A Very Tough Puppy Shoot

Hi all. I haven't been around for a long time, but I have been lurking a bit. It's time for some critique. I was recently hired to photograph some 6-week old poodle puppies for a friend of mine. Great, I thought. I'd love to. The shoot was at her house, and I had my traveling makeshift backdrop kit. The shoot took place entirely in the room where the eight puppies lived (a converted living room) with the rest of the 6 dogs running around like a predominantly uncontrolled pack. There was no table, and I didn't bring one, so I sat on the floor, a poorly mopped, puppy mess of a floor. It was disgusting. I only shot from one vantage point, and that was that. I wasn't going to slither around the floor chasing the puppies. The woman who "assisted" me, a friend of the puppies owner, was a total moron, and I had to tell her repeatedly to get out of the shot. I did get a few rather acceptable images, one of which I am posting here.

The hardest thing was getting the puppies to look up. They kept looking down to the floor to step away from the basket they were in to get out of it. Just getting an eye shot was considered a win.

Your thoughts on this image. Frankly, I'm kind of happy with it, but I wish I had both eyes, and I wish the puppy was looking up. Any and all advice and critique is hugely welcome. TIA.

Wow, tough conditions.

I'd have insisted on a change in location or a clean up and that the other dogs be removed.

The puppy is cute and the composition is nice for the look. I don't care for the uneven background lighting or the shadow cast from the puppy onto the background.

Well, it's easy to say "always go prepared" but sometimes you just can't. We have a friend who recently had a Rottie litter and whenever we're together, she expects me to shoot the pups. And the conditions are almost always as you described. So, I take them outside and let them play while I lay on the grass and eventually they come and play with me as well and we get some really cute stuff. The best advice I can offer is always have someone who can "bait" the puppies and whom the puppies will react to. Use anything you can to get their attention -- toys, rude mouth noises, whatever. And find someplace that is acceptable for being in your images. Oh, and clean the puppies up. I've washed my fair share of puppies that weren't mine (and all the ones that were) and that makes a huge difference especially with white dogs.

Good luck.

Thanks, Jims. It was a ridiculous situation, and one I will not get myself into again. I wanted to take the pups outside, but the owner said they were not vaccinated yet, so she wouldn't. The woman "helping" me, didn't understand that she was supposed to stay out of the freakin' shot. I got tired of telling her that. They kept putting the other dogs upstairs, but gee wiz!!! They kept screaming, "Who let the dogs back down??" Well, duh.......

Essentially, I just gave up, got a few shots that were acceptable, even if not by your standards, which admittedly I'm not there anyway, and blew out of there. The images are on my website, and she'll pay for those portraits. Whatever. I sure hope my next shoot will be better, and I will insist on some things. If not possible, then screw it.... I'll just leave.

Every time I do a shoot like this, I learn something new. I've also learned that aside from the great shots that you all get, which I hope to achieve some day, people don't seem to really care that much. They want shots of their beloved pets, and don't have the eye or knowledge to critique them in any meaningful way. Having said that, I refuse to make it a habit to shoot substandard images. I do have some self respect after all. :-)

Again, thanks.

Interesting. I didn't have a problem with the uneven background as much as with the shadow. I shot with a flash, and bounced it with a better bounce card arrangement. What are your suggestions for eliminating that shadow, absent studio lighting and using flash only? Is it even possible? I tried to shoot without the flash, and bump up the ISO, but I couldn't get enough shutter speed, and the pups were moving too fast.

As you can tell, I'm in deep learning mode......

You can move your flash off camera (assuming it's not a pop-up) and trigger it remotely.

You can also move your subject further from the background to get rid of the shadow.

Diane,
it's more about your standards than those of the people you shoot for. But sometimes you just have to make do. As Jim Poor says, you can use flash off-camera, move your pups away from the background and a lot of other things but shooting puppies is best in either a totally controlled environment -- like your own studio -- or outdoors where you don't have to deal with lighting issues. How old are these pups? We do the first set of shots at 5 weeks of age and the second round just before they leave at 8 weeks. So, once the pups are weaned, they have been vaccinated and they go outside. Ironically, they probably have better immunity from their mom at 3 to 4 weeks but we don't take chances since Rotties have very weak immunity to Parvo.

Yup, pretty simple answers. Off camera flash and moving away from the bg is obvious. I guess I was in this little room with no place to go. The pups were 6 weeks old, and probably would get their shots very soon. Outdoors would have been ideal. Needless to say, I'd demand a more controlled environment in the future. I struggled.

Having said all that, I hope my friend likes the shots. I hope they serve her well in finding homes for these guys. Anyone want a poodle puppy?

Puppies are tough. I always carry a few things with me to help. 1) Treats. Usually Nature's Balance sausage cut up into small pieces. 2) Baskets in different sizes. Putting the puppies in something to contain them makes it much easier. 3) Something colorful. Pillows, rugs, throws. Just something I can drop in to add a punch of color. 4) Off camera flash and soft box. I use the Doug Box < http://dougbox.com/shop/index.php?p=product&id=14 > but there are plenty of others out there.

My puppies go out in my yard starting at about 3.5w old. Not for long, as they don't really like it until about 4.5w. Its the same germs in the yard, from the same dogs that are in the house. I don't take them places as they can get sick. I don't start vaccinations until 8w, as maternal antibody interference is too high. Puppies are for sure immune to parvo/distemper until their third set of shots at 16w. Before then its a crapshoot whether the other shots have given immunity.

As far as the conditions, well, I dunno. I am pretty pushy and would have told them what I needed them to do and expected them to do it.

Well, yeah, but you're a pushy broad . Puppies can handle outdoor environments from 4 weeks on regardless of vaccination protocol. These people only wanted to make it as difficult as possible. Not enlightened breeders. When someone asks you to photograph their dog -- puppy or adult -- make sure you can. If they make it impossible; walk out.

Jim

Yes, I am pushy, but, if you do it their (wrong) way and don't get good photos, you are a bad photographer. I'd rather they be irritated with me for a few minutes then happy with their photos later

First of all, you know I was kidding about you being "too" pushy. And I agree that you have to manage the shoot or, ultimately, you will be blamed if the images don't come out the way you want. Having said that, we all find ourselves in situations that are simply not manageable. So, you make do and move on. But if you look at every photo situation as ultimately reflecting your professional standards, then you do what's necessary to make sure you get good stuff. Sometimes that means planning better and sometimes it means controlling the shoot as it happens. Either way, it's your shoot and the results are your responsibility.

Jim

(well I am pushy lol) I am just excited you are going to be at the Orlando shows!! I am pushy enough to ask

For what it's worth, I think pushy is good. I'm very pushy in my day job, landscape architect for the National Park Service. That's because I am very secure in what I know. Knowledge enables a person to be strong. Conversely, photographing puppies is more tenuous for me, so I tend to get pushed. Getting pushy as a photographer will come in time, I am sure, as I develop my skills. Pushy is good.

Funny the subject of "assertiveness" comes up. I've been a bit pushy with the club I'm shooting for this weekend. It doesn't hurt that they've seen and appreciate the difference between what I deliver and what their usual / "old" photographers deliver.

Yes, you are. And I'm a good enough friend to always say "yes" to you. Besides, I'm really excited about meeting Chroma. Pls. tell Graham that I'll want to meet the puppy.

Jim

I will tell her. Don't be surprised if she is running from ring to ring. I am not sure if she has any help with her or not. Her mom is not traveling with her anymore.

If anyone wonders why I am begging Jim to go to Orlando and take photos of my puppy, he took my favorite moving photo of Dot EVER.

Regarding the posted image. For what its worth. I find the lighting flat, the pose with the one eye is a awkward and a little spooky to my eye, and the dog hasn't been groomed and prepared for the photo shoot. I understand that the conditions were difficult and the subject and owner were not cooperative, but the challenge is always to make a beautiful portrait in spite of the situation. I think this falls a little short.

That said, Diane...I have these sort of sessions, too. I've worked for over an hour with one subject and owner and gotten nothing that I want to put my name on. Cats (and Dogs) have their own agenda sometimes.

Now...did you get a good group shot of the litter? :-)

For puppy shoots, I have them bring them to my studio and if I go there, its in their yard. All the breeders I know put their dogs in their own yards by 4 weeks. They are all very small volume breeders(a litter a year MAX) And don't keep a kennel full of dogs. So, they don't have disease running through their homes.

If you want to see some of the puppy stuff I have done, you can look through my dogs website. http://aperturewhippets.com and scroll to the bottom and then go to the previous page of the blog too.

many many puppy shoots to look at. Some are good, some are ok. People listen to me, but, they are spending enough they don't want to waste their time and money

http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=84868100230

Oh, and I will turn breeders away that I do not agree with. I have my own personal convictions and have no problem with breeders who do things in a responsible way. I have serious issues with backyard breeders and the money is not worth it to me. I am nice about it, but, I just can't go there