Photographs of Ophelia the piglet
A slightly unusual studio visitor, baby Ophelia came through to have her piggy portraits photographed. I am a huge animal lover, however my interactions are usually limited to dogs and the odd cat (with the exception of The FARM SERIES) so a pot bellied piglet was quite the treat.
If you’ve not encountered a pig up close before, they are quite special. They’re incredibly intelligent – pigs are ranked as the 4th smartest animal after chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants, they have excellent long term memories, they can solve puzzles and they can even empathise with other pigs!
They are also highly trainable; Ophelia knows how to sit which she happily demonstrated in exchange for some Cheerios (her snack of choice apparently). The only problem with training pigs is that they do things on their own terms. If you pick them up or try to manoeuvre them with a gentle nudge, they get very cross and make a lot of noise!
Ophelia was so comfortable in the studio that she gravitated from a ‘sit’ to a ‘down’ and started to nod off. A quick snack packet rustle soon did the trick and she was looking lively again.
I hope these images inspire you to look a little differently at pigs. This little black pig is no different from the pink pigs we eat. I’ve not had the pleasure of photographing a pink piglet in my studio (so if you have one, do let me know), however I did visit Asher’s Farm Sanctuary earlier this year to photograph their grown up pigs; Willow, Alfie and Babe – you can see their portraits here.
I love photographing all creatures great and small, so if you’ve got a beloved pet in need of a portrait shoot, please get in touch.