Both dogs and cats are great at head tilting, albeit they perform the tilt in different ways. The head tilt is coveted in the pet photography industry, because it is (1) ultra cute, (2) a way for a dog to close its mouth (most do in head tilt), (3) expressive, and (4) humorous (it makes me smile every time).
Dogs each have their own head tilting pattern, ranging from slight to extreme. Cats tend to twist their heads at an odd upside down angle, usually just before pouncing on something or running away (oh, a bug--head tilt--pounce).
I tend to like a middle of the road head tilt. I use a variety of sounds and noise makers to get the tilt, but each photographer has their own way of getting a dog to offer the tilt. Sometimes I will ask a client if there is a special word that might get the head to turn sideways. In our house SQUIRREL is that word. We can't even spell it. Sometimes TREAT does it as well.
Dogs each have their own head tilting pattern, ranging from slight to extreme. Cats tend to twist their heads at an odd upside down angle, usually just before pouncing on something or running away (oh, a bug--head tilt--pounce).
I tend to like a middle of the road head tilt. I use a variety of sounds and noise makers to get the tilt, but each photographer has their own way of getting a dog to offer the tilt. Sometimes I will ask a client if there is a special word that might get the head to turn sideways. In our house SQUIRREL is that word. We can't even spell it. Sometimes TREAT does it as well.
This very subdued head tilt on our Bethy was achieved by my asking her: "Have you seen any turkeys?" For Bethy, TURKEY is a key head tilt word.
This backward, over-the-shoulder head tilt was achieved with a squeaker toy for a client's pup. Many times I will ask clients to bring along their dog's favorite toy to a photo session for just this reason.
This is a very slight head tilt from a pup that was really just humoring me. I'll take it. A true nonconformist, this pup also went against the grain by leaving mouth open during slight head tilt. Nothing worked, by the way. Not squeakers, not noises, not my animal sounds on my cell phone, no key words, nothing.
I took this one of our dog, Moe, quite some time ago, but it is a favorite of mine due to his Moe-ey head tilt. The key word here was TREAT, and he would have laid in this playground apparatus all day if I let him.
I am sure you will see many more tilting heads in the blog circle today. So why not head (no pun intended) there now. Start with Linda Perdue of VP Shoots Photography serving Tampa, Florida and surrounding areas. Have a great weekend!
I am sure you will see many more tilting heads in the blog circle today. So why not head (no pun intended) there now. Start with Linda Perdue of VP Shoots Photography serving Tampa, Florida and surrounding areas. Have a great weekend!
RSS Feed