There is so much that can be said about Portrait Photography, that I am overwhelmed just thinking about it, and how to whittle it down for quick consumption.  Between lighting, metering, composition, posing, portrait lenses, backdrops, etc. etc., your head can explode.

It is advisable to choose a photographer who understands the requirements of good portrait work, whether using natural or studio lighting, because it really isn't just about picking up a camera and taking a shot.  There is a science behind a good portrait photograph, and it has to do with the relationship between all the elements mentioned above.

That being said, I am going to focus on two environmental portraits (lifestyle portraiture) taken in the summer on the same day in two different settings.  The first was taken in outdoor light.

Environmental portraits are the best way to go when kids are involved with pets.  Capturing both in their own, comfortable space more often than not gives better results than staged studio portraits.  This particular photo was taken well after the pup chased the ball about 15 times and the child ran around after the ball, and the dog, until she felt a break was needed.  A reflector was used, camera right and below to get rid of a green reflection from the tree they were sitting under.  The pose was natural and fell from the activity (or lack of it) at the time.

Here's the same child, different animal, inside.

The light here is natural only, coming from a large window, camera left, a window behind the chair, and a window camera right.  The sun was streaming in through the window on the left.  Attention to white balance is important to ensure the deep yellow cast of the room does not fall on the child's skin, unless that is the effect you are looking for.  Again, a natural pose, not staged, in a comfortable environment.

Both portraits give you insight into the life of the child.

I do many dog and cat portraits, some in their natural environments and some in studio.  Because I used two photos I did in the summer above, here is a studio portrait done recently as part of a Loving Memories session for a Dad and his dog.  You can see the dramatic difference in the studio lighting, and the story told by the photo is one of deep love.  I usually hold it together pretty well during Loving Memories sessions, but this one was difficult for me, because the subject let me into his life in a very real way with this particular portrait.

While I specialize in pet photography, I love capturing pets AND their people.  My goal is to provide a lasting portrait memory.  It is the culmination of the years I have put into learning the craft, in a moment of time dedicated to the client, and serving them in the best way possible.

The subject this week is Portraits, and my guess is the blog circle will have lovely things for us to see.  So head there right now, starting with Angela Schneider of Noses & Toes Pet Photography in Spokane, WA, and North Idaho.  Have a great weekend!

We are approaching mid-March in Pennsylvania, better known as snow-melting mud month. At this time of year we are just starting to see yellowish/green grass appear from under ice layers in the back yard.  Our dogs have learned which parts of the yard are safe to travel and which offer guarantees of slipping feet and no stability.

It's no surprise, then, that when this week's theme appeared, I immediately thought of and longed for the green grass of spring and summer.

I've spent some time this last week and weekend purging archived files.  I discovered so many I had set aside and not edited.  When I came upon the summer grass photos, my whole mindset perked up, thinking of warmer days, sandals, patio living and sunshine.  It's no surprise that I decided to share that mindset with you this week by editing some unedited photos and sharing them here. 

Nothing is brighter than the grass of Spring.  Photographers know this, as we clean the reflections off the coats of our subjects, to eliminate the green cast grass often adds to the photo.  But right now, that bright green is what I am waiting for.  How about you?

The first photo above is of Tinker, our farrier's dog, who accompanies him on all of his farm trips, and brings mountains of sticks to your feet to be thrown.  The second photo, is our Bethy, who will be 14 years old this year.  Both were taken late day (sunset time frame), surrounded by spring green grass that needed to be mowed.

There's a reason it's called spring, you know.  It brings a spring to your step, encourages you to spring into new projects, and even clean the house.  Okay, let's not get THAT carried away!

To enjoy more of what this week's theme has to offer, remember this is a blog circle, and by clicking on the link at the bottom of each blog, you can see more interpretations of the theme, and meet more professional photographers (both nationally and internationally).  I hope your weekend is Springy!  Start here with Linda Perdue of VP Shoots Photography serving Tampa Bay, Florida.

I love working in my studio.  There I am in control of lighting and objects, the amount of bodies (furry or otherwise) in a scene, and have access to all the tools of the trade.  But there are many times when I suggest other-than-studio settings for photographing pets and people, and there are a number of people I meet who want the most realistic picture of what their pet looked like, or did, in everyday life.

This is when Lifestyle Photography plays an important role. This is when I pack up my goods and go on location, usually at a client's home or to a field where they may be hunting their dog, etc.

Below is a photo of a kitty who spends beautiful summer days on a lovely deck surrounded by flowers and cat grass.  He wears a harness and has learned that he cannot go anywhere, so is happy in his deck garden.  Everyday life.

