Dog Photographer in Cape Town – shooting on location as I travel
I consider myself very fortunate to be able to travel and shoot in new locations fairly regularly. I was in Cape Town shooting a Pet Prints Magazine cover in November last year and managed to squeeze in a shoot with Hendrik and Maggie the Schnauzers just before their baby brother arrived.
The dog children had been for a wash and brush up especially for the occasion because like all good Schnauzers, they are adept at collecting up all sorts of garden debris in their beards and fur. It’s important for dogs to look their best for a shoot and whilst Hendrik (on the right in the pic above) was very happy to see me, Maggie was still sulking from her parlour visit and took a little longer to warm up.
She was a bit happier when Mom and Dad joined in for a couple of photos and I gave her cookies.
To prevent the squeaky clean hounds from dirtying their beards and bodies, we stayed indoors for the shoot. You’ll notice that I lean towards shooting against clean backgrounds both in studio and on location, I prefer to have the dogs be the focus of a formal portrait and then add in details when they are appropriate.
When we moved the shoot up to the nursery, I added in some balloons that were left over from Mom’s baby shower and Hendrik was allowed to sit momentarily on the brand new footstool. I tried to crack him an invite onto the matching chair, but much to his disappointment, he got a ‘no’.
Maggie’s worried look persisted until eventually Dad gave in to her sad eyes and picked her up. When I visited for a family shoot in January, she was much happier because we met on the beach for the portrait session. You can see those pics here.
What to do with a set of images like this, especially with the impending arrival of a baby (and stacks more photos) is always an important thing to consider. I put together a gorgeous coffee table album of these images which meant that we could group a collection of thirty pictures together without making loads of prints which would sit in a drawer, or simply putting the digitals onto a USB for them not to see the light of day. I love to see the portraits I shoot printed out, it’s the best way to enjoy them 🙂
If you love these portraits, please get in touch with me to find out about booking your own dog photography session.