P#15 Q#2B: A Few More Tips for Keeping Your Subjects at Bay when Photographing Dogs
Jenni Bidner offers more advice for keeping nose prints off the camera when photographing dogs
Jenni Bidner was more than happy to share the techniques she uses to keep her subjects' noses out of the camera when she's photographing dogs. She went on to give even more great advice.
Containment Can Be Key
Jenni Bidner: Another method of photographing dogs is to think of ways to contain your dog -- ways that don't involve pulling on a leash or tricking them into staying into one spot. I like to shoot somewhere they're comfortable, like peeking out of a car window.
One of my students on Better Photo just shared a wonderful shoot. She had six or eight dogs that she wanted a group shot of, so she threw them in the back of the pick-up truck. They all had their heads over the edge looking at where she was, but they didn't jump out.
This scenario allowed her to contain the dogs and get a beautiful portrait that's very fun and entertaining, and they couldn't run to her. That's a really good method to use when photographing dogs.
Consider putting the dogs on a rock or a picnic table, or find something that they're less likely to jump off of.
Audri Lanford: What a great idea, because then they're also on eye level.
Jenni Bidner: Yes. I have plenty of grass stains on my belly from shooting in the yard. Raising them up is a wonderful technique, but always be careful because you don't want small dogs jumping off of high places, and you don't want any dog under 18 months old jumping higher than their shoulder level when you're photographing dogs. Don't ever let them jump off that rock or that picnic table.
Audri Lanford: Safety first.
Jenni Bidner: Yes, safety first whenever you're photographing dogs.
Audri Lanford: You had mentioned earlier that it's good to be "far away" when shooting dogs, and that really ties into what you were talking about with the telephoto lens.
Jenni Bidner: It works great and also you can get good candids that way. Some of my prettiest portraits are what I would call semi-candids, where the dog sort of forgets about you and is relaxed, sitting in the shade.
Audri Lanford: Great. Just following up one more step here -- when you're photographing, how do you control excited dogs long enough to keep their attention to get that perfect shot?
Jenni Bidner: Don't start out with the "sit, stay" command. Whenever I bring a new dog in for a photo session, I first let them explore. Then we do the action shots, in which they get to run around my yard or we do something fun for them. After that, we go to the portraits.
No dog wants to come into a new setting. They're scared, they don't know what anything is, they want to smell everything that's there. If you give them that little five minutes of time to get oriented, you'll have a much more cooperative dog.
In Conclusion
A good photographer knows that making their subject comfortable is the key to getting cooperation. Dog photography is no different.
According to Jennifer Bidner, sometimes containment is a great way to get the shots you want. Other times, it's a matter of letting the subject explore and run off some steam before the portraits are shot. These are great tips to keep in mind whenever you're photographing dogs that need to sit in one place for a period of time.
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