Lord knows I have countless photos from my own crew lounging around or playing in the yard.  But I took this opportunity to look back through my stock of photos to get an idea of how often I am requested to come on location.

Hunting with a dog is one of the reasons I would be on location.

When people are involved in the photograph, I tend to give some posing instructions, or an objective for the photo.  But when it is just a pet, this is not always an option.  Some direction may be provided by the owner, but in most cases I am waiting and watching to observe behavior and find the best possible shot.

In the case below, the owner had control of the subject, and the objective was planned beforehand.

It seems I do more on location work and lifestyle photography in the better weather times of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which makes sense.  I do love exploring new locations that have a value and meaning to the client, and that help build exactly the type of memory they want.

Above, Sadie takes a break on her favorite dirt spot waiting for the horses to come out on the farm.  When you see a pet do the same thing every day, this could be the fond memory you might want to capture.

There is nothing too mundane or too routine about grabbing the photo of day-to-day life that will spark a memory or make you smile.  For most pets, home-sweet-home is the prime location where they will be the most relaxed and interact with their environment in the easiest way.

I have captured many memories of our own dogs, cats and even chickens, doing their every day things.

The theme this week is No Place Like Home.  To see more interpretations, start with Darlene Woodward of Pant the Town Photography, serving MA and NH.  Find the links at the bottom of each blog entry to travel around the circle.

Daylight saving time begins on March 10th, which isn't that far away, so I look forward to warmer weather and more on-location photo shoots! Have a great weekend!

Thank you to all those who give up a Saturday or Sunday, or maybe even both days, to drive a leg of any pet transport, getting dogs and cats to their new homes from rescues and shelters across the country.  Meeting up for a hand-off in parking lots at drop hubs, ingrained in your memories, from driving the same routes over and over again.  You are superheroes.  You are true road warriors.

When I can, and my schedule allows it, my runs include Scranton to Binghamton and Scranton to Port Jervis or further into Upstate New York.

Finally, let's pay homage to the warriors who walk their dogs every day without fail, driving to parks or lanes or sheltered roads to exercise their furry friends.  Hiking, walking through woods, exploring.

I created the photo below to honor everyone who puts in the miles on a regular basis, no matter the weather conditions.  Just like the U.S. Mail, nothing can stop you from delivering.

An interesting theme this week--Road Warrior.  Can't wait to see what the others in the blog circle have done.  Let's start with Pawparazzi Pet and Animal Photography presented by Shae Pepper Photography.  Then travel around the blog circle, by following the links at the bottom of each blog,  until you find yourself back here again! Enjoy! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

One of the very first images you will see on my website is a composite image.

I used this image previously in a blog about bold colors.  The photo of the pup was taken in costume at an October outdoor pet event, but the digital background was purchased (Lisa Blevins Fine Art Digital Backgrounds), and put the two together to achieve the image.

I do quite a bit of composite work, especially with Christmas and greeting card sessions during the holidays. 

I recently took an on-line webinar class with Judy Reinford, M. Artist, M. Photographer.  I love Judy's style and work and she is from my home state.  We were given a number of stock photos to incorporate into a composite.  Below is my composite from the class.

Yes that is a mantis in a cape painting the dog on the hillside.  Below is the image with all the components used.

I would by no means enter this in any competition, but you know what they say about practice...eventually, it makes perfect. It was fun trying to utilize all the components to tell a story.

A little over a year ago, a friend lost her beloved dog to illness.  She had a rough digital image taken with her phone and asked if I could possibly make it into a frameable piece of art.  I ended up doing a digital painting of the photo, using textures to improve some of the areas that were degraded and underexposed in the original picture.  The pup was laying on a patterned blanket, and I replaced it with a suitcase to streamline the image and draw more attention to him.  The resulting image is below, with the blanket removed and the top of the suitcase in view.

This is a cherished image in her household, and why compositing is a much needed skill in photographic work.

To see more composite work in the group this week, start the blog circle off with Jo Lyons Photography, the down-to-earth dog loving photographer for cherished dogs of Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and the Great Lakes Region of NSW. 

I'm off to some winter events this weekend.  Check my Facebook page for resulting photos later in the week.  Enjoy!

Red is such a vibrant color.  A pop of red in any photo can give it the oomph that it needs.

This week we are have been transported to FROZEN (the movie).  Gee, I hope the theme song does not get stuck in your head now.

Since everything around us is set in wind chills of -20, the dogs run out of the house, do what they need to do, and run back in as fast as they can.  It makes for very hard conditions to capture photographs.

Nevertheless, Billie and I did put on her red sweater and RAN outside for a quick snap of the lens late yesterday afternoon.  That's the photo you see above.  The shadows had already covered the snowy lawn, but there was a little bit of sun still left in the trees behind her.  Red is great in snow, even in shadowy snow.  Billie wears red very well, since she has gray fur with bluish tinges.

