Pet Photography with Jodie Hennigar
I am that needle in a haystack kind of photographer, there are so many genre's that i enjoy covering! Some of my subjects are still (landscapes, Macro) and some move very fast (K9, Rodeo, Insects) The reason i prefer to photograph different genres vs just one is, if you don't develop your skills things can become blah, mundane, old really like stuck in a realm.
For any pet photography a lens of F2.8 or F1.8 is ideal, i personally use a Nikon Z9 + Nikon Z 70-200mm F2.8 lens however whatever camera and lens you can work with a little practice and patients!
Also feel free to reach out to me, email or social media - Facebook or Instagram if you find yourself struggling and need some guidance, happy to help!
When it comes to shooting, i personally photograph in manual mode, the only thing i leave to "auto" is my white balance and my ISO mainly because these two are forever changing! Sometimes i do cap my ISO so it doesn't go crazy, i would rather under expose vs over expose! If you are not comfortable with manual mode that is totally fine as well, toggle your dial over to shutter priority with Auto ISO up to 1000 *you might need to play with this depending on your lighting and lens, and have the aperture as wide as possible (F2.8 or F1.8) if your lens only goes to F4.5 that is fine as well just means you need a bit more ideal lighting vs a wider aperture lens (F2.8) also since we are on the topic of lenses, i chose a zoom lens (70-200mm) over a prime mainly because in my situation i don't know what the dog(s) is going to do, how close its going to get to me, what shot i might have missed had it been further out of my reach, i mean yeah i COULD crop the image afterwards but if i can keep some foreground/background by using a 70-200mm than why wouldn't i. If i want a prime lens i will just take my a second body with me for that only purpose.
Let's jump into some tips!
It's important to get down to eye level or even slightly below (if possible) when photographing the majority of things, no one looks really flattering when you are taller and shooting down, unless its a maternity shoot than yes, a belly shot look amazing. However with pets, insects ect its far more appealing to be eye level or lower! There are 2 major advantages to this :
1) It allows you to blur the background easily, as the distance between you and subject is greatly increased
2) You see a view that most people don't when looking at their pet - rightfully so since we normally look down on our pets vs crouching each time to say hi. So being eye level even if it means you are on your tummy will make that image stand out!
Sunlight can make or break an image, the location of the sun is important to take note of. Personally overcast days are my favorite but we don't always get those. Sunny days have an advantage though, you don't need to adjust your settings to something crazy to make your images work! Reviewing the exposure triangle is a good idea to have tucked in your back pocket - any google search can yield a result! Ideally on sunny, bright days you want the sun to be behind you. As the sun rotates the earth move with, understandably you can't go everywhere depending on your event/layout ect but work with it. If you are not well versed in photography avoid sun flares...these can really kill an image OR it would really do justice but it take practice and different settings! Having the sun along side you isn't a bad thing either, a lens hood is a good thing to have attached as well during outdoor events!
Photographing at sunset, also known as "golden hour" can produce some breathtaking images, however one thing to take into consideration is, if your lens is a F4 - F5.6 there is going to be some struggle in since there is not enough light. So take the golden hour with a grain of salt if your lens cannot go wide enough, and don't be deceived when your image doesn't work out, start saving for an upgrade!
Merely a personal preference for me, but i don't really enjoy when a subject is hidden this also depends on the objective behind the shoot, if you are just taking photos out in the field a hidden pet that isn't taken right can be dull or leave a lack of "why this image" don't get me wrong an imagination is great and all however people don't think the same, and one might think something completely left field and inaccurate. Take these two photos below, the man in the tent is not my main objective, the dog is. Now i was a safe distance back and did not want to advance closer (even though it was safe to do so) because i wanted to catch a different perspective. The photo on the left is a full on shot, which tells a much bigger story, you can take any image really and alter it so it tells whole different story, whether that original story is positive or negative is up to you - think about that the next time you take an image, i COULD crop the photo on the right to just the dog, which would show an "aggressive" dog and give the dog's breed a bad rep, but that IS NOT WHAT THE IMAGE IS ABOUT the image is about K9 Protection, that dog in the photo is mans best friend, a family member, a little girls/boys dog and this part of the practice is on command!
Last but not least, capture their behavior! The goofiness, the smile, the "lets play ball" look, the relax look - all these behaviors is what make a pet a pet! These images are what people love to see. The behaviour is what says its all! Have fun with capturing this, throw a call, grab toy, toss some treats or attend a working event!
