What is the general feelings of others about using props; anything from just general props like kilts to hats or costumes. I have generally not used props but am thinking I should start. Some clients really seem to like to dress up their pets.

With my whopping one booking's worth of experience . . .

I was going to go prop free, but the folks that booked me up an volunteered to bring props. After that, I decided to get a few more on my own.

I gave everyone that came in the choice of props or no and which props to use. Only two out of 18 sessions went with just the plain backdrop only. A few wanted some pics with props first and then some without.

I can't speak to whether or not this is a trend though. For now, I'll have some props available and continue to give a choice. However, for an upcoming event I plan on having a whole set ready for a fall theme.

Props are pretty popular for pet portraits. OK, now say that quickly 5 times .

I've found that people really like the use of props and we often bring them to a shoot or use stuff in the house to "ground" the pet in the stuff people own/decorate with even if we use a backdrop.

I have stuff for all the major holidays and other cool stuff like antique boxes, baskets, chairs, stools, milk cans, scarves/throws, an antique beer keg, etc.

Can't wait to build my smaller version of the Budweiser Wagon for Sundance and use that to pose dogs like Dalmatians. That will be much fun.

Giving the animals something to interact with tends to make them a little more comfortable, too, and it takes their interest away from the camera/lights which can be good. Or, bad . You kinda have to see what works but in general, I love to use props and most of my non-show clients love them too.

Jim

You should probably avoid using a fire hydrant....... could be hazardous!

As long as we are talking about props, how do you address "cultural sensitivities" for lack of a better term at the moment?

For example, Hay bales, scarecrows and pumpkins are fine, but as soon as a pumpkin becomes a Jack O'Lantern, someone might be offended.

I'm thinking about having both versions on hand in my booth at an event in October so I can just switch back and forth if needed.

Jim,
there are iconic props for most of the holidays that avoid any cultural issues. Autumn calls for bales of hay, corn stalks and pumpkins. No need to carve.

Xmas time calls for Santa, Reindeer, sleds, etc. but I stay away from the religious references.

4th of July calls for Red White & Blue and starbursts. I also have a huge flag I hang as a backdrop. Nobody complains about that.

In general, if you're doing a holiday-themed shoot, you can keep things generic and not risk offending anyone.

Jim

I do use and love props. When they work. Sometimes it is just the shopping for them that has been fun because when put into use they just do not work. The first image makes me smile but can be a little over done. The client liked it.



The bunny is one I bought a long time ago and have a small purpose for it. Some props like this are tough to drag around and store. But when they work it is fun. This one works better with a kid.




This one has a story. I have two friends that we decided to do a Christmas card using our dogs. So we went to Burger King and got some paper crowns, painted them and put jewels on them. When we put them on our dogs they all acted as if they had a bowling ball on their heads. So we tried the wings for angels and they looked like fairies. We had such a good time playing with the dogs and they even seemed to enjoy most of it. The image did not work but we had a good time!
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i12/artistic1_photos/angels.jpg


Good luck with your choices. At least you will have fun with them.

Thanks for all the input, I am beginnning to lean more toward using props as it is a frequent request. I have been a bit against using costumes and head-pieces like antlers but I am beginning to feel like the customer is the boss-maybe best to give them what they want, within reason.

Yesterday, I ordered a dog graduation cap and a dog bowtie. The graduation cap is for an dog obedience school graduation I am photographing is a couple weeks. I also picked up a Harley Davidson bandana and H-D dog hat; we have so many folks in Florida that have pets and love Harley's

Cool ideas! Where do you all get your props? It seems that, much like any other venture, as soon as you label something a "photography prop" the price triples.

I'm finding dollar stores, flea markets and such to be good places to look.

Jim

I look on ebay and in thrift stores; ebay is great because you can search for items, thrift stores are good because the prices are good; other than that, I ask others where they get their products, such as the barrel store for baskets, the pet stores for super big chew bones (small dogs look cool next to a really big bone), farm store for bales of hay, etc.