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Animal Shelter photos - recommendations?

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Artshot Sue

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I just heard that a local shelter is in dire need of a photographer to help with adoptions of cats and dogs, so I have offered my services. I think I'll be using the UZI, and I have an FL-40, which I am embarrassed to say, I've never used. (I won it in an auction ages ago with a whole bunch of equipment very inexpensively)

Looking at past photos taken of their pets, I can see some major issues - Movement, contrast on black/white animals, and horribly busy backgrounds.

I'd like to know if there are any suggestions for props or backdrops that I could use to improve the photos. This shelter gets loads of pitbulls, which are mostly very sweet animals, but frequently get put down due to the breed, even though they are temperament tested before being allowed to be made available for adoption. I'm thinking I need to try to bring out the best that I can to help people see the pet they might learn to love.

Bandannas might help the doggies, baskets and ribbons for kittens. Maybe a squeaker to get their attention? I hope to enlist the help of my 16 yr old son for this as well.

I wonder if I should bring brushes or any other grooming items - maybe scissors. They are pretty understaffed, so many of the animals are probably scruffy and unkempt looking.

Do you think a box or small table would be a good idea to create a raised surface for the smaller dogs and for the cats?

What ideas do you have for a simple backdrop? I considered looking for a pull down screen for a slide projector (I've seen them around in thrift shops)

Please feel free to warn me/ share tips & tricks or make suggestions.

Sue
--



http://www.pbase.com/artshot
http://www.beatricedesignsinc.com
 
ifyou are planning on going to a thrift shop ..look for solid colored sheets .. like reds, blues, ect.. for those hard to photograph colored pets like you mentioned for the backdrops.... and also try playing with them for a lil bit before you take the pics or get your son to ..getting them in that goofy, silly mood always helps .. thats when you get them goofy looks on there faces that people just cant resist ..lol.. props would be cool and also the brushes and scissors to .. clean them up a lil before pics.. baskets would be cool with some yarn in them for kittens .. or even look at the baby toys at the thrift store .. puppys and kittens cant refuse them things to play with :) and will be cheap .. also mention to them why you are buying all this stuff .. they may help ya out :)

i sure wish i was close enough to come help... i love photographing pets... but i have a hard time walking into those kind of places .. i would be leaveing in tears knowing they would be put down if no one wants them ..

good luck with all this and if i can think of anything else i will post it ..

Marion

--
http://www.sitekreator.com/crittervilla
C740 UZ----- C-2100----- TCon-17----- WCon-7-----
 
I know you've photographed enough animals to know what you are getting into. I got into a similar thing once, and it was a riot of fun and frustration.

All small animal photographers that I know anything about use a table or platform. "You either need to get down to them, or bring them up to you." Bringing them up to you is easier on your back and knees.

Any kind of BG will do as long as its not cluttered: screen, sheet, hedge/plant. But if possible, as you know, it'll be better to throw it out of focus.

I found that every kind of noisemaker you could get was good, and the more the better. You can fool some of 'em once, but not twice. So a squeeker, clicker, rattler, whistle, buzzer, what ever you can find may come in handy. I had best results with my "assistant" making "noise" at about a 45-degree angle. So, rather than looking straight into the lens, the were looking at a slight angle -- looking alert with their ears perked -- especially with dogs.

I shot some nice ones outside in the shade with moderate fill flash, against a thick bush, but on a table.

However, I found that a table didn't help with some of the animals. They were just too excited, and curious to hold still. Sometime, all I could do was get my "assistant" to hold them up in front of the lens and shoot a mug shot -- which, incidentally, produced some of the best shots.

A portrait focal length lens worked best (about 100mm, 35mm equiv), because it reduced any distortion and let me and the camera be a good distance from animals.

I also used a remote release with the camera on a tripod, so I could watch the animal, standing away from the camera, and try for the "decisive moment." But, for some animals, that just didn't work. They just would not stay where they needed to be. So, I didn't hesitate to go "hand held."

