Tuesday, September 24, 2019

PORTRAITS OF PEOPLE WITH THEIR PETS


Our pets are only with us for so long. That’s why when we get portrait inquires and they ask if we will photograph their pets, in addition to them and their family, we always say Yes!  They also ask if we charge extra for pets or extended family; to that we always say No! We do not put-up roadblocks to potential clients. 

This portrait session was a fun, simple session of just this lady and her dog done outside in a dog’s natural environment.   You can see these two had a strong connection..
f6.5 @ 1/320 sec., ISO 800; Lens @ 200mm
I really like it when we can get images of people and their pets interacting with each other. It’s not that easy to capture because often the pet is distracted by all of the people, kids, and other animals passing through the park especially on a weekend. That’s why we suggest to our clients that portrait sessions are best done during the week.   

Here’s the more formal portrait…
f6.2 @ 1/400 sec., ISO 800; Lens @ 150mm
I love the old fence here at Merrill Park, Eagle, Idaho. At this point, since they aren’t interacting, it’s obvious her dog is now on guard duty!

So, back to some storytelling….
f6.3 @ 1/250 sec., Iso 800; Lens @ 200mm
Sitting them on the grass, where I also had a better fall colors background, helped to reestablish that connection.  Dogs outside, in the park, are just like kids. They’re easily distracted and often reach their limit when a portrait session goes longer than 45 minutes.
 f6.3 @ 1/320 sec., ISO 800; Lens @ 170mm
Her dog, at this point, would no longer look towards me and my camera. She’s saying, “I think he’s done!”  That means we then move on to this lady’s individual portraits without her dog. She loved the images we got of the two of them and scheduled another portrait session in our studio for just her.

That’s it for this week….As always don’t hesitate to ask any questions…

Author: Jerry W. Venz, PPA Master Photographer, Craftsman