Pet Portraits

Pet portraits come in two flavors: studio portraits and environmental portraits. Here are examples of each.

Studio portraits have their own special lighting challenges plus you need to select the style of the backdrop and the overall "feel" of the image. This one, for example, is "low key" using black as the basic color from which we bring up the subjects in the portrait.

Environmental portraits often use available light or on-camera flash to create catchlights in the eyes of the subject. In this example, we also used a very fast lens (85mm F1.8) and opened it up to F2.2 to create the diffused background from which the dog "pops".

In both images, the dog's expression is very important. If the dog is comfortable in the studio or in the environment where the portrait is being taken, then the next challenge is to get their attention and bait them into giving great expression. You can use toys, food or make ridiculous noises with your mouth -- whatever works to get the animal to look at you and give you the expression you want. I sometimes think my greatest skill is not with the camera but with my ability to throw toys accurately with my left hand while I'm shooting with my right hand :).