Snap Happy on the Hill – pet portraits!

meredith hanafi photography

Hello Capitol Hill photogs! Many of you probably received new and improved cameras for the Holidays this year and are driving your family members crazy making them pose for pictures while you test all your new functions and practice your manual settings. When the people in my life are getting sick of posing for me I turn to my pets, my friends and neighbors pets and even the animals at the Zoo.

Although I have three pets of my own to pester, I often approach neighbors (especially if they have a new puppy!) to see if they would be okay with my photographing their pet in exchange for copies of the pictures — most people are pleased with this trade and it provides great access to new subjects. (see below right)

meredith hanafi photography

Working with pets is also great practice for photographing young children. Learning how to keep their attention, and being able to predict unexpected moments is essential when photographing these two subjects and practice, practice, practice is the only way to learn. Portraits of animals reflect many elements similar to a human portrait – emotion, movement, and the arresting quality of a pair of eyes, a feature which will always draw the viewers gaze into your subject.

Although not all animals are comfortable in front of the camera, they can usually be warmed up easily – especially if given a game or a treat to keep their attention. A few of my favorite tricks for photographing pets are as follows,

meredith hanafi photography

Attraction – have a collection of ‘squeakers’ at the ready — these are the small clear plastic noisemakers in many pet toys, but you will need just the squeakers, not the whole toy. I either salvage these from destroyed pet toys in my house or buy them in packages in craft stores. The individual squeakers are small and easily fit in your had — keeping it hidden is key, you want them to be looking for the source of the noise. Holding it directly beside the lens while shooting will get a lot of curious looks from the pet in question, and often will produce the classic cocked head expression. If you have a friend with you even better, have them stand directly behind you and hold the squeaker by your lens so the pet looks at the camera

Environment — try to photograph your pet in an environment where you can take the leash off. I have never had luck keeping animals happy sitting while on leash (see the example of sad puppy to the right) – and they look restrained in the photograph…so find a yard or park where they can be free.

meredith hanafi photography

If you don’t have a yard (and on the Hill most don’t!) an off leash dog park makes a great location, but I would try to go during the off hours when you can get some space from other dogs — if you are a member of Congressional Cemetery, there is lots of space to play, Lincoln Park and Marion Park also work.

Play — create a game with sticks, balls or snowballs…whatever they are into. A Kong filled with treats or peanut butter will keep dogs busy and stationary for ages. For cats I use a cloth switch toy — you can get great action shots with these. (see below left)

meredith hanafi photography

Light and Composition

Tips for light and composition are the same as for your human subjects,

• find nice open shade in the park or take them out on an overcast day. Whether shooting outdoors or indoors make sure to control your flash and match your white balance to the light source you are working with for a natural look.

• mix up your crop – zoom in for some closeups and zoom out for nice environmental portraits

meredith hanafi photography

• don’t hold them in position for long periods of time. Shoot quickly, let them run around and then come back to the position

• shoot from different perspectives – get down on the ground and shoot head on or upwards

• don’t forget to guard your lens from wet noses and cat claws! If you have a DSLR be sure to have a filter on your lens before shooting, point and shoot cameras are usually well protected from lens damage but still be mindful of tongues…

People/Pet Portraits

meredith hanafi photography

Other Opportunities

Going to the Zoo, Mount Vernon or other  animal friendly locations is a great opportunity to work with the zoom capacity on your point and shoot or to rent a long lens and play with your DSLR — the 70-200mm will open up a whole new world if you haven’t experimented with it yet. You won’t get animals interacting with your camera but you can get some really great environmental portraits! (see below)

meredith hanafi photography