5 Tips for Taking Better Studio Portraits of Your Dog

LET’S GET COMFORTABLE

Putting a dog into a studio setting can be quite unsettling for them in the beginning. I ease them in to this strange situation by letting the dog off its lead and let them wander and sniff around my studio, slowly reducing any anxiety they may be feeling.

Once they seem more relaxed, the next step is to get them familiar with the pop of the strobes. I do this by taking them to the farthest corner of my studio and reward them each time I pop the trigger. I keep doing this until they are unfazed by the pop and we move closer toward the lights, then I repeat.

Finally we end up on the backdrop, in front of my camera, close to their final position as I pop the strobes and treat them. I then allow the dog to see and sniff my camera while clicking the shutter so they also get use to that sound - they are rewarded as they sniff and get familiar with the big black box in my hand that can be quite intimidating to a dog. I then have the owner sit with the dog in front of the camera so I can test the lighting on the dog before we begin. I eventually ease the owner out of the scene and I start shooting.

The dog always dictates the pace of our sessions, they also let us know when they would like to be wrapped and head back to their trailer - so it’s important to read the signs they are showing.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LIGHT

When lighting dogs in my studio, I often use a large soft box as the key light in front of and above the dog. I carefully position this main light by raising, lowering and adjusting the angle to capture the perfect catchlights in their eyes - not too big and not too small.

To me, the eyes make the portrait and good catchlights bring their eyes to life. I often need to brush back fur on dogs that have a lot of fur/hair covering their eyes - yes, I’m talking to all you Doodles! Without seeing the dogs’ peepers and getting that catchlight, the portrait will feel a bit dead. I also use two rim lights positioned behind and on either side of the dog so I can separate them from my darkish painted canvas backdrops. This also enhances the fur around the dog and adds more depth to the portrait.

SEEKING SOME ATTENTION

It's essential to have a few tricks up your sleeve to grab a dog’s attention and elicit the perfect expressions. I use squeaker toys, noisemakers, and of course high value treats like hot dogs, cheese and chicken…always considering food allergies. I use treats (or toys if the dog isn’t motivated by food) to guide the dog’s eyeline for different looks, to get a fabulous head tilt (like in this portrait), or simply to get them to focus on me by looking right down the barrel of my lens as I hold the treat or toy on the top of my lens hood. 

I have a varied collection of squeakers/noise makers - duck, squirrels and crow hunting calls are just a few of the sounds I use. If the dog is food motivated, it’s often helpful in getting them to perform the things I’m asking.

I generally use soft treats so they can be skewered on the end of a long stick, this way with the stick I can direct the dogs eye line to move around, I get the shot, then reward the dog. Natural peanut butter is also a great motivator and it will get you funny results too!

FOCUS ON THE EYES

I’ve been shooting most of my dog portraits with Fujifilm’s XH2S since the camera was released. As in human portrait photography, one of the basic rules is to keep the eyes, or the closest eye to camera in focus. The same thing applies when photographing dogs. The new animal eye focus on this camera completely changed the game for me. Shooting dark dogs with their deep-set, dark eyes had previously been such a challenge for me, then suddenly the days of manually focusing and tracking the dogs’ eyes as they dart around in front of my camera (hoping some of the images would be sharp) were gone.

I rarely have an out of focus shot now. Another focus tip is to ensure every detail of the dog's face is in focus. I want to showcase the dog’s full face and have everything sharp from the tip of its nose to its ears. I generally use between f8 and f11, depending on the length of the dog’s nose - think of a Pug compared to a Whippet.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?

When I photograph dogs, whether that be in studio (or the rare exterior that I shoot), I always want my camera's lens at the dog's eye level to capture the most captivating portrait. The lens I use the most for this is my Fujinon 18-55mm, because having a zoom when I’m photographing dogs has proven to be invaluable - it gives me a variations of images in the short amount of time I have with the dog.

While using my zoom and getting down to the dog’s level, that means I often get quite low….I’m always seen sitting on the floor of my studio, or I often can be found lying on my stomach to get the best shots. Instead of looking down on our dogs as we do in our day to day lives, I get down to a dog’s-eye-view, as this provides a unique perspective. If the dog is small or medium-sized, I use a raised platform to elevate them or as you see in this portrait, I placed the dog behind a table and I went to the same height. For larger dogs, I usually position myself sitting on the floor right in front of them. This viewpoint will always produce dynamic and engaging portraits.