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Capturing The Spirit Of The Working Dog In Photographs
By © Dennis GlennonShooting Set-up Shots Some folks like to take posed, portrait-type dog shots. I do too --- when the breed, or the dog’s special spirit lends to it. However, I prefer to show a dog in a natural setting doing what they are bred for. Any set-up shots I do, such as one where props are used, or where dogs are placed on a particular surface, or in a certain environment, is designed only to emphasize and correspond with the theme of the breed and/or the dog’s special personality.
The rest of the shot was set up as well. Placing the bird in her mouth and having her hold it while she relaxed, I photographed the Goddess as she looked around, alert to her surroundings, as any sound hunting dog should be. What I wound up with was nothing short of exceptional, but only half of it was due to my photographic know-how. The other half was a combination of a beautiful, spirited animal, and a well trained one. If you want to increase your percentage of ‘keepers’, those images you don’t dump in the trash basket, work with well-trained dogs. I did a photo shoot for the Quail Hollow Hunting Preserve in eastern Pennsylvania. The owners of the preserve, who hunt train their dogs, needed some advertising images. Having trained dogs made this photo shoot easy. All I needed to do was find a flattering background for the dogs and the right light. Then I simply had the owner/handler set up his dogs for me.
Capturing the Spirit of Working Breeds Certainly you want to capture the spirit of the breed AND of the individual dog when you photograph, yet I feel a truly successful photo is one that also brings out emotion in the person who views it. If my spirit isn’t stirred by an image, I have learned, no one else’s will be, so I strive to make people smile, either due to a ‘cuteness’ factor, or say "WOW!" because an image has a high degree of drama. I want an IMPACT image, one that people cannot put out of their minds. As I explained earlier, people will tell their friends about my "Buddy’s Window" photo, inspiring those friends to seek me out and see the image for themselves. When I display Buddy's Window and his other images at my art shows, people stop dead in their tracks. Everyone has a reaction. Most people smile, laugh, and giggle. I’ve even had people pet the dog through the glass! Those who know the scent, swear they can smell puppy breath. Some even cry because the spirit of the pup in the picture reminds them of a dog who passed on. To be able to bring out such strong emotions in a viewer is powerful. THAT’S what makes an image successful. It’s is the difference between taking a picture and capturing spirit. NOTE FOR DOG OWNERS:
If you’re a novice and just starting out, even using a simple point-and-shoot
camera can lead to very some nice images. The PhotoTips
section on my Dogs
As Art website, and my free Newsletter
for Novices, a private email subscription, provides hobbyists with
tips like the ones in the article above. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the Author
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