With cats, I found that putting them in a cat or doggie bed helped make some of them feel more secure. Then dangling or giving them yarn was a good prop, because you know how they like to play. But, some of them just didn't want to play. Then is when you have to resort to something like the hold 'em up mug shot.

Be prepared to be flexible. I know you are a outstanding, resourceful artist and you'll do very well. But, if it is anything like my experience, it won't be as nice and simple as I had planned. So, be prepared to improvise.

--John C.
 
Sue, what a great thing to be doing! Bless your heart! Normally I'd say to bring a small table or a sturdy chair with a pillow on it (a wicker chair is always cute) for the cats and small dogs, but I'm thinking many of these animals may have been strays that are still wary of being handled & might not take to well to posing! I used to set up shots for a pet catalog (I was NOT the photog!) and even well-trained pups & kitties can give you fits having their pics taken! If they have a bench in the visiting area, perhaps you could "seat" some of the animals on it.

I'd definitely bring brushes, bandanas, ribbons, and maybe a couple of nice leads, as shelter leads tend to be ratty, and you may need to have a lead show in a photo. For the busy backgrounds, you could use portrait mode & adjust the aperture to blur the background. What I've found easier than futzing with the camera to deal with a too-busy ground, though, is first try to get a fairly decent-looking background without too much stuff going on, then in retouch, use "smudge" to blur the elements and do some swirling and stuff to "create" a background that, while not exactly looking artsy, is nicer than nothing... But, by the looks of it, you are the expert on this stuff & certainly not me!
 
If you're going to let them play with something, make sure it's not attached to the camera....



Above all, have fun --- the animals will react to your mood and give you everything you need...
 
Check out Petfinder here: http://search.petfinder.com/search/search.cgi

to see what other shelters are doing for photos (some good/some not so good). Personally, I don't care for bandanas on the dogs and when I'm looking at the photos my interest is seeing the animal, not cute accessories in the photos - but that's just me.

PS This is a great service you will be providing! Best wishes to you!

Shari
 
I've been doing for the last several years just what you are talking about doing. I find that at our shelter, most of the dogs are rather large and excited. Unless you are willing to spend lots of time with them, you probably are not going to get nicely posed shots. I find my best dog shots are outdoors with good light. The dogs are held on a leash, but ususally I clone out the leash. I go to the shelter on Fridays to take photos of the new arrivals and find out which animals have been adopted so I can remove their entries from the website. I'm less successful with the cats because we can't take them outside. I get them photographed, but not always with nice poses. If you would like to see some of my current photos on the website, go here > > http://members.socket.net/~shelter/index.html

Good luck!
 
Artshot Sue said:
I just heard that a local shelter is in dire need of a photographer
to help with adoptions of cats and dogs, so I have offered my
services. I think I'll be using the UZI, and I have an FL-40, which
I am embarrassed to say, I've never used. (I won it in an auction
ages ago with a whole bunch of equipment very inexpensively)
Click to expand...
Note, with the FL-40, you will need a FL-CB02 cable and FL-BK01 bracket to use on the UZI. I would recomend an external flash to avoid green-eyed monsters (dogs and cats have different type of eyes than we humans do, so when the flash reflects off of their retinas, it comes out green instead of red).

Here is my favorite lighting modifier, though I haven't used the new model as much as the older Flip-it junior:
http://www.dembflashdiffusers.com/

