egglady Loc: Knoxville, Tn

I'm doing my first outdoor pet photo shoot & portraits. Any suggestions on what I need? What lens, backdrop, squeeky toys, etc?? Its outdoors at a state park, I have a canon 40 D and assorted canon lenses. Thanks for any tips, tricks & abvise.

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

I can think of 100's of different types of pet but I'll take a leap and guess you mean a dog?

My thoughts if that is the case is the last thing you want is for the critta to be secured! Wearing a leash etc.

If this is the case will you have the owner present and can they take charge of the pooch and keep it still or occupied?

If you want the dog looking at you, will you get the owner to stand in the location you want the pooch to look?

In other words if you want the dog to look at the camera, then have the owner stand directly behind you. Is this the type of thing you are after?

German Shepherds or any other breed that has ears that stand to attention, must have them erect otherwise it usually looks wrong.

If the owners have children the pooch with children ALWAYS looks good but no licking faces! yukky and a health hazard.

I will shut-up now in case I'm on the wrong track :) :thumbup:

egglady Loc: Knoxville, Tn

this is perfect! Just what I' m lookoling for. Yes it is for dogs. Pet day , adoptions, agility, police dog training, paw prints, Photos, thank you very much.

tlbuljac Loc: Oklahoma

Bow-Wow

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Google pet photography tips techniques
There are some good tips and ideas

egglady Loc: Knoxville, Tn

good idea. why didn't I thikg of that?

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Just been thinking and I have no idea of your relationship with the Police Dog Handlers and I have no idea of what lens you have but..

An image that will look impressive is if you can capture a police dog actually 'attacking' a criminal. By this I mean capture the dog as it is about to bite the arm of the person acting as criminal (if they are giving a display)

If the handlers have confidence in the dog's training then they can tell you exactly where the dog will launch itself to bite the person and you can then have someone stand on that specific location so that you can position yourself to get the shot of the dog with its mouth open, teeth bared, already to take chunks out of the bad guy!

If the handler is not confident about the dog then do not try it... If you lack a suitable lens do not try it.

Next suggestion for the Police Dogs
AFTER you have shot the attack
Get close-ish to the dog and get to the same height as its mouth whilst the handler has it on the leash and then take pictures of the dog and the handler whilst the beast is snapping at you.... Do NOT get too close!!

Agility
Stand to one side and at an angle so that the dog is jumping in your direction.. Do NOT get pictures of the back-side or tail as most folks prefer looking at the smiley end. Make sure you are NOT going to be a distraction so a longish lens is a must. You can also stand directly facing the jump but again a long way back so that you are looking straight at the dog's 'nose' as it comes over the jump.

It is all a case of imagination and original shots sort the men from the boys or the ladies from the girls. Enjoy yourself and make friends with the handlers, they all like pictures of their pet pooches.

This is our mangy mutt

bogeyeliot Loc: Signal Hill, CA

That's a great looking dog! Our guy is getting up there in years now, and each day is a blessing....(my avatar)

normsImages Loc: Alabama for now

Two things that come to mind. Get down on there level and pay attrition to the eyes. Glojo’s pic is a very good example of what I’m saying

egglady Loc: Knoxville, Tn

First..your dog is beautiful and that is a great shot. Second, I love all the information you gave. I will keep re reading it so I remember to try them all in 2 weeks when I go. Thank you so much. I met the police trainers a few times, they are very nice but we're not close.

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Good morning,
I think the most important thing is that you talk with the owners\handlers and make sure you do not get in the way, but a polite, enthusiastic approach may well be rewarded :thumbup:

Good luck and fingers crossed everything works out for you.

Philipschmitten Loc: Texas

I shoot family portraits and sometimes they bring thier pets, I can say from experience that you will need a squeeky toy to get the dogs attention and it makes the ears go up also.

Effjayess Loc: NE,Pennsylvania

One thing I would say is no direct flash. Bounce only. Some pets are just plain scared by the flash but also the eyes are sensitive to it as well

usaellie101 Loc: Spring Hill, Florida

I could not agree more about safety. Good for you for pointing this out. While animals can appear cute and sweetfaced, they can attack at a moments provocation. Never put you face in a dogs face or stare him down. These are interperated as aggression.

Always have the owner present and use a zoom lense. You will have to be ready and able to shoot fast. Most dogs move quickly. I have found the more comotion you make around them the more likely they are to be un-cooperative for the camera.

Good luck and let us klnow how you make out. We are all dreaming of big bucks rolling in.

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Your post has prompted me to add a few more observations...

NEVER advise anyone to do something that might put them in harm's way! If you ask someone to give the dog a plaything and it bites that person, guess who will get the blame?

If you ask a young child to simply stroke their own pet and that child gets bitten, guess who will get the blame? ;) ;)

"Can your child stroke Otis?" (or whatever the dog is called) That is different from telling them to 'Stroke the dog' :)

The squeaky toy is good advice but...

quite a few animals play with this type of toy and the instant they see it, they want to grab it and then you have problems. One minute you have a placid pooch, the next you have a boisterous beast that wants its wretched squeaky toy :) :) It definitely works and I am not disagreeing with the author, I am simply pointing out a possible down side. An easy alternative is an unusual noise. Anything.. that is not too be loud as that might frighten the pet pooch. Have the owner squeeze their lips together and suck in to make a raspberry noise, the dog will twist or cant its head as its ears prick up in an attempt to figure out what it heard. Only do it for a brief second as you do not want the dog to run toward the noise but remember not to have this person directly behind you as a full on nose shot might not be the best image. Likewise if you make the noise the dog will look directly at you.

To highlight what I am rambling on about look at my dog and he is looking directly at my wife, although his weak ear is 'floppy' compared to the his left ear :) I love all my animals and hopefully you will have lots of fun.

Do NOT be afraid to take lots of informal shots as when you view them, there will be some very nice pictures.

Great advice about not using flash, I should have thought of that but never having used it I forgot all about it.

If you are nervous of any dog then do not be afraid to make excuses an move on to your next subject. Never put yourself in harms way, I have had photographers ask me to do stupid things which would have ended up in tears.