Pet portraits.... any suggestions on what to buy to be prepared?

[Stradawhovious]

Allright. I have decided to expand my madd photographist skillz to [shudder] outside the house. I have many friends that have expressed an interest in getting their pet's picture taken. I figure this would be a good way for me to get some practice.

Here's what I have.....

Camera; speedlight; radio trigger; light stand; umbrella (convertible); simple backdrops; PP software; and just enough knowledge to be dangerous with all of it. (by the time I start this, I will more than likely have another speedlight and umbrella setup).

Oh yeah, I also have an arsenal of Snausages and Beggin' strips

Now before I go getting flamed, I will not be charging anything for these "sessions" they will be for friends who are aware of my limited abilities, and are nice enough to allow me to hijack their dog for an hour or so. If any pictures turn out (and I expect that a few will) they can pay the price of developing them at the lab of their choice, and not a penny more.

What I want to know, is what are the essentials that I'm missing? What are the things that during your first shoots you said "Oh ****, I wish I would have gotten/brought [insert item here]"

Any advice from the seasoned shooters would be welcomed.

 

[kundalini]

Just a few random thoughts.....

• Have the pets excercised before the shoot to make them less jittery/nervous
• Have your lighting pretty close to right before the pet hits their mark. Testing while they are waiting may make them lose interest.... kunda like people
• Have the owners stand behind you to attract their attention and head positions
• Do a search for gsgary and el_shorty for their pet portraits. There are probably others, but those two come to mind.

 

[Stradawhovious]

Thanks! Good info....... as always.

 

[tirediron]

In addition to the above, have a good selection of squeaky toys, and if possible ask the owner to bring the animals favorite toy.

 

[BekahAura]

Knee pads? LOL. Shooting dogs is the most tiring photography I've ever done (so far ) To get good angles you're going to have to get on the ground, and the smaller the dog, the lower you will have to get. For small dogs it might be a good idea to bring a decorative chair or a card table to put them up on, it'll make it a lot easier to shoot at their eye level or below.

Can't wait to see your results! I know you'll get addicted to pet photography, who wouldn't???

 

[Derrel]

Carpet steamer. McCullogh makes a good one; it is yellow and black,and will steam the $h!+ out of almost any fabric or surface.

 

[Overread36]

Stuffed toy dog - take with you to test your lighting setups before you put the dog into position. This stage will of course reduce as you gain more experience and familiarity with the setup and I encourage you to do a lot of posed shots with the toy to get used to balancing the two lights before you go. Also get a measure of the dogs excitability and size before you go - if you're shooting a hyper lab you might want to make sure you can do a good shot with the flash in hand or on camera rather than on a boom (think jumpy dog+falling light stand ).

 

[Stradawhovious]

Thanks for the advice all! Most of the issues will be resolved by me going to the pet's home for the shoot. They will have access to their favorite toys, and be in a more comfortable setting.

As for the rest, fantastic advice, I will definately take to heart. Pelase keep it coming!

Not sure when the first session will be, but I will be sure to post for some C&C.

 

[tirediron]

Knee pads??

Brilliant! :thumbup: I did two days of "Pets with Santa" shooting last December and by the end of it, I would have traded anything I owned for a good set of knee pads!

 

[gsgary]

If your shooting them studio style i recommend placing them on a table, i find they move less and you can get lower, i usually shoot with 2 lights one at 45 degress at the front with 1.2m softbox and one opposite from behind bare light with a grind it seems to bring out the fur and a reflector to bounce a bit of light to the opposite side of the softbox
Like this one, settings were iso100, F13, 1/125 @ 70mm Canon 5D and 24-70F2.8L