Here is an article on a person trying to make a living as a pet photographer, that covers setup. Obviously tune to taste:
http://www.nwpphotoforum.com/ubbthreads/
Artshot Sue said:
Looking at past photos taken of their pets, I can see some major
issues - Movement, contrast on black/white animals, and horribly
busy backgrounds.
Click to expand...
Yep. I would tend to want to keep it simple. As others have said, get some mono-colored sheets for the backdrop. I would suggest trying to get a few basic colors to better highlight the animal.
Artshot Sue said:
I'd like to know if there are any suggestions for props or
backdrops that I could use to improve the photos. This shelter gets
loads of pitbulls, which are mostly very sweet animals, but
frequently get put down due to the breed, even though they are
temperament tested before being allowed to be made available for
adoption. I'm thinking I need to try to bring out the best that I
can to help people see the pet they might learn to love.
Click to expand...
Yes by all means.
Artshot Sue said:
Bandannas might help the doggies, baskets and ribbons for kittens.
Maybe a squeaker to get their attention? I hope to enlist the help
of my 16 yr old son for this as well.
I wonder if I should bring brushes or any other grooming items -
maybe scissors. They are pretty understaffed, so many of the
animals are probably scruffy and unkempt looking.
Click to expand...
I imagine it wouldn't hurt, though I would try to be tactful so the shelter staff doesn't feel you are commenting on how they keep the dogs. As you say, they are probably trying to stretch their resources very much to help as many animals as possible.
Artshot Sue said:
Do you think a box or small table would be a good idea to create a
raised surface for the smaller dogs and for the cats?
Click to expand...
Yes.
Artshot Sue said:
What ideas do you have for a simple backdrop? I considered looking
for a pull down screen for a slide projector (I've seen them around
in thrift shops)

Please feel free to warn me/ share tips & tricks or make suggestions.
Click to expand...
Here is a site that talks about do-it-yourself lighting gear:

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/pictures?userid= {0C537F65-5D2E-4921-A34D-346C4244F0AC}&inv=19218D41258C6FE&userid={0C537F65-5D2E-4921-A34D-346C4244F0AC}&inv=19218D41258C6FE&albumid={40EED9A5-7703-11D5-AB2C-00400542FB64}&groupid={A4074786-91B9-4474-837C-59B54CF9867C}&albumid={40EED9A5-7703-11D5-AB2C-00400542FB64}&groupid={A4074786-91B9-4474-837C-59B54CF9867C}
 
This is obvious, and from what I remember of your shots, it is probably preaching to the choir, but on the very slight chance it isn't obvious to other people....

Remember the purpose of the shots is to get the animals adopted, and not to be a prize winning shot. By this I mean a shot that brings out the inner warmth of the subject that connects with somebody, it has succeeded, even if there some technical flaws. When we were dog shopping, most of the pictures were your typical amatuer cell-phone camera type shots. You already shoot at a much higher level of skill than most people, so figure out a basic setup that will allow you to take pictures of small and large animals, scope out the kennel first to see what kind of space, etc. you have, spend some time with each animal to figure out its personality. Try to keep backgrounds simple, and depending on the number of dogs, you need to keep up with the work flow (ie, if you have 50 animals, you might not want to spend a hour on each photoshopping, getting every detail right).

The other problem is to harden your heart if a dog/cat can't find an owner (unless it is a no-kill shelter). Its a sad end of the business, but one you may bump into and you need to be prepared. I recall your postings from a few years ago about the feral cats near your studio.
 
... we just got a puppy... That is exactly the problem taking photos of it... When it finds out I have the camera aimed in it's direction.. It comes running.. No jumping towards me. That is why I haven't many shots of it yet...
For you Sue..
I think most have been said already by the other posters..

Kind regards Jørgen
http://www.pbase.com/jchriste
 
I appreciate the advice from someone who has dealt with the exhuberant dogs - you're right, I shouldn't get my hopes up too much for every shot to be great, I may be lucky to get something useable!
Thanks for the link, it helps to see how you've handled it.
Sue
Barry78908 said:
I've been doing for the last several years just what you are
talking about doing. I find that at our shelter, most of the dogs
are rather large and excited. Unless you are willing to spend lots
of time with them, you probably are not going to get nicely posed
shots. I find my best dog shots are outdoors with good light. The
dogs are held on a leash, but ususally I clone out the leash. I go
to the shelter on Fridays to take photos of the new arrivals and
find out which animals have been adopted so I can remove their
entries from the website. I'm less successful with the cats
because we can't take them outside. I get them photographed, but
not always with nice poses. If you would like to see some of my
current photos on the website, go here > >
http://members.socket.net/~shelter/index.html

