skills at this and you\'ll get a better idea of what will work best for you. Take the amount of space you\'ll have available into consideration. One downside of umbrellas is that they can take up a lot of room or become airborne on a windy day. Get a nightstand that is strong enough for the type of light you\'ll use and weight it down. An excitable large dog can easily knock it over.
10. A reflector will come in handy. It helps to have an assistant to hold it for you but I\'ve also leaned one against the wall to bounce light from my strobe. You can also use a second lightstand for that. Also a reflector is less likely to scare a dog.
11. A background is nice to have to improve your photos but is not essential. I used a blue randomly patterned cloth background for some of my shots. Blue worked well for me since there are not many blue colored dogs around (although I do have an eleven year old three legged blue pitbull. it\'s true!). You don\'t really want the background to be close to the same color as the dog. You need some contrast. Although, black dogs look great when they are well lit against a black background it\'s not good for an adoption photo. They need to be able to see the dog clearly.
12. My goal was to end up with three good shots. A. A tight portrait so you could get a good look at the face, B. One of the whole dog to see the body from head to tail. C. One of the dog in action or playing.
13. Have your assistant stand behind and above you to get their attention. Most of the shots you are going to want the dog looking into the camera.
14. I like to setup the lights so they are down low at the dogs level (but not so low it\'s aiming up). A C-stand with a boom arm is excellent for this and is very sturdy. Don\'t use a cheap wimpy stand for an expensive mono or strobe light.
15. Don\'t use a wide-angle lens and take a close up of their face unless you want them to look like they have a clown\'s nose. Use an aperture that gives you a depth-of-field long enough to have their whole head nose-to-ear in focus as a minimum. That\'s my preference anyways. You\'re 24-70mm will be the most used. The telephoto will be great for action shots and will give you the stand-off distance and zoom capability you\'ll need to let them run around and play.
16. Be careful! Some of these dogs will steal your heart. But most importantly, have fun with the dog. They all appreciate the human contact and each has their own story. Who knows what these pups have been through?
Jan 07, 2016 at 05:16 PM
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