Pet photography...Help!!

G

Gixasix

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189
Edit My Images
Yes
A friend has begged me to take some
pics of his dogs. One hasn't got long
left and he'd love to get some shots
of them all before it's too late.

One or two dogs I could probably cope
with but not convinced at coping with
4 adults and 11 puppies!!! Worse still
i'll be using borrowed Canon gear that
I'm not used to as my Nikon just died!

Anyone got any tips other than a huge
bag of treats and some sedatives :) :)
 
Sorry!!No idea why but every time I post
from my phone the text ends up in
different sizes!
 
Sorry not my field either! I would be interested in any advice offered too.
 
johnf3f said:
Sorry not my field either! I would be interested in any advice offered too.
Click to expand...

I've been looking online all night at
pet photos....Seeing plenty of perfect
puppies all looking in the same
direction perfectly posed...Then I
look at the videos of complete and
utter chaos my friend has posted
since the puppies came along and
I reckon I'm doomed :)
 
Big memory card? One of them will be OK - hopefully...........
 
Treats is the way forward (if they've been trained). I use them effectively with my dog.

With puppies it's going to be a lottery.

Best of luck!
 
Gixasix said:
They're 6 weeks old so they're up and
wandering around brawling with each
other!!
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Gosh, good luck (sorry thats not helpful).

As you probably know getting that number of puppies still is going to be tricky and it'll be difficult to hold their attention (all 11). It may be an idea to photograph the older dogs separately then try (and pray) for the puppies together
 
boyfalldown said:
Gosh, good luck (sorry thats not helpful).

As you probably know getting that number of puppies still is going to be tricky and it'll be difficult to hold their attention (all 11). It may be an idea to photograph the older dogs separately then try (and pray) for the puppies together
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Yep my plan was to get the older dogs
then attempt some shots with the pups!
I can see an entire card getting filled in
The vain hope of getting more than one
to look in the same direction at the same
time!! :LOL:
 
As there's not much practical advice I'll try:
(I'm not a pet photographer).
Prioritise; get decent images of every dog before you think about groups.
By the time you've done that everyone involved might have realised the scale of the task and backed off completely. But if they haven't, at least you've got some practice in and you're better prepared for the groups.
It'll also be easier if the pups are tired, but they tend to be either completely wired or asleep. So good luck on catching that.
Also remember the reason for the ask. One great image of the poorly dog will get you plaudits. ;) (don't know about dogs, but I do know about people)
 
Phil V said:
As there's not much practical advice I'll try:
(I'm not a pet photographer).
Prioritise; get decent images of every dog before you think about groups.
By the time you've done that everyone involved might have realised the scale of the task and backed off completely. But if they haven't, at least you've got some practice in and you're better prepared for the groups.
It'll also be easier if the pups are tired, but they tend to be either completely wired or asleep. So good luck on catching that.
Also remember the reason for the ask. One great image of the poorly dog will get you plaudits. ;) (don't know about dogs, but I do know about people)
Click to expand...

Thanks! Judging by the videos I've seen
they do go from mass brawl to falling
asleep on top of each other in 2 seconds
flat!

I have been totally honest with their owners that this isn't something I
have any experience with...Thankfully
they also understand how hard it will
be with the pups!

I will definitely focus on getting some
good shots of the old boy both alone
and with the other adults. I think the
pups will be a case of hit the shutter
and hope :LOL:
 
Get down to their level, wait until the puppies are tired, have a squeaker from a dog toy, but use it with discretion until you know how they will react.
 
As @MadWoman said ... get down to their level ... thats the most important thing. For the older dogs, you might find the best is to get their owner to take them out one at a time or perhaps in pairs, get them to play with the dogs while you photograph. Get down low, if they chase balls then get them to throw balls over/past you. For more portraits then at home but take the dog off to somewhere they aren't distracted.

The pups are another matter ... down low again but think you might just have to go for the candid shots.
 
Just to add, last time I shot a litter of puppies, I got the owner to lie down with them, which meant the puppies were concentrated in one spot crawling all over their daddy, who was in hysterics, and some very fun photos ensued.
 
MadWoman said:
Get down to their level, wait until the puppies are tired, have a squeaker from a dog toy, but use it with discretion until you know how they will react.
Click to expand...

Thanks!Haha at the moment they
seem to have 2 speeds...Full chaos
mode and fast asleep in a heap mode judging by the videos they just go mad thensuddenly stop and fall down and
sleep! I will definitely try a squeaky
toy though! I hadn't considered that
because my own dog never even
looks at squeaky toys.

Eloise said:
As @MadWoman said ... get down to their level ... thats the most important thing. For the older dogs, you might find the best is to get their owner to take them out one at a time or perhaps in pairs, get them to play with the dogs while you photograph. Get down low, if they chase balls then get them to throw balls over/past you. For more portraits then at home but take the dog off to somewhere they aren't distracted.

The pups are another matter ... down low again but think you might just have to go for the candid shots.
Click to expand...

Thankfully having met the older dogs
before they're pretty well trained apart
from the youngest who at a year old
is still like a kangaroo on a Red bull
overdose :)

MadWoman said:
Just to add, last time I shot a litter of puppies, I got the owner to lie down with them, which meant the puppies were concentrated in one spot crawling all over their daddy, who was in hysterics, and some very fun photos ensued.
Click to expand...

Thanks that's a fab idea!!
I do like the idea of having them crawl
all over either one of the adults or one
of the kids!!

GreenNinja67 said:
For the puppies I'd go for Velcro!
Click to expand...

I considered that....Haha along with
gaffer tape and superglue
:) :) :)

boyfalldown said:
I find carpet grippers work better
Click to expand...

Haha it may well come to that :)
 
realspeed said:
Catch the puppies at feed time when they are together and reasonably still
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Thanks! I've seen a video of them eating!!
Climbing all over each other and walking in the mushy food!! We are thinking about
trying them with small saucers of food
rather than the huge communal dish
they usually have!!


Bobsyeruncle said:
Get a huge basket, and put them all in that.
Click to expand...

Thanks I was considering that or using
one of the adult dogs beds....Was
looking at my dogs puppy photos
to get some ideas as there were 11
hyperactive nutcases in his litter!
They managed to get them all lined
up peering over the side of a bath
which could be an idea...Too high
to escape but all trying to reach
the food!!
 
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