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dog photography technique

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19 top tips forgreat

4 BackgroundsGood backgrounds –

whether this is because of the colour or texture – provide great contrast with your subject, so choose a location suited to the colour of the dog you are photographing. Beautiful skies, grasses, fowers, brick walls and graffti all make for great backgrounds. Using a narrow depth of feld can also help the dog stand out and, of course, the further away the background is from the dog, the more it will be out of focus, ensuring the dog really stands out. Try to contextualise the animal; tell the story of their adventure and where they are. And if you are in a beautiful location, make the most of it.

Expert advice from three top dog photographers on how to capture man’s best friend

1 How to take a portrait of a dog that won’t sit still

The best way to take a portrait shot of an active dog that won’t sit still is to simply wait until it gets tired. Leave portrait shots until the end of the shoot when the dog has done all the racing around and exploring it wants. You can use what motivates the dog, such as a ball or a treat, to get its attention and get it to look in a particular direction. If you go at the dog’s pace, you will get more out of the experience and the images will refect that.

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Technique dog phoTography

Paul Walker Paul Walker’s passion for pet photography began in childhood. Now, with three fellowships to his name, two UK Pet Photographer of the Year Awards and five Scottish MPA Pet Photographer of the Year Awards, his current vision and experience are worlds away from his first snaps of his pet dog and rabbit. www.pawspetphotography.co.uk

6 Capture the momentSometimes we have to recognise that it is not all

about the lighting, pose or background of an image, it’s about a moment that needs to be captured. So always have your camera at the ready for those in-between moments that create themselves, yet rely on your speed of reaction to nail the shot. In this shot (above), the spaniel was so excited at the thought of a new person visiting he fetched his dish in the hope of a treat. Sadly, I had none to offer, but was thankful for the quirky picture.

7 Practice makes perfectIdeally, you need a dog or pet with whom

you can try different strategies, lighting techniques and specifc actions. It could be your own dog or a relative’s – so long as it has a good level of obedience, this will be a great opportunity to refne all your camera and lighting techniques, in addition to perfecting your dog-control strategies. This is my own dog, Millie, and she has been a great model over the years, giving me the chance to try out new equipment, learn new camera techniques and explore new locations. She has a 95% compliance rate in obedience, yet this fgure drops to 10% if squirrels are in the vicinity. This image was captured using an Elinchrom Ranger Quadra fash with an assistant holding the light to my left.

5 Strong headshot

Every set of pet pictures needs a strong headshot. It’s the face that we remember most about our pets and a headshot can have great impact. My preferred style is to capture the face looking back into the camera. It’s really a picture for controlling the depth of feld to your requirements. As a given, the eyes should be sharp and probably the nose, too, but sometimes you may wish to put more emphasis on the eyes if it strengthens the impact. Experiment by opening up the aperture to give less depth of feld and closing your aperture for more depth of feld.

8 Use toysIt’s often a great idea

to introduce a play toy or object, as shown in this example (above). My advice is to produce toys later in the session as some pets can become obsessed – especially with balls – and not wish to give it back. If the session is all about the pet and its favourite toy that would be different, but mostly we are looking for variety. A toy can also serve as a great reward for all the posing that your pet has done and introduce some fun into the session!

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9 Work in shallow water

Great fun can be had in capturing a variety of playful shots with water. Some dogs avoid the wet stuff altogether, others prefer a quick paddle, while some dogs refuse to get out of it. My preference is to seek out shallower depths, as these provide more splash and dynamic action shots than deeper water where just the head is visible. In this shot (left), the speed of the dog, in combination with the relatively shallow water, has created a mini wave that aids the composition and makes the image that bit harder to replicate.

10 Use the seasons to

your advantageSeasonal weather or foliage changes can often transform locations into picture-perfect settings.

In summer, for example, this tree-lined avenue (above) would look very different, with tricky dappled light fltering through the branches. A few months later, at the back end of autumn, a bed of leaves and lower sun transform this location into an ideal spot for a pet picture. Note how the trees frame the dog, and ensure your angle allows four legs to be seen rather than three.

