This week's theme is "Doors," and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to participate due to my schedule, but as schedules often do, it changed, and I was glad to be able to do two things:

1.  Try out a door backdrop I had purchased from a fellow photographer a while back, but never got around to using.
2.  Try out a new light I purchased recently, but have not had time to set up.

The results are below, thanks to my model, Billie.  I thought she would do well to tax me in using the new light, because if I can light her, I can light anything; AND her coat has some blues in it, which I thought would lend itself to this particular backdrop.

The image above is a close up of Billie and the doors, but I wanted the entire door to show, so the second image showcases the door.

This is a particularly lovely backdrop, well made and I think actually looks like a real set of doors.

Billie moved slightly in this photo.  She is a very fidgety Miss.

I added the cobblestone underneath her feet from a stock photo I had taken of a street in Scranton.  I often take "extra" photos of skies and streets to add to photos here and there, when I think they might enhance the story.

The photo above is also moodier and darker than the second photo.  I only used the single (new) light in the photo above, but used the new light and a fill light in the second photo.

I think this door backdrop might make a great Christmas backdrop with the right props. 

I may just have to try it out this holiday season.  Maybe Santa standing near the door with a sack of toys?

What do you think?

The final photo below is my personal favorite because it shows Billie in her truest light.

This is a classic Billie look.  By this time I was really getting the hang of the new light, and Billie was sitting perfectly still.  All good things!

I am looking forward to seeing what comes up in the circle today. 

To see more "Doors," start with Jessica Wasik with Bark & Gold Photography, celebrating the joy and love between Pittsburgh pets and their people.  Enjoy and have a great weekend!

The song "It's raining it's pouring, the old man is snoring..." keeps playing over and over in my brain.  The reality keeps playing over and over in my yard.  I cut 1/4 of my yard grass on Wednesday.  That's because we had 15 minutes of sun to dry it out enough to be cut.  The other 3/4 of the yard was too wet, and the alligators wouldn't let me pass.

Yes, I have the blue sky blues, as in....there are few blue skies and I need to find more of them.

Because this week is full of storms, I went through and found some of my favorite blue sky images from the past, which also proves Northeastern Pennsylvania has the capability of producing lovely blues when it wants to.

A particularly great blue sky day in mid-September at DeCoverly Kennels.

A mesmerizing sky with Corey in the middle of summer.

A patch of blue at an area horse show.

Two setters ready to hit the road on a stellar blue sky day.

See, it does happen.  If only it would happen soon.  In the meantime, I hope you, at least, will have a blue sky weekend!

More blue skies coming your way in the blog circle.  Start with Pawparazzi Pet and Animal Photography presented by Shae Pepper. Happy Friday!

Oh man oh man....lately the selected themes have gotten me nostalgic for times gone by.  Last week's Mellow Yellow had me thinking of Donovan.  This week's theme, Fairytale, has me remembering the Rocky and Bullwinkle Cartoon Show.  Fractured Fairytales was one of the segments of the show.  Unlike regular fairytales, the fractured version always featured a twisted path, and my kind of humor. 

If you have never seen one, here's a link to one of my favorites.

With that in mind I set out to composite some fractured fairytales of my own.

Billie, who loves to chase squirrels, would probably love to live in a fairytale land where she could make all kinds of friends of creatures great and small.  So this week, I started with an older image of Billie, and added all the friends I thought she might like.  Once upon a time, there was a scruffy dog, who liked to romp with many different critters.

Baby bunny aside, her favorite would absolutely be that bushy-tailed squirrel.  You can't even S-P-E-L-L the word in my house.

Next up is a dog who loves the fairytale where the cat is sent packing, so she has the house and humans all to herself.  I call this one:  "I swear I didn't do it."

I love creating fairytale worlds.  Use your imagination and finish the story here.  Do they live happily ever after?  Hmmmmm.  I think not.

I can't wait to see everyone's take on the theme this week.  Start here 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.  Enjoy your weekend!  Looks like we are going to have our first dry weather weekend since March.  I hope that's not a fairytale!

Who remembers Donovan?  Raise your hand.

