Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi, I have an opportunity to do Dog portraits. It's a long story I won't go into here but I have rented a Studio for a day with a white paper cove and pro static lights. I plan on getting 5 shoots done (plus my time for setting up and one friend's dog for my first test run).

I've never done this before and have gone online to view Pet photographer's websites and YouTube for instructional videos. I'm also renting a Nikon D700 for the shoot. I own a D70 but in the end want poster size prints. Anyway, I was planning on using the static lights (no flash) with my 70-300mm zoom lens. Take consecutive shots to hopefully get that "one" shot. Other than the general "taking of photos", can anyone offer up their experiences if they've done similar work?

I know I'm up for a challenge just with getting the dogs to behave but I haven't done Studio shots on my own before. Only in class settings.
Overall, I'm just plain nervous!!!! Would love to hear about your experiences and what equipment you used. Links etc. would also be appreciated.

Thanks
Leesa

Sorry I can't help.

But I am aware of this guy who photographs plenty of Toronto pooches in his studio. Probably makes a living at it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/organa/

Maybe he might be able to help you if nobody here can.

I photographed dogs once with a paper background. They peed on it. Luckily we were able to cut that part off.

It's a good idea to have the dog owner there cuz they have the best control of their dogs (I hope). Maybe ask the dog owner to bring some of the dog's favourite toys and some treats.

How big is the dog? How big is the room? Would 70mm be too long?

Good luck!!

is your 70-300 a dx lens? If so when you use it on the 700 it will lose quality

Couple things to keep in mind as Wendy pointed out, have at least one of the owners with their dogs.

- You might want the owners to take their god (uhhhm, I meant dog) for a walk before coming into the studio. This will help them burn off some extra energy and anxiety before the shoot. Doesn't hurt to get their bladders emptied to avoid those unexpected accidents.

- A rag or roll of paper towel to clean up drool or dirty feet. It is winter.

- Try not to have more than one dog at a sitting at any one time. More than one dog on the set is asking for trouble 'cause all they will want to do is play and sniff each other. Depending on the nature of the dog, you might want to limit the amount of strangers present.

- Ask that the owners bring their dog's fav treat with them OR if you want to get some points with them, ask what brand and flavor their pet likes and stop at a PetSmart before your shoot. Have lots of treats handy for keeping their attention but don't over feed them treats, at least not by YOUR hand. Leave that up to the owners. Last thing you want is an over hyper dog or one that is barfing up on your seamless or worse and the owners blaming you for getting their dog ill. A brush to tidy them up and their fav toy doesn't hurt.

- Get the owners involved in the shoot. It's their baby and most like getting involved. Have them sit or stand just off to the side and keep/attract their dogs attention. Getting some pics of the owners with their pet doesn't hurt. You'd be surprised how great some spontaneous candid shots turn out.

- Be ready to shoot on very short notice since most dogs will only sit still for a very brief moment. Shoot at the highest shutter speed you can with your D700 to minimize motion blur if the dogs are feisty. My bro-in-law gets curtain drag on his D700 at 1/250" with Skyport RF remotes.

- Have fun and bring lots of patience.

Thank you all for your advice and tips. I will definitely use them.

As for the 70-300 lens, no it's not a DX.

I have a Nikkor 105mm which is not meant for digital. I used this on a D700 when I took a studio lighting class but my subject was a human and a bottle of wine. I had the time to focus but for this shoot, I need the auto focus.

Maybe I should look at renting a DX lens then?

Thanks again to all for replying.

Wish me luck!

I have been to his website and the photos are amazing. Would like to know what equipment is used. However, he may think I'm a threat.

I'm sorry, I was mistaken when you asked this question. All my digital lenses are for my D70, not for an FX camera. I'm afraid I'm not all up to date with the equipment lingo.

Anyway, I decided to include 2 lenses with my rental of the D700 which are meant for this sensor so no worries.

They're just big and heavy!!!!

I noticed that he has his Flickr controls ramped down to give out as little information as possible. A simple query to him can't hurt. Worst is he'll say 'no' or ignore you.

Jeez you are sooo right. Maybe an underwater housing might be a prudent thing to rent!!!

LOL, or some well placed fire hydrants.

I've fired off an email. Let's see if I get a response.

Not that I've done that many (I'm allergic), but this has worked for me. Try and spend some time with the dog before the actually shooting takes place. If you can, go for a 3-5 minute walk with the owner and the dog, and take along your camera. Snap off some shots around the dog, I've let the dogs smell the camera ... don't know why, but they are interested. And if the owner stands behind you to help get eye contact with the dog make sure you are slightly higher then them for a better result of seemingly looking at the camera.

Hopefully you won't have an owner that shouts to try and get the dogs attention ... grrr!

Thanks Itsaphoto, I do plan on taking a few moments to "get to know" the dog but didn't think about introducing them to the smell of the camera. Good point. Will definitely use it so Thanks.

Time to watch some episodes of The Dog Whisperer.

I've watched oodles of episodes. Love Cesar!!! He's cuter than the dogs!!! Love the pearly whites!

I've been doing some online research regarding the two lenses I'll be renting.

OMG!!! The Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR ED looks awesome. I also checked out some Flickr photos to see what type of results this lens produced and still awesome.

My only concern is would I be able to hand hold this lens?

I'm not a weight lifter so with planning on using this for outdoor shots of dogs running and playing in the park for a couple of hours kinda scares me.

The only option would be a monopod but would I still have the flexibility?

"Luke at heem ... shhht. Shhhht. Right there. You are full of bad energy ... I rehabilitate dogs and train people."

He cracks me up ... I'm going to be him next Halloween, just need to get some big teeth.

Is the studio long enough to allow you to use a 70-200 lens?

I can offer one tip from shooting my own 2 dogs.

While your framing and focusing your shot have someone standing off to different angle keeping the dogs attention (so he's looking away from you). When your ready to take your shot make a noise (snap your fingers, call the dogs name), just enough to cause the dog to look towards the camera, but lightly off angle. This will cause the dogs ears to stand alert and with a few attempts, and lucky timing you can get some really interesting personality showing through. You can experiment with where you make the noise come from to get different angles. Most of these shots were taken that way.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisagrant/sets/72157623513056478/

Whoopee cushion.

OMG, you're dogs are sooooo cute! Thanks for sharing and good tip!!!

Funny, I don't do Pet Photography, but I actually did this once for the first time, a couple of years ago. As I walk with my camera all the time, I had mine when walking with a friend who takes her dogs out to Cherry Beach area all the time. I decided to play about and take some test shots. This is what I came up with at that time:

http://www.pmbimages.com/Animals/Pets/C ... 2574_w4vzF

I made some prints, put them in an album and gave them to her as a birthday present.

Having the pets get to know you a bit first does help, as well as havignthe owner be involved.

I learned a few things that day, but haven't taken any pet shot since though. I may try again someday...

Paula
www.pmbimages.com