Thursday, August 25, 2011

Tips + Tricks | Photographing Dogs

I've been getting a lot of requests lately for tips on how to take better dog photographs, so I decided to write up my tips and tricks in a blog post.

Please keep in mind, I'm not claiming to be an expert pet photographer!  I certainly have taken more photos of dogs then of all other subjects combined, but 99% of those have been of my own dogs. When they were puppies they were growing so fast that I took hundreds of photos of them every day. Now that they are older, I don’t photograph them every day, or even every week, but they are still the most available subjects for me to shoot any time I feel like breaking out the camera.

What can I say? Most people abuse their children with their cameras, since I don’t have kids I have to use my dogs.

So, here is what I have learned over the years about taking photos of dogs:

1. If you do nothing else, the number one thing you can do to get better photos of your dog is to get down at their level. When photographing them, you want to be at eye level (or close to it) with them. So, you are probably going to have to sit or lay on the ground with them.



2. A tired dog is a good dog to photograph! The more worn out a dog is, the more likely it will be to stay in place when you tell it to sit or lay down. So, try to make sure that the dog gets a lot of exercise before you start taking your photos.

3. If you are photographing the dog away from it's normal environment, make sure you allow it plenty of time to check out the surroundings and get used to all of the new sights, sounds, and smells before you begin.

4. Don’t try to photograph the dog alone!  It is much easier when you have someone there to help you out.  They can help get the dog to sit or lay down in place, and then help get their attention for the camera.  Never be afraid to ask for help if you needed it, especially if the dogs you are taking photos of aren't yours.  The owner can probably give you a lot of helpful tips about how to get their pet to respond to what you want it to do.

5. Treats, treats, and more treats!  Whenever I am photographing dogs, I keep my pockets well stocked with tiny treats.  A favorite toy, or anything that the dog really likes would work, too!  I use the treats to get the dog to look where I want it to look.  So, if I want the dog looking straight at the camera, like in the photo below, I usually take a treat and balance it on my camera lens.  Lexi is really staring at the treat right above the camera, but you can't tell when you look at the picture.


If you want the dog to look off to the side, like in the photo below, then just hold the treat or toy there and get the dogs attention (this is often easier if you have someone else hold the treat/toy for you. Or sometimes you can just have the other person stand where you want the dog to look and call to it.)


6. If all else fails, use a leash or tie out. Sometimes you just can't get a dog to stay in place, and it will keep walking up to you for attention. If this is the case, then you may have to hook the dog to a leash or tie out to keep them in place. We are so used to seeing dogs on leashes, that even when they are attached in the photos, we rarely notice it. Plus, you can usually place the tie out so that it is behind the dog and barely visible.  In both of the photos below, the dogs are attached but I bet you didn't notice until you looked for it...



7. Sometimes photographing pets doesn't go like you plan.  You just have to roll with it and do the best that you can.  Even if your photos don't turn out perfect, they're still cute photos!  That's the best thing about photographing dogs and babies - your subject is so cute that no one will notice the small flaws in the images. In the photo below, I wish that I hadn't cut the edge of Zoe's ear off along the left side of the photo...


And here I wish my shutter speed had been just a little faster and Lexi's tongue wasn't blurry, but I still think the photo is a keeper! Would I present it to a client? Probably not. But would I put it up in my own house? I sure would!


8. And finally, photographing two dogs is crazy hard. If you thought trying to get multiple people looking at the camera at the same time is hard, try photographing dogs! It takes hard to a whole new dimension. But, with time and patience it can be done. Just don't expect to do it on the first try. If the dogs you are trying to photograph aren't trained to sit, lay, and stay, you're in for quite a challenge, but just keep at it and eventually you will succeed.


Of course, it’s awesome when you get great shots, but if you ask me one of the best things about pet photography is the hilarious out takes! Here are two of the funny photos from recent sessions that had me laughing out loud the instant I saw them!



And there you have it! If there is something I forgot to address, leave me your questions in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them.

(You may also want to check out this post full of tips for capturing photos of your dog's personality.)

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

What Makes You, You?

As a photographer, it is my job to figure that out.

My goal for each of my portrait sessions is to get to know my clients and find out who they are inside.  I want to know what makes them tick, and then figure out how to show that uniqueness in their photographs.

For example, here are a few photos of my past clients where you get a great glimpse at what makes each of them the unique and wonderful people that they are!

Tammy has a sassy side and is always up for anything (for this photo, she jumped into the middle of the street, struck a pose, and told me to take her picture!  So, I turned around and clicked.  I love when clients do stuff like that!)...


Vicki needs her yoga to remain balanced in her life...


And Kelli is happiest with her nose buried in a book...


That's all well and good, but what's my point?  The point is this... I've been so busy getting to know my clients that until recently I never realized that I had been leaving out a very crucial piece of the puzzle.

What makes me, me?

Like the fact that my favorite time of the year is fall for lots of reasons: I grew up in the Midwest, and love the fall colors that you can find there.  My birthday is in September, and I'm one of those people who looks forward to celebrating every year.  Also, I always loved the start of a new school year when I was a kid, and even though I'm not in school anymore the feeling of the fall being a time to embark on new things has stuck with me....


(This photo was taken by my husband in our neighborhood in Indiana last October. We decided to stop for a few quick photos as we were on our way to a wedding.)

As I've been working with the designer on the brand for my business, he has been asking me a lot of questions about who I am, and about what makes me unique.  Quite frankly, the questions haven't been the easiest to answer and he's really giving me a lot to think about.