Mellow Yellow was one of my favorite sing-a-long songs.  Click here if you'd like to hear it.  I still don't know what all the lyrics mean.

This week the theme is "yellow."  I recently did a session for two rescue kitties, so I thought I would edit one of the photos with a yellow background.  Yellow often shows off a black cat, and that's exactly who visited me in the studio.  The result is below.  Patrick is available through Baby Jack's Rescue.

Patrick is 8 - 10 months old and up to date on his shots.  He is neutered.  Patrick is a lovely Tuxedo kitty (one of two that visited me that day), and has a great personality.  His brother, Dave, is also up for adoption through Baby Jack's.  They are both in foster care at the moment.  Although they were both a little nervous at first, they were happy sitting on my bench and were not at all bothered by my lighting.

I don't often use yellow as a background, but there are times when it fits in well.  Yellow, as a backdrop, can really reflect its own color on the subject, so you have to be careful in post processing to remove that reflection.

I especially like yellow flowers in the springtime as an outdoor backdrop, but it's been raining so much here lately, that we have not been able to shoot outside.  The ground is pure mush, and I don't see it drying out anytime soon.

Of course, I also like "mellow yellow" when it is the coat color of my subject.

There is nothing like the golden yellow color of a Retriever.  How about that smile?  Now that's MELLOW!

For more sunny yellow photos, visit the blog circle.  Start with Susannah Maynard of Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati, the San Francisco Bay Area, and destinations nationwide.  Have a great weekend, and let's hope that big yellow ball makes an appearance in Pennsylvania!

Today's blog is all about a sense of scale.

Different perspectives and different lenses on cameras, can give no real clue to how large or small a pet might be.  My own style is to focus on chest up photos.  Unless you are familiar with various breeds, you will not get an idea of the size of an animal from a head shot.

What to do?  Simple.  Add a person.

Adding a person to the photo is often a way to gain perspective on the real scale of things.  Inside the studio, I will often seat both owner and dog on the same surface. And, yes, this pup IS really that big!

In an outdoor environment, pulling back from the photo and taking in a larger area, again with a person, gives a "normal vision" perspective on the size of things.  I used a 70-200mm lens for the shot below, which actually was much larger.  I cropped it down as to not overwhelm the subjects.  You are able to easily see the size of the dog, relative to his surroundings.

Even when using a lens which may cause some distortion, like a 24-70mm at a wide angle, adding recognizable items for our human eye to land on, can help with the scale of things in terms of our pets.   This image was taken a number of months ago, but it is one I had not edited. 

It seemed perfect for this blog theme, because our Billie is not only set against the feet of my husband, but she is measurable against the green railing and buildings of Dalton, a familiar sight to anyone from my area.  Can you guess how many pounds Billie weighs from this photo?

I am looking forward to the blog circle today to see what other tricks fellow photographers might use to gain a sense of scale.  Join me by starting with Tracy Allard of of Penny Whistle Photography fetching portraits in Coppell and surrounding communities in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. Look for the links at the bottom of each blog post to move to the next blog, until you find yourself right here, back where you started.  Enjoy! Happy Memorial Day weekend!  I hope you celebrate the unofficial start of summer on a GRAND scale!

This week's blog theme leaves it to us, the photographers, to decide exactly what we'd like to feature.  I have decided to talk a little about the phenomenon called: what-I-like-isn't-necessarily-what-you-like.

I often am asked by clients, "how do you decide on which photos to keep?"

I go through a selection process that involves getting rid of photos that do not showcase the subject well.  Perhaps they moved when they should have been still, or they look worried, or they are crouched instead of sitting pretty, or their eyes are closed, or one of my lights did not fire on cue, or a multitude of other reasons that are so evident you know the photo will not work out.

The remaining photos, I categorize into the following 3 categories:  (1) BEST, (2) ACCEPTABLE, (3) I MIGHT NEED A PIECE OF THIS SHOT LATER.

While the photo on the left, above, is a completely acceptable photo, for an older pup with older bones and issues with sitting, the photo on the right is really the best representation. (When viewing this blog on your phone, these photos may appear one on top of the other.  The left photo is a full body shot, the right photo is chest up.)

