Apr 18 2010 1:09 am
Video by Robert Grant, Article by SASHA GiTiN
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Did you ever wonder how to photograph your dog? Watch this photography tutorial video to learn an effective photo and lighting technique.
Pet photography is a very unique area of expertise. Commercial pet photography has a wide range of opportunities from taking pet portraits at shopping malls, pet grooming salons and small private studios to shooting national advertising of pet food and other pet products. There are also numerous pet magazines, books and calendars and publishers are always looking for fresh material. So whether you are planning to shoot a commercial portfolio or just looking to taking great photos of your own pet, this lesson will give you good starting tips.
My dog, Lucy, is impossible to shoot outside. First of all she doesn't stop moving, or if she is still for a second, as soon as I get her near my camera she moves. So I brought her inside to my studio set. With continuous lighting (clamp lamps) there's no flash so Lucy was comfortable. The flash can often scare animals. I think she enjoyed the heat from the lights too. And by having a controlled atmosphere, she was perfectly calm and actually listened. All I needed was a few of her favorite treats. By removing distractions, having a calm atmosphere and giving a few treats can make photographing your dog a real pleasure. This technique can be used to photograph all sorts of pets and animals cats, bunnies, guinea pigs regular pigs, cows, tigers … whoever you can bring into your studio. Give this lesson a try and let us know how it works for you!
For more info on equipment used see: Photo and Grip Equipment for Clamp Lamp Studio