I met a delightful family this past weekend for my latest Hills Magazine assignment. My subject was Toto, an Instagram star, so I knew he would be a natural model in front of the camera. His sweet human sisters were excited to take a behind the scenes pic of me. It was insightful to see how I look in action because it then helps me better explain to future clients what you might encounter during your shoot. There are a few things you will notice in the pic below:
- My hair is up. Two things are for sure in a pet photo shoot. I am going to get dirty and my long hair will blow into my eyes if I don’t pull it up. Please know I normally care about my appearance, but you will see me in my natural state during a photo shoot for the reasons listed above.
- My hands are always full. If it’s not a squeaky toy in one hand, it’s a Pupperoni treat. One hand must always be enticing your pet and the other of course intently focusing with my camera. It’s an interesting balancing act for sure!
- My shoe is falling off. Among other wardrobe malfunctions, what is most important is getting the perfect shot of your pet, so I tend to be pretty focused on only you and your pet.
- I’m kneeling. 90% of the time I am photographing pets on my knees or laying flat on my stomach on the ground. It’s important to be on the same level as a pet for interesting angles and depth. I should probably invest in knee pads!
- The subject is on leash. In this particular instance, my clients leashed back up their pup at the end of their shoot. This behind the scenes shot was a quick afterthought and I just left the leash on. I wanted to use this opportunity to show how the image appears after removing a leash.