For the owner, however, who sees their dog every day, the full body shot may be the best world.  My job is to make the owner happy with the final product, while still feeling comfortable knowing I have given them the best quality photograph.  We work together to make it happen.

It's important to have honest conversations with clients from the start.  If I don't like the photo results at all, I am going to offer a reshoot.  Sometimes there are things we don't see in camera that are so evident on the edit screen.  I guarantee satisfaction with my work, and that is my goal for every single person and pet that walks into my world of photography.  I am my own worst critic, so while a client probably would be satisfied with something, I don't just want satisfaction.  I want them to be ecstatic, overjoyed, moved, and connected to their photos.

In answer to the question: "do Golden Retriever puppies move around a lot?" the answer is:  holy whirlwind Batman, do they ever!!  That's where saving a face in focus from one shot, a bench from another, and paws from a third come in very handy.  (And another case is made for why photographers need to be well-versed in some type of good editing program.) Taken at the same focal length with a tripod, these pieces of the puzzle make for a complete, and very acceptable photo.

I am in the group of photographers who does some editing before presenting your gallery, then once you have made your choice, I finalize the image for print or artwork, whatever you have chosen.  For in person viewing, I may even edit a few photos completely and print them for display, so you are not just seeing photos on the screen, but what they look like in person.

Ultimately, the choice is yours.  While I did the initial triage, I did it after talking with a client extensively and learning what they are looking for in their final photos.  My choice is to always listen, and do my best to meet the clients' wishes for their final selection.

To see what others in the blog circle have chosen for this week's theme, start with Kim Hollis of BARKography based in Charlotte NC and traveling the US and Canada.  Look for the links at the bottom of each blog to move forward and read the next.  I hope you choose to have a good weekend!

It's somewhat true that when you specialize in pet photography, people think that means you exclude them in the equation.  The real story is, there is nothing I love more than to capture people with their pets. 

Even though people are way more critical of themselves in photographs than pets are (hey, Lady, you made my tongue too red is not something any dog has ever said to me), my job as a photographer is to MAKE YOU LOOK GOOD!

I did this photo in studio recently.  It is a testament to strength and softness at the same time, and may turn out to be one of my very favorite portraits ever.

Many times when clients ask for the focus to remain solely on their pets, but their pets might be a bit suspicious of my equipment, I might use a different perspective in a portrait to make it all happen.  In the examples below, both kitties were a bit afraid of the lights at first, and I wanted a relaxed expression, so their owners held them to make them more comfortable.

This is Cami, the same kitty you see in the first photo, but early in the process.  Below is Smoke, who was even more fearful than Cami, but very happy in Mom's arms.

Now that winter is finally over, I am excited about getting back outside and capturing some pets and their people enjoying sunshine and spring/summer activities.  I take my hat off to pet owners who want a lasting memory of their pets that can be hung on their walls! 

To see more pets and their people, the blog circle is sure to have many wonderful photos to share.  Start with Angela Schneider of Noses & Toes Pet Photography, putting your pet in focus for your family portraits.

Have a fun weekend with your pets!

I took a little hiatus from the blog over the Easter holiday.  Despite the never ending every-other-day rain saga, I am happy to see the very green grass, even though it needs to be cut, and I'm happy to report most spring flowers are in bloom.

Our little Luke has wasted no time in resuming warm weather play activities, which made it easy for me to fulfill this week's blog theme.

He found this really disgusting chuck it ball under a pile of leaves.  This photo does not do the "disgustingness" justice. But, dogs do not care what condition their toys are in.  They just love to play.  I traded him the ball for a new wubba toy and life was complete.  You can tell because he went through all of the poses of a very happy dog.

First the classic butt in the air pose, or as some yoga enthusiasts might say "downward dog."

Then came the ever popular, upside down flailing leg pose.  I think dogs strike this pose when they are at their happiest.

You just gotta love a little dog with a big play heart!