Below is a photo I did of Billie a number of years ago around Valentine's Day.  It is one of my favorites, and was done before she started getting her current hair cuts.

Billie is my sidekick.  She follows me everywhere, worries about me, and waits for me by the window when I leave, until she sees me pull into the driveway again.  Normally she is my driving sidekick, but it's been too cold to take her anywhere, or even on the walks she loves.  I keep telling her that better weather is on the way!

To see more RED things, you have the blog circle ahead.  Start with Jo Lyons of Jo Lyons Photography, the down-to-earth, dog loving photographer for cherished dogs of Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and the Great Lakes Region of NSW.  I think Jo may have better weather than many of us. Thaw yourselves out and enjoy your weekend!

I do believe that the eyes of animals are much more expressive than us humans.  While the eyes may be the windows to the soul, humans have learned to hide their feelings and manipulate their expressions to suit the circumstances.

Dogs, on the other hand, really hide nothing.

I had to throw this green grass photo in here, because right now we are covered in snow which is covered in ice, thanks to the rain we had today.  I am thinking about dragging my ice skates from the attic just to go to my car.

Yes, that's Lilah, above, as happy as a dog could be rolling in the grass.  I think once the grass comes back, I will try doing the same.

As a photographer, I am always focused on a pet's eyes.  They tell me a lot about how that pet is feeling at the moment.  I usually let pets get comfortable around me before taking any photos of them.  After years of watching, not just the eyes of my own dogs, but also the eyes of my clients' pets, I have a good handle on when it is safe to begin to photograph and get the best expression we can.

Before you read the next paragraph, what do you think Lilah's eyes are telling you here?
GIVING
YOU
TIME
TO
THINK

Answer:  She is a little nervous thinking way ahead of the game to the treat she will get once we are done with the photographs in the studio. She is actually looking toward where I keep the treats in a drawer in the studio.

I do think that Lilah, and our dog, Danny, have the most expressive eyes of all of our dogs.  Our dog, Moe, has the most expressive nose, and can imitate Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha on Bewitched) really well.

Of course the optimum photo is to have the subject look right into the camera with a very relaxed expression, just like Floyd did for the photo  below.

When lighting dogs, you have to be careful how the lighting will reflect off of their eyes, as the structure is different than ours, and it is easy to have too much light reflecting through them.

And what about CATS you ask?  Well, that's a whole other blog post.

To see more expressive pets, the blog circle today is all about EYES!  Forge ahead and have a LOOK!  Start here with Colleen of Simply Col Photography - for the love of photography and pound pups.  Have a great weekend!

This is me.

I don't go anywhere without that headband.

Well......okay, I do. But only on Sunday.

If you blew this photo up, you would find dog hair on my shirt. That's because we have seven dogs, all rescues.  We also have five cats, five horses and seven chickens.  Plus, I am usually working around a dog or cat or various other animals most of the time.  I have a small spot in my closet that contains "hair-free" clothing, which I put on in a plastic bubble when I have to go to a function where I know dog hair will be misunderstood. Since I spend most of my time crawling around in the dirt or on a studio floor, I also have a full hamper.

Needless to say, I love all animals.  As far back as I remember, I have loved all animals. I recently found a photo of me when I was a little girl visiting the zoo.  I was as happy as a clam, standing in front of a zebra in its enclosure.  I was probably trying to figure out how to release it.

This head band is very fitting, because May through October I raise monarch butterflies.  Last year I released 38 healthy monarchs into the world.  Since the monarch population has been steadily dwindling, it's the least I can do, especially since I could not release the zebra.

I think I was always meant to end up on the path of pet photography. That path was PRETTY winding leading here.  I did not study photography in school or in college, but I did take many photos during these periods in my life.  I worked for many years (23) in higher education.  That link to higher ed has given me a mindset that doesn't allow me to just JUMP into anything.  I tend to do quite a bit of research and devote time to studying what I need to know.  It's that mindset that led me to study many aspects of the art of photography, and over the course of the last seven years, I have taken many courses geared to portrait work.

My husband is an extraordinary builder. Besides building our barn and our Fort Knox of chicken coops, he built my studio over a year ago.

It's a lovely space to work in.  One of my goals this year is to develop a video about the studio and my work with clients.  I shoot both in my studio (for portrait work) and on location (for action, event, and lifestyle work).

I am a member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and I have passed the written exam portion of my Certified Professional Photography work.  My second goal this year is to complete my certification, by submitting my images for review. I am also a member of the Professional Photographers Association of Pennsylvania.  This year I will begin to compete in their print competition (Goal #3).

