Dogtography. Kaylee Greer
of photos, we decided to take a step back. We couldn’t possibly keep forcing these photos upon Daisy for the rest of the shoot. We couldn’t deliver a gallery to our kind and wonderful client, who loves Daisy so much, of shots that look like her dog is having a horrible and scary time. No way. That’s not what I was hired to do. I was hired to capture this amazing little creature in exactly the way that her owner sees her every day. It’s my job to capture Daisy’s true light—the purity of that sweet and innocent little dog who lives behind the pain of her history. The real Daisy. And it is my job to have her images reflect the exact same kind of joy that she so selflessly brings into her owner’s life every day.
So we took a step back. After this series of shots, we decided to take a break from photography for a bit. We pulled out Daisy’s favorite tennis ball, and my partner Sam, myself, and Daisy’s owner decided we’d play a lively and exciting game of fetch with her to help loosen up the mood. We found a big, lush grassy area and had the time of our lives chucking the ball back and forth. Daisy proudly fetched her prized toy and wiggled with delight. A total 180 from the version of her we’d known only 20 minutes prior. Once I felt like I had given Daisy the proper space she deserved, we then marched across the street to this charming little garden, and there I chose to take her photos in a more respectful and comfortable way. I took out my 50mm lens and backed up quite a bit. I gave her space to find confidence and space to breathe. The resulting photo gives a wildly different feeling than the first one.
This is the dog that Daisy’s mom sees every day when she wakes up to greet the sunny morning. This is the dog that brings endless joy and happiness into the life of the human she’s chosen. This is the dog that I was there to capture that day. She only needed me to respect her in the way she deserved to be respected, and captured in the way that she felt most comfortable to share her true self.
Daisy and her unrelenting joy that could light up the very earth and sky is the exact reason why I feel so privileged and grateful to be able to do what I do.
This photo may be the result of my lens, but that smile is 100% Daisy’s. And this smile is the very best reason I can give you as to why reading and interpreting dog body language at your shoots matters.
1.17a
FIGURE 1.17a Before.
1.17b
FIGURE 1.17b After.
RESPECT YOUR DOG AND WORK SAFELY
Okay, so besides the visual and aesthetic reasons that poor body language should be avoided, there lurks above our heads an even bigger and more important reason that we need to be on the lookout for what dogs are trying to say to us.
Safety.
Safety for us. Safety for the dogs. Safety for everyone. Let all involved walk away from this experience with rainbows and unicorns circling around our happy little heads and no weird, sad feelings or visits to the emergency room for a too-deep dog bite that can’t be stitched up because it could get infected because of super cool dog bacteria, so let’s have the nurse aggressively pop your wound open while pouring hydrogen peroxide directly into your bones. (Oh, what’s that? That sounds like a very detailed real-life, firsthand experience, you say? Ah. Good intuition, friend.)
Have you ever heard someone say “The dog bit for absolutely no reason”? Of course you have. But here’s the thing—there’s almost always a reason. A dog will almost always tell you if they are uncomfortable and will often give out ample, clear warning signs before resorting to biting. It’s up to you to be able to read and interpret those signs during your shoot for the safety of both yourself and your dog model. The signs that a dog is uncomfortable can range from the obvious, such as growling or cowering, to the more subtle, such as lip licking and yawning. Learn as much as you can about these warning signs and remove the dog from the situation as soon as they begin to exhibit them.
Case Study: Ralph
Okay, so that said, here’s another photo example I shouldn’t have and should be deeply embarrassed that it exists (hint: I am).
Please don’t judge this dog by this single photo you’re about to see. I have to tell you, this dog was awesome. Despite what you might believe based on this photo, we had an amazing shoot. It was wintery and snowy and fun and magical. A banner day to remember for many years. This dog was a joy to work with. But (don’t worry, there’s always a “but”). While this pup was absolutely lovely in so many ways, he had a very special affinity for sticks. You see, sticks were a very high value, very special prize to this guy. Think of a 3-year-old and their favorite teddy bear that they sleep with every night. This dog worked very hard among all that snow to unearth a brilliant, perfect, magical stick, and once he had it in his possession he was quite proud and very much looking forward to enjoying it all to himself.
This is a completely normal behavior and it is something that, as a professional who works with dogs and who prides herself on knowing safe boundaries when working with animals, I should have anticipated. That said, when I saw the joy of this dog with this amazing new prize he found, I thought it would make a brilliant photo. So I got in close. Too close. I used a 16mm lens and filled the frame up entirely with his face. I was probably about 5 inches away from his mouth. I was so excited in the heat of the moment, that I forgot to consider how aggressive this action might be to this dog who has a very special resource, and who may not want to share that resource with the clicky camera girl whose been all up in his business for two hours thus far. I should have considered all this before moving right into this moment. I let the selfish need to capture a photo override my better sense. When I got in close, this was the dog’s reaction.
Pictured here in crystal clarity, is the very 1/200th of a second that I realized that I was inches away from potentially getting my face bitten right off of my body. Enjoy.
Whoa. That was a reality check. Just like humans, dogs have thresholds and boundaries and I was really bold in crossing the line of this dog’s comfort zone.
Thank goodness I realized my mistake in the nick of time and removed myself from this pup’s immediate bubble. (For the record, this dog never attempted to bite me, despite how rude I was being. He only gave me those warning signs to send the message that he wasn’t comfortable with my face in his face. Which is so, totally fair.) But looking back on this photo always reminds me that my job most definitely has its hazards, and that sometimes, when rolling around in puddles and covering my lens in peanut butter, I have to remember that I am not completely invincible.
1.18
FIGURE 1.18 Photo proof of the moment that I majorly overstepped my boundaries while Ralph was trying to enjoy his very exciting and very high-value stick.
KNOW WHEN TO TAKE A BREAK
Dogs are wonderful, but let’s face it: most have the attention spans of tiny gnats. Dogs want to explore. Sniff things. Pee on things. Eat cool stuff. Maybe throw it up and eat it again. Play and catch frisbees. Dogs typically don’t want to sit in the same spot for 45 minutes while you choose the right white balance setting and internally debate yourself regarding composition.
You’re only going to have so much time with your dog model before they are “over it,” and once your dog is “over it,” it is extremely difficult (and sometimes impossible) to get them back “into it.”
This piece of advice is for every photographer, whether you’re photographing a dog