Don't forget to check out the blog circle this week to see how other pet photographers interpreted the theme!  Start with Susannah Maynard of Pet Love Photography serving Greater Cincinnati, the San Francisco Bay Area, and destinations nationwide.  Look for the link at the bottom of each post to get to the next blog.  Have a very playful weekend!

It is often the case that when photographing a dog out and about in the big wide open, a leash and collar are going to be a part of the photo.  In the studio, no leashes are necessary, except for the occasional slip lead to perhaps hold a dog in place here and there.  Collars are optional.  I usually leave that up to the owner.  Most owners like to leave their dog's collar on, because for them, it is a truer picture of their pet.  I will usually take a few photos with a collar and a few photos without, unless there is a reason to not remove the collar (skittish dog, etc.).

With my own dog, Moe, as an example, and using a photo from a while back (but one I never before edited), here is the before and after.

I left Moe's collar and tags in place because that's Moe, and I feel pretty strongly about dogs wearing collars and tags when out in the big, wide world.  You can see I also removed the unsightly branch sticking out of the foot bridge railing behind Moe.

Shelter and rescue photos are also often candidates for leash removal.  Sometimes you only have a few minutes to catch a good photo of a shelter pet.  You are also not guaranteed of the setting.  In the photo below, I had to remove much more than the leash, and do some work on the background.  I also changed the look of the photo by cropping it in closer.  This pup has since been adopted.

Leash removal is a pretty basic task.  Some photographers like to use the healing brush tool, but I use the clone tool most of the time.  I do also use the healing brush tool here and there, but I am used to the clone tool and tend to shift to it more.  Some photographers do not remove leashes.  I think they are distracting and detract from the photo, so I remove leashes from all photos I take, unless it is a commercial shoot and the person I am photographing for wants the leash left in. 

Let's see what others have to say about leashes this week.  Check out the blog circle starting with Terri J Photography, serving pets and the people that love them, in the Toronto area and Southeast Florida.  And don't forget to have a fantastic, unleashed weekend!

We live 23 miles northwest of the city of Scranton, our largest metropolitan area. and the seventh most populous city in Pennsylvania, with close to 78,000 people.  That being said, we moved away from population overload and out to rural American in 1995 and have never looked back.  Now, our small town suburban areas are where we shop and take our dogs for walks and attend events.

It's because of this that I usually seek out small town ambiance for most of my sessions that are not done in studio or on location at a park.  I feel safer with dogs in a less populated environment, where less traffic (both pedestrian and street) make getting the right shot difficult sometimes.

Above is a photo of Billie taken in the historic district of downtown Wyalusing.  I did want to showcase some of the great color schemes of the street, and I was happy with her reflection in the door.  I held my breath hoping her stay was good enough for the duration of the photo, so the fact that she is not looking at the camera is due to the hurried nature of the shot. Still, I am happy with it.

In my past life I worked in the city of Scranton, at The University of Scranton, which is a beautiful urban campus.  I sometimes will take one of our dogs on a walk there in the better weather, and once students have left at the end of the semester.  Such was the case when I took this photo last year.

Animals of Billie's size are often dwarfed by their surroundings in urban settings, so you do have to get closer if your focus is simply the animal.  In this case, I did want a full photo of this beautiful, and relatively new, science center.  However, below I brought this down to perspective for Billie, which brought us a little bit closer.

I used a 24-70mm lens, which accounts for the angle and the distortion you see.  But in this case, I thought it all helped to give a different perspective on the subjects (the building and Billie).

I like the Wyalusing photo much better, showcasing that suburban setting, but it really all depends on what you want and what your eye sees at the time.  Urban can be fun, but I am generally not looking for an urban location, unless a client lives in the city and wants to specifically highlight where they live. 

For more urban settings, the blog circle awaits. Start here with St. Cloud MN dog photographer, Cahlean Klenke of  About A Dog Photography.  Look for the links at the bottom of each blog, which will take you to the next one.

I am off to the Professional Photographers of Pennsylvania INSPIRE Conference this weekend, and I am looking forward to continue to enhance my photographic education!  It's always a fun time with my fellow PA photographer friends! I hope your weekend is full of urban conquests!  Enjoy!