stanbrown Loc: Texas

I am thinking of doing pet portraits at a very high-end pet boarding resort near me. Any advice, hints or tips would be welcome.

FYI, I have a Nikon D90 and most of the basic lenses (18-105 zoom, 55-300 zoom, 50 mm prime, 11-16 wide angle) and some flash equipment. I do not want to invest too much more in this, at least at first, until I see if it's going to be worth it.

So, for example, what sort of backdrop works best (outdoors, solid color, etc.)? What sort of lighting would work best?

Thanks.

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

"So, for example, what sort of backdrop works best (outdoors, solid color, etc.)? What sort of lighting would work best? "
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Truthfully, if you have to ask the above, then you are not ready to take that step............

Add Loc: S.W.Florida

If it is an all American mutt,a USA flag can be interesting,have used it with my mutt.Not a derogatory term,enjoyed him for 15 years.Walked in my yard as a stray/abandoned.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Now that is a very funny group of words.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Lots of information here:

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/search.jsp?q=pet+portraits&u=&s=0

angiehunt Loc: Florida

Maybe you've already done this, but if you're serious about pet photography, I would consider volunteering at your local animal shelter to take shots of their pets available for adoption. I've been doing this for a couple of months now (with an eye toward doing it professionally a little later), and I've been learning what works, what doesn't, and how to get the animal to SIT STILL! (Harder than you might think, if the animal hasn't been trained.)

Hint: running after cats while yelling "Sit! Sit!" doesn't work. :-)

You can see some of my shots--good and not so good--here: http://hunthaven.photoshop.com.

Have fun with it! And the pets will benefit, too, because pretty pictures help pets get adopted faster!

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Don,
I am of the same opinion, there is no one answer that will fill the bill.

garthhill Loc: Watertown, TN

Feed the cats first, generally they will then clean themselves and go to sleep. Scratch under their chins, rub their bellies. Use a very fast shutter speed and a large depth of field to catch them as they run.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I would visit the place beforehand and discuss the shoot with who's ever in charge. Is this your idea - out of the blue - or are they looking for portraits? They probably have something in mind and nice shooting areas. One of their employees should be able to help with the dogs.

Since it's a high end resort, the owners might be more demanding than a pet shelter. If I were going to do this, I would practice on friends' and relatives' dogs and bring photos to show the resort. This is why I just shoot for myself - I'm very easy to please.

alggomas Loc: Wales, United Kingdom.

You will need permission from the owners and the owners of the kennels. You will also need insurance and about 5 tons of patience !
Agree with most of comments. Do it at home first. Practice practise, parctise.
Do you think a dog or any animal is going to sit and grin for you?
Read all the suggestions our friends at uglyhedgehog have given.

sportyman140 Loc: Juliette, GA

Do you have with your lenses Image Stabilizer ? I shoot allot of photos of my pets every day and need the IS with my lenses

Doodlebug Loc: San Diego, CA

I have a Goldendoodle who poses perfectly for me. I can dress her with hats and scarves for every holiday and pose her in any position I want...but then she is MY dog and I trained her. My neighbor and I have had very good luck photographing our dogs and people love the photos. All of them are outdoors though. I try to find a background that is not busy and really compliments the dogs color and coat. Their photos look amazing with reeds or ferns behind them. I am the photographer and my neighbor is the one who arranges them and gets them in the pose. We both have very well behaved and trained dogs and our way of getting them all to look at the camera or turn their heads is with her holding a tennis ball or a treat behind me over my head. She is able to walk back and forth and I shoot many shots for the perfect one. We have had some amazing shots! I use a Nikon d7000 and a Tamron 18-270 lens mainly. Always focus on the eye and if the head is angled go for the eye the closest to you. Pretty much the same as portrait photography for humans! My dog is obsessed with the tennis ball so I am able to absolutely freeze her for the shot. I hold it under my chin or set it down next to me or even hold it up with my hand once my camera is focused and set up. I also get on the floor with a portrait lens or 50 mm, set a ball in front of her either in site or just out of site and she sets her chin on her paws and it makes the perfect picture. The blurred background is amazing. If a dog is well trained you should be able to work with them. Just find the one thing that catches their interest and have them focus on it with their eyes. I don't have any fancy equipment to do any of this. For inside I guess a flash that is bounced would work. You would just have to figure out where to bounce it. My daughter had a friend do one of her laying on the ground hugging her dog and she used a black velvet background that she just draped over the foot of the bed and bunched it up to give folds and a draping appearance. The photo was gorgeous. I don't know how she did the lighting though. Regardless, I think you could do trial and error with the flash arrangement until you get it right. This is something I have often thought about doing as well but it really will come down to the behavior of the dog. Good Luck!

Doodlebug Loc: San Diego, CA

In fact, here are some of my pet portraits with only a camera, lens and dog along with incentives to keep their focus. The one indoors is not mine but of my daughter where the photographer just used a black velvet piece of fabric and draped it to give texture and highlights to the photo.

Forget it for now. I am traveling and on my MAC laptop and seem to have trouble getting the photos to upload. I am a PC person so when I get home in a few days I will upload some photos. Sorry about that!

Attached file:
(Download)

jaysnave Loc: Central Ohio

The one with the tennis ball uploaded. Very nice! It seems to me that the photographer needs to capture that personality trait unique to each pet. No set rules. Just like people.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Why would you discourage him? Maybe he has enough experience, but was wanting some opinions from others. When I've done pet photography, the only thing with lighting is to watch for devil eyes. Off camera flash, or at least bounce it. I'd stick with solid colors, or better yet, outside or in front of plants.