Shooting the family dog.

[Cory]

My old Doby/German Shep mix (Misty). Probably, hands down, the best dog I'll ever have owned and by far the best to date. Smartest, most obedient, most well mannered, social yet appropriately protective... all of it. There is only a single time I remember having to actually discipline her and (unfortuantely) it was simply a 'pack' reaction when she was younger. She lived to almost 15. I'm working on setting up a wall of 'floating frame' pictures on a stairway wall and this will be among them.


I like this shot simply because it looks natural. If you are trying to get a good shot of just the dog try to get a distance shot of it trotting towards you (i.e. the owner next to/behind you) and into the light. Get it's attention with a treat or command, but try to keep it from running full tilt towards you. The only thing I wish I could change about this one was the dark spot on the right side of her face.


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One of the current dogs (Max). Perfect light and angle (well maybe not PERFECT but...). It's hard to get coat and eye detail on a dark colored dog.


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[BES]

My thoughts...lab is an energetic dog, will want to check out you and your stuff. I would use 70-200, big time!


I have two bulldogs and I use my 70-200 because if I use something shorter while in the park they come running to me for cookies, so being a tad in a distance gives me advantage. At home, different story. They are so used to me pointing that thing at them that I use my 50 f1.4 all the time few inches away from their noses because it is so light and I do not need to use flash to annoy them. Then again...they do not move much, so there is a big difference in breeds and personalities.


Consider it a challenge and have fun. I am a big dog lover and love taking pictures of my pups, cannot wait for you to post your pictures--if you can. Good luck.

[Cory]

Random shot caught with a cardboard point and shoot.


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The Jeckle and Hyde cat. He's not quite all there.


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And another former dog and current cat.


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[twistedphrame]

I did some head shots for my roomate today and my other's dog was over so I did some shots of her. As far as flashes goes test one first away from the dog, general dogs that are gun shy or hate thunder will get really really scared others don't mind too much, I would think the amount of ambient light already in the room or outdoors would affect how badly they react. My roomates dog was really hyper the entire time she was at the house but once we set her on the couch she calmed right down and actually posed really nicely, so if theres a spot the dog likes I would put him/her there.


heres one of the nice ones today of the dog


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[jimgarvie]

Joel,


depends on whether or not the dog has any obedience training: if he won't sit/stay, you're going to have a long session. I use my 17-55 F2.8 for pet shots and I get their attention with a squeaky toy or a Milk Bone. In the studio, I use one or two dog-wranglers to actually do the baiting and I hand-hold on the floor either sitting or laying on my belly. You need to get low.





Outdoors, I'll use my 580EX for fill and, again, have somebody else bait the dog while I do the shooting. Only if you have an extremely well-trained dog can you both do the baiting and take the photo. At dog show when I'm doing the formals, I toss the toy with my left hand and hand-hold the camera with my right. Takes some practice.





Here are a few shots of my boy, Rowdy, that were taken on his 10th Birthday a couple of years ago. The first was taken with my 85 F1.8 wide open; the second with my 70-200 F4L. I tossed Milk Bones and Rowdy would hold his stack until I told him to "go get it". He was an awesome dog. He just passed away a couple of weeks ago.


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Good luck!





Jim

[jimgarvie]

One more: a family came into the studio for family portraits. After they had met Rowdy, they asked for one more photo of him with the kids. Here it is.





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If you use someone else to get the dog's attention, make sure the dog is looking in the same direction as the people (if possible). But it all starts with a dog that understands the command "stay".[]





Jim

[elmo_2006]

I snappeda cute little 'pooch' whileperforming a photo op' at a baseball tourney. This guy was perfect, as soon as he saw my camera, he posed and did not even 'flintch'. 'Sit booboo sit, good boy'!


Enjoy...


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Canon 450D, 28-135mm @ 4.5, Spot, Shutter Priority, focal length: 30,ISO: 200, Exposure: 1/500.

[Tom Alicoate]

Does it need to be strictly posed? Have them interact and just take photos. Take posed but then let them chose which they prefer. Here are two of my favorites.








I hope you don't get a dog like mine. He is very camera shy, even though this photo doesn't show it.


Good luck!


Tom