You see, being a photographer is different than other occupations in many ways. We are our business, and there is very little separation between the two. So, when you market a photography business, you market the photographer. In some ways that is really fun because I pour my heart and soul into each session that I shoot, and I leave a little bit of myself in each photo that I take. But, sometimes that makes it difficult to separate myself from my work. When people don't like the style of my photography, it is hard to remember that doesn't automatically mean that they don't like me.

When I made the decision to keep the blog strictly business, my thought process was that by doing so I would be keeping things professional and not be boring everyone with incessant photos of my dogs or ramblings about my boring life (and anyway, isn't that what twitter is for?). Now I realize that I was also avoiding putting myself out there and allowing everyone to get to know me out of fear. We never really grow out of asking ourselves, "But what if they don't like me?" Or "What if I say something that upsets someone and they stop following me?" Or "What if I pour everything that I have and everything that I am into my blog, and my business, and I fail?"

I now know that by not sharing more about myself, I am doing a disservice to my clients and to myself.  How can I expect you to open and up and share who you are with me, when I'm not willing to do the same in return?  And in all honesty, wouldn't everyone be better off if we realize upfront that we aren't a good match?  If you hate dogs, and even hearing mention of them sets you on edge, I'm probably not the photographer for you because my dogs are the light of my life and it's impossible for me to refrain from talking about them all the time.

The truth is that everyone isn't going to like me, and I'm not going to like everyone I meet in life, either.  It's no big deal.  If that happens, then we just politely go our separate ways - no harm done.  For every person who won't like me, there are probably five who will, but how can you decide if I don't share with you who I am?

Well, from now on I'm going to do just that!

And the first thing to know is that I'm an explainer.  No, not a complainer.... an explainer, meaning that I don't really like surprises all that much and I don't like to surprise other people, either. So instead of dropping in and changing things all around with no warning, I will usually explain what I am going to do before hand.  In keeping with that idea, here are a few new things that will be popping up on the blog in the coming weeks and months:

1. I think it is important for me to never forget what it feels like to be in front of the camera, so each month I will be taking a self-portrait and posting in on the blog.

2. I will be sharing my Birthday Bucket List with you, and adding updates as I experience each of the items on my list.

3. I may or may not decide to add some sort of weekly or monthly feature, but I'm still tossing around ideas and open for suggestions!

4. I'm going to be sharing A LOT more photos from my personal life, especially of my hottie husband and my cutie patootie dogs, so prepare yourself!

As always, thank you for reading!  I love to hear from you, so feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions in the comments at any time.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

LuLu + Benson's Sneak Peek

By now, I'm sure that everyone knows I'm a sucker for an adorable dog!  Tonight, I got a double dose of adorableness when I got to photograph LuLu and Benson.

Meet Benson...


And LuLu...


Seriously, could Benson get any cuter?...


And is there anything better than a little doggie tongue peeking out? I think not!


Amanda, thank you so much for allowing me to photograph your sweet dogs. It was a pleasure getting to meet them, and Zoe & Lexi say thanks for bringing them over to play!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Makin' Friends

I'm really happy to report that Kevin and I have made a new friend here in Phoenix already. He lives in the leaves that are piled up on our front porch. (Now that I know he lives there I feel like I shouldn't clean them up!) He greets Kevin every time he leaves the house. Our new friend has been a little bit shy with me, but today I was able to take a few photos of him...


I think he needs a name. Does anyone have any suggestions?

We've also meet a handful of scorpions in our garage and laundry room, and some cockroaches in the living room, but I decided to spare you the photos of them.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Friday, August 19, 2011

I'm Back!

Wowsers, I never planned on my blogging hiatus lasting quite this long!

After all this time, how about if we just jump right in with the good stuff?...

First, I have done a complete update on the content of my website, so swing on by and check it out!  I've added lots of new photos, and tons of information.  But, that's not all!  I've decided to have a brand designed for MWP!  The new logo should be completed early this fall, and once it is finished my website will be getting a new look to go along with all the new content.

Second, Michele Whitacre Photography LLC is officially a legal business in the great state of Arizona, and I couldn't be more excited!  The final step is to have a handful of legal documents drawn up, and MWP will be ready to start back up in Phoenix.

Now that both of those huge steps are behind me, it is time to turn my attention back to the blog!  So, here I am!

I still have to do some major clean up on my blog to fix some broken links and missing photos, but no reason why I can't do that and add new content at the same time, right?

As I redirect my focus back to blogging, I've decided to make a few changes to how I do things around here.  If you've been a reader since the beginning, then you know I've always kept the content of the blog strictly business, so to speak, but I think it's high time for us to take our relationship to a new level, don't you?

As a start along that path, I'd like to share with you a few photos from my wedding day. Kevin and I just celebrated our one year wedding anniversary earlier this week!

We were married aboard a cruise ship in Nassau, Bahamas. The good part about that was that our wedding was a 4 day floating party, and too amazing for words. The bad part was that we weren't allowed to choose our own photographer, and the photos of our wedding day are mediocre at best.

However, we did end up with one amazing image....


Since I knew I probably wouldn't get the best photos of the wedding itself, I took my camera along so that I could get some shots of us at the Atlantis Resort after the wedding.  I basically did my best to set up the shots, and handed my camera off to a friend to snap the photos.  Together we managed to get a few cute ones...


This one is my absolute favorite!...


I just want to say Happy (Belated) Anniversary to my hubby, Kevin.  He is the most amazing and supportive husband, and I'm so very lucky to have him in my life!  My wish is for everyone in the world to experience during their lives the kind of love that my husband and I are so fortunate to share with one another.

Stay tuned for more details about the changes you can expect to see here on the blog!

I'm so happy to be back, and I can't wait to open up my session schedule and start shooting again!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.