Introduction
Pets are tons of fun to photograph, and their distinct personalities are revealed in every image. But capturing a great shot of your pet can be a challenge. I wrote this book to help you meet that challenge and succeed in turning your snapshots into great shots.
Why I Photograph Pets
Back in 2005, my wife and I rescued a 2-year-old boxer from the San Diego Humane Society and our lives were changed forever. We had been married for a few years, had a house with a yard, and wanted to get a dog. So we started looking for a dog we could give a forever home to. We were looking for a dog, but we ended up with so much more.
Odessa became our constant companion and a part of our family. She also became a willing model for every harebrained photo idea I had. In fact, she got so used to having her photo taken that when she sees me pull out a camera and light, she just walks over in front of me, sits down, and does her best dog pose. Photographing her became not only a way to document her life with us, but also a way for me to recharge my creative batteries. Since then we’ve adopted another dog, Hobbes, whose photo graces the cover of this book. We worked with a rescue organization to give Hobbes his forever home, and we continue to work with the organization to try to match the animals in need of a home with people who want them.
Who Should Read This Book
I wrote this book for photographers who want to take better photos of their pets or other people’s pets. I especially wanted to make sure that novices with their first DSLR would be able to create great photos, along with those who already know about shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. If you’ve been taking photos for a long time, you might not need all the information in Chapter 2, “Photography Basics,” where I cover the basics of light and digital photography. However, the chapter contains some great photos of cool pets, so at least browse through the chapter to see all the images of the dogs, cats, and horses.
Even though dogs and cats are the most popular pets, I tried to avoid writing a book that was just for dog people or cat people. Throughout the book, I cover a wide range of subjects, including horses, birds, rabbits, reptiles, and even rodents. Although I don’t own a horse or a snake, you might; therefore, tips and techniques to photograph them are also covered, along with as many photos of different subjects as I could access while putting this book together.
What This Book Covers
Not every photograph of your pet will be a fantastic masterpiece. At times you’ll just want to capture a moment in their lives. The tools in this book will help you take better photos or at least give you ideas to consider to improve your photos:
• Chapter 1, “Ten Tips for Pet Photography,” gets you started right out the gate. These top-ten tips can really make a difference in your pet images, from keeping the focus on the eyes to getting down to eye level with your subject.
• Chapter 2, “Photography Basics,” covers light, exposure, and composition. The light section discusses the different qualities of light, measuring light, and the color of light. The exposure section explains shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, and the composition section describes the rule of thirds, space to move, and leading lines.
• Chapter 3, “The Gear,” covers the equipment needed to successfully photograph pets, from the cameras and lenses to flashes and light modifiers.
• Chapter 4, “Working with Animals,” discusses what to do and what not to do when you’re photographing dogs, cats, horses, reptiles, and birds.
• Chapter 5, “Action Photos,” is about capturing the action, both outdoors and inside. Shutter speeds for freezing the action and the best drive mode are covered, along with using a flash and pushing the ISO for those tough indoor shots.
• Chapter 6, “Pet Portraits,” explains that taking pet portraits is more than just taking a snapshot of your pet. This chapter covers locations, backgrounds, lighting, and tricks to get your pet to pose.
• Chapter 7, “All Creatures Great and Small,” deals with the wide variety of animals that are kept as pets, including dogs, cats, horses, birds, fish, rabbits, reptiles and amphibians, and rodents. Useful tips are provided to help you photograph these diverse companion animals.
• Chapter 8, “Working with Challenging Subjects,” the final chapter, looks at some of the more challenging aspects of pet photography, including photographing the young and old, photographing multiple pets in the same image, and photographing pets along with their owners.
• The Appendix, “Working with Rescue Organizations,” describes how working with an animal rescue can be a very rewarding endeavor. It also covers what you can offer these organizations and what you can get out of your time spent working with animals.
The Assignments
Assignments are listed at the end of each chapter. But don’t worry; there is no grade or deadline; however, that doesn’t mean you should ignore them. The best way to learn new techniques and improve your photography is to put the information you just read into practice. That’s exactly what the assignments help you do. Each gives you suggestions on how to practice some of the approaches covered in the chapter. Rehearsing new techniques before putting them into practice during an actual photo shoot will give you confidence and reduce the pressure and stress for both you and your subject, allowing you to get it right when it counts.