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Technique dog phoTography

Martin PhelpsMartin Phelps is a commercial photographer who has been photographing animals for the Blue Cross and the Dogs Trust for about five years, with his pictures used in anything from simple rehoming posters to full-blown advertising campaigns. As he says, ‘There is a world going on outside my window, and I’m lucky to be involved with it!’ www.martinphelps.com

12 Mix your shutter speeds

Freezing all that chaotic canine motion is all very well, but sometimes it can be fun to try to capture the essence of that movement with a slower shutter speed. I often fnd there’s a sweet spot with moving animals at around 1/8sec. If you pan smoothly, you can hold quite a lot of detail on the dog, but still get some very expressive and interesting effects from the bits that move independently of the pan. See how long you can keep the shutter open and still achieve something descriptive. Small apertures, manual focusing, a neutral density flter if you have one, and a lot of trial and error are key to fnding something unique. When you edit, take time to fnd the camera settings you’ve used, and note down which ones seem to consistently work best, so the next time you shoot you’ll have a good starting point.

11 Head for the shadeDirect sunlight – especially around midday when the sun is overhead – can

be diffcult, contrasty and often quite ugly, for people as well as dogs. The best way to deal with this, without bringing a lot of fll-in fash to the party, is to move to the shade. Look for trees, or the shady side of buildings. If you can fnd a spot that’s in the shade but still has a big area of open sky above, you’ll record a lot more detail in the fur, and get a much softer and more natural look. Remember, if there’s a blue sky, you’ll need to warm up your white balance quite a lot, either in-camera or with your editing software. Another advantage, especially with ‘busy’ dogs, is that you can shoot from pretty much any angle and the light remains quite consistent. Simply set a manual exposure so the camera isn’t fooled by the difference between the inevitable changes between dark and light backgrounds.

13 Look for interesting

light and shadePhotography is all about light. If you can fnd some good directional light at your location, you’re already halfway towards making an interesting picture. I like to shoot with a strong backlight, and it’s a technique that works particularly well with dogs. It can really pick out all the fur and forms a halo that separates the dog from the background. Backlight also picks out all the water droplets very well when your dog has a shake after it gets out of water. Always look for patches of sunlight between shaded buildings, or under trees, or raking evening sunlight, and build a composition around that. You’ll be on to a winner.

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14 Shots without eye contactPhotos of dogs don’t need to look like

passport pictures. Once you’ve mastered the eyes-to-camera portrait, it’s time to move on and try something a little more interesting. Often, it’s what you leave out of a photograph, rather than what you actually depict, that makes a picture sing. I always look for elements of a photograph I can remove, without losing the sense of an image. It could be that you focus on a particular part of the dog, or you expose for a silhouette, or you might want to make the dog much smaller in the frame so that the picture shows the relationship of the animal to its environment.

15 Use fll-in fash

For striking results, try shooting towards the light and using fll-in fash to balance the exposure and lift the shadows. For a more pleasing result, attach a diffuser such as a softbox, while positioning the fash away from the camera can deliver a more studio-like result.

16 Get in close with a

wideangle lensWhile we don’t often think of a wideangle lens as being suitable for portraits, it can deliver really dynamic images when shooting dogs. Once you’ve tired the dog out with plenty of running around and it is sitting, take the opportunity to get in close and really fll the frame.

17 Telephoto lenses

A 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is perfect for getting those action shots of your dog at play. It will allow you to work further back so you don’t distract it, while the fast aperture and the ability to compress perspective makes it a great choice for portraits too.

18 Use back-button focus

Rather than half-depressing the shutter button to acquire focus, set your camera up so focus is solely controlled via your camera’s AF-on button at the rear. Sports shooters swear by this, as it allows them to track their subject in continuous AF, fring the shutter at the crucial time. To focus on a stationary subject, press the AF-on button to acquire focus, then release and recompose if necessary for a better composition.

19 Use a refector

Just as you would with a portrait, bring in a refector to lift the shadows and add some pleasing catchlights to the eyes.

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