From time to time I am in Media,
photographing dogs.
Above: Fellow Media photographer Hoi Michael Cheung saw me working on this cover shoot, and snapped a shot of me.
I’ve been photographing dogs for more than 5 years.
It’s terrific fun!
I bought my first professional grade full-frame camera in 2016. I am working with my third full-frame camera now.
My photography work has led to me doing some cover photos for a local magazine.
And sometimes I snap shots of the town.
And its events…
But I most prefer capturing great shots of dogs!
Here’s one of my secrets…
SQUEAKY TOYS!
These are on my camera strap. I have tried a variety of these over the years. What I have found is the most effective noise generator is the smaller high-pitched squeaky toy.
A squeak should not be wasted. Sometimes it only works once and that’s it — the dog’s attention goes elsewhere.
When that happens then I go for the big one with the weird grunt noise. I’m having fun if I get a head tilt or a look of curiosity.
If I can’t get the dog’s attention, if possible, I get a pet parent to stand behind me and call the dog, or hold up a treat.
What I am really aiming for is perfect focus on the eyes and nose with the dog looking straight at me, preferably while showing me some tongue, which tends to make the dog look relaxed and happy.
I can get perfect crystal clear focus thanks to the technology in the camera. It doesn’t always nail the shots. That’s why I snap a lot of images.
Also important in capturing a great shot is…
…getting down low, on the dog’s level.
I prefer to shoot from a distance, maybe 12 or 15 feet away, so I use a big zoom in those instances. This gives the dog some space and they might be less likely to feel alarmed.
Sometimes a great shot happens quickly. Sometimes I need to be patient and wait for that right moment.
Almost always the dog is on a leash.
I use the miracles of Photoshop to remove leashes and other things, if it is practical.
I also shoot in the RAW format which allows for better image adjustment in Photoshop.
It is really difficult to shoot more
than one dog simultaneously.
Really, really difficult. Unless I get lucky.
Getting both of them on the same focal plane so that the eyes and nose are all in focus and to both look at me at the same time — sometimes it just can’t be done.
I prefer to shoot one dog at a time.
There is also a high level of difficulty in doing a pet parent with a dog with everybody looking dynamite in the image.