Good luck!
Click to expand...
--



http://www.pbase.com/artshot
http://www.beatricedesignsinc.com
 
Michael Meissner said:
Note, with the FL-40, you will need a FL-CB02 cable and FL-BK01
bracket to use on the UZI. I would recomend an external flash to
avoid green-eyed monsters (dogs and cats have different type of
eyes than we humans do, so when the flash reflects off of their
retinas, it comes out green instead of red).
Click to expand...
Thank goodness, it came with everything (So I'm even more embarassed to say I haven't used it - there's no excuse!)
Michael Meissner said:
Here is my favorite lighting modifier, though I haven't used the
new model as much as the older Flip-it junior:
http://www.dembflashdiffusers.com/
Click to expand...
Nice! I can make that ;)
Michael Meissner said:
Here is an article on a person trying to make a living as a pet
photographer, that covers setup. Obviously tune to taste:
http://www.nwpphotoforum.com/ubbthreads/
Click to expand...
Boy, those pets look stunning... I don't expect to get any with that sort of "atmosphere"
Michael Meissner said:
I imagine it wouldn't hurt, though I would try to be tactful so the
shelter staff doesn't feel you are commenting on how they keep the
dogs. As you say, they are probably trying to stretch their
resources very much to help as many animals as possible.
Click to expand...
good point
Michael Meissner said:
Here is a site that talks about do-it-yourself lighting gear:

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/pictures?userid= {0C537F65-5D2E-4921-A34D-346C4244F0AC}&inv=19218D41258C6FE&userid={0C537F65-5D2E-4921-A34D-346C4244F0AC}&inv=19218D41258C6FE&albumid={40EED9A5-7703-11D5-AB2C-00400542FB64}&groupid={A4074786-91B9-4474-837C-59B54CF9867C}&albumid={40EED9A5-7703-11D5-AB2C-00400542FB64}&groupid={A4074786-91B9-4474-837C-59B54CF9867C}
Click to expand...
ooohh... maybe this willbe an excuse for some new toys...
--



http://www.pbase.com/artshot
http://www.beatricedesignsinc.com
 
Actually, it would be very easy for me to loose sight of that, I must remember the real point is to get them "out there" and seen so they have a chance. I could get caught up in the individual shots and then not be able to take as many. Volume over quality!
Michael Meissner said:
This is obvious, and from what I remember of your shots, it is
probably preaching to the choir, but on the very slight chance it
isn't obvious to other people....

Remember the purpose of the shots is to get the animals adopted,
and not to be a prize winning shot. By this I mean a shot that
brings out the inner warmth of the subject that connects with
somebody, it has succeeded, even if there some technical flaws.
When we were dog shopping, most of the pictures were your typical
amatuer cell-phone camera type shots. You already shoot at a much
higher level of skill than most people, so figure out a basic setup
that will allow you to take pictures of small and large animals,
scope out the kennel first to see what kind of space, etc. you
have, spend some time with each animal to figure out its
personality. Try to keep backgrounds simple, and depending on the
number of dogs, you need to keep up with the work flow (ie, if you
have 50 animals, you might not want to spend a hour on each
photoshopping, getting every detail right).

The other problem is to harden your heart if a dog/cat can't find
an owner (unless it is a no-kill shelter). Its a sad end of the
business, but one you may bump into and you need to be prepared. I
recall your postings from a few years ago about the feral cats near
your studio.
Click to expand...
And this will be the toughest part of all - not getting too emotionally involved.... but the feral kitties weren't mine. Several have posted about them, but the most moving shots were the ones Knox took for his book. I'm not much of a cat person, but those images were so heart wrenching I would have taken them all in!
--



http://www.pbase.com/artshot
http://www.beatricedesignsinc.com
 
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