I L-O-V-E my clients!  They all love animals too.  I love making them happy and seeing their faces light up when they see their photos!

Below is a small slideshow sampling of my portrait work, taken in studio, on location, or at covered events.

If you would like more information about a photography session, you can hop out of this blog and head to the contact portion of my website, email me at elainetweedy@gmail.com, or follow me on my business page on Facebook.  I am also on Instagram.

I loved this week's theme, because now I get to join you in learning more about the photographers participating in the blog circle! Starting with Kim of BARKography photographing dogs in the greater Charlotte NC area and other cities around the US and Canada.

We have a snowy weekend ahead.  I am looking forward to taking some photos of dogs in snow. Enjoy yours, whatever it may hold!

Happy 2019!  It's another New Year. Before we know it, it will be summer.  I can't wait for that!

I have done a lot of preparatory work for another banner year of photography.  I took some classes between Christmas and New Years Day, ordered some new props and backdrops for the studio and built a platform for photographing larger dogs.

This year I have a number of goals on my agenda, which I will cover at some point during the blog cycles.  Suffice it to say, it's going to be a great year, if I can stick to my guns and get it all under my belt.

One of the reasons I love photography, is that if you study and practice your art form, you can tell a good story, and save an image that might not otherwise look saveable.  The post processing (edit) tricks used by individual photographers are often a matter of taste.

To illustrate, I've used a somewhat lack-luster image of our dog Lilah, intently watching birds and squirrels at our bird feeders after our one and only snow event so far this winter.

This unedited, raw image was taken with a quick grab of the camera (which for once was actually nearby) to capture the intensity of Lilah's gaze in her usual hang-over-the-couch position.  I didn't have time to fool with settings, and, luckily, they were close enough to what I needed so that the image was not in total darkness.  The problem with shooting a subject in front of a window is the light.  Window light will not do an adequate job of lighting the side of the dog that isn't in that light.  You can see here how Lilah's features are darkened on her right side.  Plus, there are too many "extras" in this photo's story.  It needs to be edited (cropped) down, to focus more on the subject.

The great thing about shooting in Raw is all of the valuable data that accompanies a photo is attached to that photo, and can be recovered.  Above is the final version of the image, which really does highlight the subject (Lilah) and her intense gaze on the world outside.  She loves snow, and birds, and squirrels.  All three together are like a "you've got to be kidding me!!!!" doggy smorgasbord.

I am so happy to have caught her in this very Lilah look, and in one of our everyday life happenings.

I enjoy taking my time with every client photo to seek out the real story, and make beautiful afters of all the befores!

For more BEFORE and AFTER, a blog circle of photographers is waiting for you to just click on the links at the bottom of each page and travel around to see their take on this week's theme.  We have some new additions this year and I am looking forward to reading their blogs and welcoming them to the circle.  To begin, start with Kim of  BARKography, photographing dogs in Charlotte NC and other cities across the US and Canada.

I hope AFTER your weekend is over, you will be able to say you accomplished everything you wanted to do BEFORE it began!

My home is not just the physical building in which we live, but it is also the area that surrounds me in my region.  So this week, because I spent some time in shopping lines, and finalizing deliveries for clients, I thought I would share some of the things I love about spending the holidays at home. This will be a bit of a departure from my usual pet-filled blog, but I promise there will be a dog at the end.

I love decorating the house.  This is me, leaving to deliver photographic ornaments to clients who ordered memories for their tree.  I don't take that many selfies for sure, but thought I would take advantage of the fact I was having a good hair day, and also show you a bit of the decorated door.

I was out most of Thursday finalizing my Christmas list shopping.  One of my most favorite places to shop is the Waverly General Store.  Stopping there on a rainy evening around 5:00 p.m. presents some problems in not only crossing the street from the parking area, but also in getting the angles I wanted on photographs. 

Don't these shop windows look warm and inviting?  I am thinking that in better weather, a dog in the doorway could be a great shot.  Here is that window, up close and personal.  There are so many lovely things to gift from this store.  I have a hard time deciding.

I really enjoy living in the region where I am located.  I have lived many places, but find that, despite the wettest year on record, and the snow I complain about when it comes and stays too long, I love Northeastern Pennsylvania.  I also love my clients, and their pets.  This year I was fortunate to meet many new furry friends.

And, when I get home, there is always this girl waiting and watching for me.

I think she loves Christmas just as much as I do.

My last session for the year is on Sunday, and after that I think I will settle in for a long winter's nap.  Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!  Merry Merry whatever you celebrate!

For more insight into the holidays, the blog circle awaits.  Start with Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography fetching portraits in Coppell and surrounding communities in Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas.