This is a wire haired dachshund that I had the opportunity to photograph last week. He is about 6 months old and very anxious. Very cute though.

James

Yes he is charming. The real expert in this breed will be Dee Dee. His expression does not seem to change a great deal. If I get an anxious pup, I may try using a longer lens and let the owner stay very close or even cover then in the backdrop or matching material and let them sit in the lap. The Borzoi I just posted was an example of that.

Were the owners happy? That is what really matters right? Whoops, were you happy with them, I guess that should matter too

I think he is adorable! 5 is my least favorite though.

I usually use a longer lens when I am shooting pets.. the 35-100(70-200 35mm) because I can stay further back.

My new favorite squeakers are real fur "mice" who have an AWESOME squeak to them. My dogs go nuts. I also bring really good bil jac treats.

Doing some of the crazy stuff I have done, I have learned to deal with whatever crazies I have

"If I get an anxious pup, I may try using a longer lens and let the owner stay very close or even cover then in the backdrop or matching material and let them sit in the lap. The Borzoi I just posted was an example of that.

Were the owners happy? That is what really matters right? Whoops, were you happy with them, I guess that should matter too "

Hey Guys,

Yes, the owners were quite happy with the shots. Thank you for the thoughts - this was my first time shooting one, and while I was generally very pleased with the shots, there were things I would like have tried a bit differently. The biggest problem was that we were working in remarkably tight space. Specifically, the living room that I was working in was literally only inches longer than the couch that was sitting in it...but that is one of the hazards of working in Manhattan, where space is a premium. The anxiety the dog was feeling was the 2nd item - though that I could work with if we had a bit more space.

There are two things that I would like to have done different - the first is put more of an emphasis on side light, which I could not do because I could not put my lights anywhere. As the space was limited, I used a more traditional arrangement as the space allowed, but it might be fun to do more fun stuff with light during the sessions.

The second was to move further away. The owner was often there in the shots to help calm the dog down, but it was tight no matter how I looked at it. I would have loved for him to be a bit more peppy.

I actually have a shot of him looking down the staircase, which is apparantly what he does when they try to get him out to walk - LOL, he just stares at the staircase trying to make the decision if he should eat the peach or not. I will post it later when I get the color balance correct (It was a grab shot idea, and I did not bring out the gray card).

"I think he is adorable! 5 is my least favorite though."

Hey Julie, curiously, what don't you like about 5? 5 and the last one are my favorite shots. I like the framing, and the intense look on his face.

James

I don't like the lack of symmetry in the shot or the shadow and I don't like his head and neck is positioned. Makes it look too short for a dachshund. The 1st and 2nd are probably my favorites.

Which ones were the owners favorites? Owners never seem to pick the same ones I do. Which is why I am so bad about not culling more. Many times, they choose shots I am not at all fond of.

"I don't like the lack of symmetry in the shot or the shadow and I don't like his head and neck is positioned. Makes it look too short for a dachshund. The 1st and 2nd are probably my favorites."

Ahh - the shadow is a legitimate gripe. I had thought about cloning it out when I was doing the processing, but I hate the look of shorn fur. Seriously, I have not gotten good at cloning out shadow areas where fur is connected because of hte different lengths involved.

As to the positioning of the neck, that is different. I like the angle. I almost posted the original 2:3 format, which is exaggerated even more. Is it pure positioning of the dog that is a problem for you, or is it also the framing?

The owner was just ecstatic with the images, and I never asked her which ones she liked best. It is not a bad idea though.

"Which ones were the owners favorites? Owners never seem to pick the same ones I do. Which is why I am so bad about not culling more. Many times, they choose shots I am not at all fond of. "

LOL, I have found the same thing with wedding photographs. They NEVER pick out the shots that I think are most artsy. They typically choose the conservative ones for their albums - understandable, but disappointing as that is often why they initially hire me.

James

I think I would like that one better in a vertical format. I am funny like that. I just like the others better.

Shooting in tight spaces is tough. I have not had to shoot anywhere terribly small. My house is pretty tough, but, I can make decent sized spaces if I need to

OH he is adorable. Great job on these James even more so once I read about all the challenges you faced with the space and a worried pup. My favorite is the last one, the one above that also is nice it shows more expression for him. One and two are really cute too I love how his blond beard shows out well in number 1 and how his front paws are easty westy. Number 3 would be my least favorite, not because of the shot which is well done but the pose I've seen on my own dogs when they are sick but that just comes from personal experience others may interpret it as sleepy or sweet...

Do you present these to the client cropped like this? I would love to show photos with a pleasing crop like these are, but since they will be buying them as prints I always leave the format equal to what the camera takes and make sure there is extra room on the long ends so if an 8 x 10, etc is chosen I just crop the long end. So for instance on your #3 or #4, if they wanted a 4 x 6 how would you handle the significantly longer format for printing?

Wouldn't it be nice if all the basic sizes of prints had the same ratio on dimensions!!