Canine Portraiture

CANINE PORTRAITURE

I have written a special section canine portraiture because it is potentially very lucrative and an area of portraiture where I regularly made in excess of £1,000 in just a few hours.

Some of the sittings were just individual dogs but more often than not I would contact dog training clubs and ask if I could come along and photograph the dogs. The deal would be on a "buy if you like the results" basis and very few owners didn't buy. I would take the photographs one week and go back the following week with the results and take the orders. Some of those orders were for very big portraits the largest of which I can recall was 40 x 30 inches (100 x 75 cms).

I soon realised that people were more likely to spend more money on portraits of their dogs than they are on portraits of their children – and as I've indicated, we are talking “Big Portraits”.

But before I go any further, let me say that “I love dogs” so I realise that this won’t necessarily appeal to everyone.

Most of my canine subjects were posed in studio conditions but whenever the opportunity arose, I liked to shoot outside and take candid shots.

The little lady featured here is Dajenca Star, or just plain Peri to her friends. Believe it or not, she is a working sheep dog and has also been

awarded an Obedience Warrant (OW) by the Kennel Club. In layman’s terms I gather this means that she knows how to behave herself and generally does as she’s told by her owner. In photographic terms she was a dream to work with as she did exactly what she was told and when put into a particular pose, she stayed there.

In the shot in the left above, which I entitled “Call Me Number 1”, she is holding one of the many obedience training competition rosettes that she has won.

However, the shot above right shows her in a slightly different light when she was caught emptying out a dustbin– or does it. This shot was actually posed and she was instructed by her owner to hold the chicken wrapper that you she in her mouth.

This shot with the dustbin was entitled “Trainee Obedience Champion – Off Duty” and it was not only fun to do but I also won me a number of awards along with comments like "you were in the right place at the right time (and with a camera)"

Tip : One of the key things to remember when photographing dogs is never attempt to handle them – leave that to the owners. Your job is behind the camera and in assisting the owner to position the dogs, you may miss an opportunity (or get mauled ).

Tip : If you do decide to follow my lead and go along to a dog obedience training class, always find out if there is a separate room which you can use. Photographing a dog can be challenging enough without being in a room full of distractions too, if you see what I mean.

One particular sitting I can recall was with four boarder collies. The owner put the first one in position, fetched and positioned the second, went to get the third and the first moved and this went on for about 10 minutes. All this time I was sat patiently waiting for the split second I needed to get the shot (see below).

It reminded me of the children’s toy where you knock in a peg and another one stands up. You knock that one in and yet another stands up and so on.

I have to say that all the hard work (on the part of the owner) was well worth it as this is one of my favourite canine shots – which has also been very successful for me in competitions too. I called it “The Working Class”. My only regret is that the owner seemed reluctant to stand behind me hence the dogs are not looking at the camera.

And speaking of the working class, I’d like to move onto the breed that I personally consider to be the Aristocracy of the Canine species – The Rough Collie.

This was a mother (left) and son and I always think they look so beautiful and graceful. Yes, as I child I thought Lassie was the business too.

I must have photographed literally hundreds of different breeds over the years and ran the risk if being labelled as a canine photographer. Despite my love of dogs, this was never my intent. However, the one breed that regularly gave me a hard time was the Jack Russell with their "I'm in charge" or "I'm not scared of anything or anyone" attitude.

The Jack Russell Dogs in the shot on the below really did gave me a hard time. No way were they prepared to sit on the studio floor and have their portraits taken like your average mutt .

However, taking up residence on my chaise lounge was quite a different matter entirely. Needless to say a compromise was found.

I think it is appropriate to make a confession at this point. Off all the canine portrait sittings I did, whether on a one to one or as part of a group session, I only ever had one failure. On this occasion I didn't get the chance of a single shot. What was I trying to photograph - would you believe a group of seven Jack Russells.

Tip : I used to use a whistle that sounded a bit like a siren to attract the dogs attention and it worked very well. I also tried a squeaky toy but after getting mugged by a German Shepherd Dog, I decided to abandon that one.

Clients will often be keen to be photographed with their dogs although sometimes they don’t think about it until you suggest it to them.

I recommend that you talk to them before the sitting as they may not feel suitably dressed if they turn up unprepared which could mean a lost opportunity for you.

And what's the other thing people are always saying - oh, yes, never work with children or animals. Well as you can see, I did both, and sometimes both at the same time ! I guess that makes me a gluten for punishment.

The results can be wholly unpredictable but as you can see the shots below turned out reasonably well and resulted in good sales.

Personally, I did feel that the little chap on the right dressed in his Andy-Pandy outfit would have been happier with his Teddy beside him. Yes I know, I'm dating myself !!

A final note on this topic - what about other domestic animals. Well in my opinion, on a one to one basis they do of course provide opportunities for portraiture. But as for the mass production portrait market as supported by dog obedience classes, frankly cat or rabbit obedience training classes are as rare as hens teeth. Believe you me, I've looked !!!
Indirectly, this shot on the right turned out to be one of my most lucrative canine sittings. Initially the owner bought a 24” x 20” framed print of her dog plus a series of smaller prints that we took during the session. Then about two years later, the she phoned to ask if I could do the photography for her son’s wedding. I always feel that the best type of work you can get is either the referral or the Client coming back for more.

	A word of warning ! Not all dogs behave like little Peri who was featured at the beginning of this section and they can be hard work. The Border Collie on the left stayed perfectly in the position it had been set but didn’t stop howling from start to last. Not even my whistle worked but I did finally get the shot we were looking for when, in desperation, I mentioned the magic word – “walkies”.