Are you using the small (4 ft) rolls? I find them too narrow for some of the rescue (and other) dogs that are less than well trained as well as some of the bigger breeds.

I'm not sure about colored Vinyl either, but I wonder how "paintable" it might be. Also, I've been thinking about Vinyl table cloth material in bulk, which comes in many colors, but isn't quite as thick as I would like.

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Vinyl will be heavier and a little more unwieldy, but definitely tougher and reusable. I don't have to take lightstands with me to use paper. I just tape it on the wall. I would think colored vinyl might have too much reflection, but, I don't think I have seen vinyl except for white!

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It is the 53" paper. You really need to have assistants to hold the dogs while you shoot them. I have found it to be plenty wide for a person/dog, up to 2 dogs. Just make sure they are in the middle of the paper.

These were all shelter dogs and while very sweet, very differing levels of cooperation. I would never do a shoot with rescues without making sure they know they will have to have assistants. Shoot vertically vs horizontally.

Its just such an easy clean background. I leave what I used with them, so they can use it more. My the end of the session is it pretty well trashed.

I would think painted vinyl would be scratched quickly by toenails. I could even imagine it flaking off.

I love these Julie, the pink background is so appropriate for shelter dogs I think. The pink cast dosn't bother me, but then as an artist (drawing/painting) putting reflected background colours into animal fur is quite normal.

I would love to do something like this, but I am not one for studio photography. Is there anyway to these type of shots without expensive studio lighting? All my photography is outdoors so I really can't justify the expense of a full studio set up (especially as we are moving to the country).

You can do photos outdoors, it is a little more challenging as you have weather to deal with and it is a little less safe. I do local celebrity photos with the animals outdoors. No reason you can't do them in a pretty area though.

I do about half my work in the studio and half environmental. Both have their pros and cons. I like both equally and what I can do artistically with them about equally. I think I lean a bit toward the outdoor side as I love natural light. Though, people all seem to go bannanas over these colored paper shots.

The ability to do stuff with studio lights will set you apart from the masses of people with a digital camera. Which, only matters if you want your income to come from photography