Hazel made it into the newspaper!
I write a column for my local newspaper and I decided to discuss losing Betty and gaining Hazel. I discuss my approach to how I photograph her.
Puppy Photos
I’ve noticed that I seem to live my life in eras. I can look back at my life and it seems like my life goes through some sort of significant change at a common frequency. I can even say that seems to happen about every fifteen years or so. It also seems to coincide with the life of the dogs that I’ve had. I can remember events in my life and tell you what dog that I had at the time. It seems that I have come to the end of an era and the start of a new one.
I recently lost my dog Betty. Betty lived to be 15 just like my dog Sadie before her. Betty was certainly present for most of the photos that I made during the last 15 years. I’m fortunate, and my dogs are fortunate, that I can have them with me almost all the time. I spend a lot of time outdoors, hiking and camping and my dog always comes along.
Because I’m so used to having one at my side when I’m in the field I felt like something was missing. I ended up filling that void, like I usually do, by bringing in a successor. None of my dogs have had a replacement, but they’ve had successors. Each dog has been a little different. They have personalities, and I never judge my newest one by the standard set by my previous ones.
And so, into our lives came Hazel. Hazel, short for Princess Hazelnut Pupcake. She has taken over and is in training to be my next canine hiking partner. Hazel is another Australian Cattle Dog. She’s a Red Heeler. She’s the fourth heeler that I have had and, for me and my life, are a great breed. Hazel is 12 weeks old and is in her “terrible twos”. We’re going through Puppy Bootcamp right now and she has learned so much in the two weeks since she’s left her litter mates. Right now, it’s the basics but I plan to teach her to stand and stay for me long enough to allow me to take her photo, something that Betty never learned.
My last two dogs, Sadie, and Betty, came to me at the end of the puppy stage and so I missed out on their baby times, but everything is new to Hazel. As a photographer this is great. I’ve been taking some cute photos of her. My last dog Betty had an aversion to the camera. Every time that I pointed a camera toward her, she would drop her head and flatten her ears before walking away. I would have to sneak my photos of her. Hazel, on the other hand, is totally uninhibited in front of the lens. She has no clue and just doesn’t even care. I can’t wait to teach her to strike a pose for a photo while we’re someplace beautiful. I know that I’ll be able to eventually.
If you are planning to photograph your pet, I can give you some simple tips that will help you to get some cute photos of your fluffy friend, and this might also help you to photograph your human child as well.
Get down low. Get down to their level. In the case of Hazel, I literally have to get down on the ground. That point of view shows their face and makes the viewer feel like they’re there, playing with the puppy. If you’re standing while you take the photo their back will be most prominent.
Fill the frame. Make your subject large. There’s always a case where a small subject tells a story but in portraiture you will want to make your subject stand out. Use a longer focal length lens. This gives you the advantage of standing further away from your subject and allows you to zoom in to your subject.
Narrow your depth of field. If you’re using a camera where you can adjust your aperture, open it up wide. This will do two things. It will let in more light which can give you a faster shutter speed, helping to eliminate motion blur, and it will also help to create a soft, out of focus background which will help your in focus subject stand out.
Focus on their eyes. It’s not as important to have their nose in focus but it is their eyes, and in many cases the nose will be in focus if the eyes are.
Have an assistant. If you’re working with an animal, especially a puppy, it helps if you can have an extra pair of hands. For instance, I like to have someone hold the puppy until I’m ready and then I’ll have them run the dog toward me so I can get some photos from the front. Also, if they can hold the leash and walk the dog around then I can get some photos in different poses.
And, speaking of poses, be patient with your pet. It may take several sessions with her until she understands what you’re wanting her to do. Take time to train her to sit and stay. It’s always more of a challenge photographing a pet if they’re out of control.
And finally take a lot of photos. Even a professional photographer takes a lot of photos and then picks out the best ones. Set your camera on a constant shutter and take a series of photos then choose the best. It adds a little bit of work in the end, but you’ll be glad that you did.