Any Pet Photographers????

smoke665 · Sep 22, 2019

At the suggestion of a friend I joined another site that caters to mostly professional and few serious hobby Pet Photographers. I'm somewhat blown away by the number of photographers who specialize in nothing but pet photography. Even more so (if they're telling the truth) at the level of business they seem to be doing and the prices while maybe not wedding category are still good work. There seems to be a never ending of supply of new work being published everyday on the site. Given the gloom and doom I hear all to often in other genre I was surprised by the general upbeat attitude of these photographers. In our RV travels it's not unusual to run into an artist at many of the parks we've stayed at who do pet sketches/portraits, but have never encountered any photographers. So what about it, any pet photographers on TPF and could this actually be as good a market as they seem to indicate?

Dean_Gretsch · Sep 22, 2019

Alicja Zmysłowska I have been following this lady in Poland on Flickr for awhile. Apparently she takes pet photography to a new level and even has workshops she teaches every year. Her work is incredible.

smoke665 · Sep 22, 2019

@Dean_Gretsch so many of the those on the other site do as well.

RowdyRay · Sep 22, 2019

For several years, there has been a conversion van driving around the Twin Cities area advertising as a mobile pet photographer. Just saw it again last week, so still around. Must be making money. Forget the name. A Google search blew me away, and still haven't found the one I was looking for!

tirediron · Sep 23, 2019

In my area it seems to be a go-to genre for the "I-just-bought-a-camera-and-set-up-a-facebook-page-and-now-I'm-a-professional-photographer" set. There are a couple of real pros who do quite a bit of work with pets, but I'm not aware anyone doing it full time. I've done a few pet shoots, it can be lucrative.

smoke665 · Sep 23, 2019

@tirediron as with any field there are those that are and those that wannabe. The page in question has a few of those, but predominantly the ones who do it for a living seem to be very good both in their photography skills, and post processing. I do know that the prices charged by the pet artist we've run into aren't cheap but not overly excessive either. I've been quoted anywhere from $50-$75 for a pencil sketch to $300 for an oil. They seem to get all the business they want. The pet photographers online I've looked at seem to run similar in price to most photographers. One of the advantages of pets over people, is that crazy pet owners will spend more on their pets then on themselves.

CherylL · Sep 23, 2019

There are no pet photographers in my area and haven't seen any on FB. There are a few pet photographers I follow on Flickr. One I think does a lot of compositing. I see the same lavender flowers in the foreground.

pocketshaver · Oct 13, 2019

well taking animal photos is fun. Money wise hasn't exactly been um impressive on cash influx for me at least. Hobby to pay for supplies doesn't lead to huge profits..

Anyway, the trick is to take it to the next level. As in, offering the latest tricks of human portrait work, combined with landscape tricks and techniques. That polish woman, she knows the ins and outs of portrait and landscape. Uses them well.

The thing is, you get to deal with models that don't listen, but can be smarter then most school kids. SO the long run is, its a good hobby for a slow day.

Photo Lady · Oct 14, 2019

CherylL said:
There are no pet photographers in my area and haven't seen any on FB. There are a few pet photographers I follow on Flickr. One I think does a lot of compositing. I see the same lavender flowers in the foreground.

You could be one!!

smoke665 · Oct 14, 2019

pocketshaver said:
well taking animal photos is fun. Money wise hasn't exactly been um impressive on cash influx for me at least. Hobby to pay for supplies doesn't lead to huge profits..

Anyway, the trick is to take it to the next level. As in, offering the latest tricks of human portrait work, combined with landscape tricks and techniques. That polish woman, she knows the ins and outs of portrait and landscape. Uses them well.

The thing is, you get to deal with models that don't listen, but can be smarter then most school kids. SO the long run is, its a good hobby for a slow day.

Strona główna - Alicja Zmysłowska mentioned earlier is fantastic. More art then photo. For bringing out the funny side of dogs though this guy has it nailed
Snapshots - Dogs Catching Treats

pixmedic · Oct 14, 2019

not a "pet" photographer, but I have done a few pet shots.
i say go for it. lot of people in all areas willing to pay $$$ for pet stuff.

husky portrait flowers by pixmedic, on Flickr

husky portrait flag by pixmedic, on Flickr

smoke665 · Oct 14, 2019

pixmedic said:
but I have done a few pet shots.
i say go for it. lot of people in all areas willing to pay $$$ for pet stuff.

Yup we do get attached to our furkids, though I'm not sure I want to ruin the fun of a good hobby by making it into work. Nice shots, I've always been fascinated by Husky eyes.

From my Dark Side Series last year. Master Sadie - "When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not" :chuncky:

Dark Side04072018_648-Edit.jpg by William Raber, on Flickr

Photo Lady · Oct 14, 2019

smoke665 said:
pixmedic said:

but I have done a few pet shots.
i say go for it. lot of people in all areas willing to pay $$$ for pet stuff.

Click to expand...

Yup we do get attached to our furkids, though I'm not sure I want to ruin the fun of a good hobby by making it into work. Nice shots, I've always been fascinated by Husky eyes.

From my Dark Side Series last year. Master Sadie - "When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not"
Dark Side04072018_648-Edit.jpg by William Raber, on Flickr

So beautiful