Following the two Rottie Specialties in Miami, I worked on getting the images ready for printing quickly because most of the dog publications are getting ready for their end-of-year editions. In doing the processing quickly, I was able to compare how I shot the Friday show vs how I shot the Saturday show and which angles were most flattering to the greater majority of the dogs.

Clearly, not all dogs look their best shot from one particular angle. Which has always been the driving force behind my style of shooting: hand-held on the floor so that I could move depending on which angle worked best for a particular dog. The Best Of Breed dog on Saturday is a very nice boy with excellent substance and a very nice headpiece but he is very straight both in the front and in the rear. So, while a 7/8ths-to-profile view shows off his excellent topline, it also accentuates how straight his front and rear angulation is. Here is an example.



And here's the shot I used to focus on his excellent front and shoulder structure and minimize attention to the rear.



Technically, there is nothing "wrong" with straighter angulation front and rear -- the Standard calls for moderate angulation. But most of the current big-winning dogs have greater angulation, especially in the rear. For example, this is Burton, the #2 ranked Rottie in America.



My point of this post is that as show photographers we are obligated (IMHO) to emphasize the positive points of the dogs we shoot and minimize the potential negative points. To do that, you have to know the breeds and the Breed Standards intimately. As a Rottie breeder, I certainly should know Rotties as well as anyone. But as an All Breed photographer, I have to know all the breeds and not only what is written in the Standard but what is current accepted style (which might be considerably different than the Standard). So, show photography is more than being a good photographer. You have to know how to present the dog in the most flattering way.

If you look at Julie Poole's images of Whippets, you'll understand what I mean. Julie breeds and shows Whippets. She knows the breed intimately and her images show that clearly. They are spectacular. Because she knows what she wants to convey with her own dogs and therefore what other Whippet owners should want to demonstrate in their dogs.

While that knowledge might not be completely relevant to pet portraiture, it sure helps in terms of how people ideally view their pets. If they own a Golden, then they have an image, probably from a dog publication, of how that Golden should look in the portrait. It's our job to try to create that image while, at the same time, de-emphasizing any faults that we may see. Oh, and by the way, we have to do it with a living being that moves and doesn't always (ever?) pay attention to our beepers and toys.

So, for those of you speculating about pet portraiture or show photography, I have an exercise for you: lay on your belly with a camera in your right hand and a toy in your left hand. Tell an owner/handler to set up the dog a specific way and then toss/roll/slide the toy with your left hand to the exact place you want the dog to look, while simultaneously shooting with only your right hand and not moving the camera. Do that for 3 consecutive shots without either you, the dog or the handler moving. You are now ready to tackle a Dog Show .

Cheers,

Jim