My pet will not cooperate for portraits...
This is something that we hear often when we are talking to prospective clients like you. This belief often leads to families not booking a session and missing out on special memories even though there are ways to work around your pets behavior. In this issue of our blog we are going to go over some of the reasons we hear as reasons why potential clients animals can't be photographed and we show you that they in fact can and create memorial portraits for you their parents.
MY PET WILL NOT SIT STILL..
This is a very common thing that we hear often. When you have a pet that is more active than some others, that you want to have photographed. We have several suggestions for you that will allow you to have the experience and images that you are looking for.
First, we recommend that you take for furry family member for a long walk before your session allowing them to work off some of their extra energy. The best time to take them for a walk is about 30-60 minutes before your session, so leave enough time in your planning to take the walk, get yourself ready, and to arrive at your session on time, if it is not taking place at your home.
Secondly, if you do not think just a simple walk will help your much loved pet, we can book a session that is not as posed. What does this mean for you? It means that we will schedule your appointment in a setting more conductive to an active animal. What is an active pet conductive photography session you ask? It is one where they are free to run and not have to sit still the entire session. In layman's terms this means that your session will most likely not be done in a studio setting, but more likely in a park or another outdoor place.
Thirdly, when we are working with very active animals we like to involve the pet parents in the portraits even more than we typically do. But you argue that you do not look good in pictures, the session is about my pet not me, etc. Let us say you, you can be in the portraits but not be in the portrait. What do we mean by that, some examples are holding your pet and have them looking over you shoulder, in a bag or pocket, standing with you and only showing your legs, etc. By having you in the portraits fully or partially it allows you to control your pet better and also to make your pet feel calmer.
MY PET NEEDS TO BE ON A LEASH OR THEY WILL RUN AWAY..
This is a very common thing that we hear when we talk to people about photographing their pets. But let us let you in on a secret. Over 90% of all of our clients are photographed with their leashes on. Basically the only pets that are not photographed with a leash are puppies/kittens or show animals that are photographed in studio, every other pet is photographed with the use of a leash. Don't believe us after looking at all the final images that we have shown, but trust us all of these beloved pets have been photographed with a leash on. The leashes are taken out in post processing of the images that you choose to purchase and hang on your walls, creating portraits that you would never know a leash was used in.
MY PET IS SHY..
Shy pets are still able to be photographed. We can work around the shyness of your pet in several ways. First they are super shy, or a typical cat, we will come to your home and photograph them in their natural environment. This allows your pet to feel the most comfortable and not be as shy. If they are comfortable that will show in the portraits of them and allow their personality to show.
Secondly, shy pets are also great subjects to be photographed in studio in more creative ways. It takes are shy personality to more easily allow us to photograph them on a tricycle, on a fire truck or even in a group shop with several other pets. Being shy or less active an be a blessing to having portraits taken not a detriment.
MY PET IS DEAF/BLIND...
This is a common thing we hear when talking to people about photographing their senior pets. The fact that your loved one is deaf or blind does not mean that you can not have professional portraits taken of them. These are things that we can work around.
First, if they are blind we will still use our typical ways of getting their attention since they are typically different sounds. For a blind pet we ask you more questions on how to get their attention.
Secondly, for a deaf animal we don't use sound based methods to get their attention, we typically use more touch based. In the past we have used cat toys and touched the pet, allowed you to touch them, etc.bBefore we use any methods we definitely discuss with you what the best ways to get your pets attention.
Thirdly, we can photograph these pets in your home also allowing them to be comfortable in their surroundings. Since we would be photographing them in their environment they will be more likely to cooperate and allow you to have the images that you will cherish for a lifetime.
Lastly, just like super active pets we typically encourage you the parent to be included in the portraits with your deaf/blind animals. This makes the process less stressful for them and also produces loving images of you and them to hang on you walls.
MY PET IS NOT WELL BEHAVED OR DOES NOT HAVE ANY TRAINING...
Did you know that most pets do not hav any or much formal training. This means that it is extremely likely that they are like most pets that we photograph. The pets that has training, unless we are photographing a show dog, only have basic obedience training. This includes sit and stay and would you know that those commands are most go the time consistent. Especially in a strange environment and with strange people.
With all of our sessions we take time to allow your pet to get acclimated to the location, time is not something that is strictly followed in our session, we only book at a maximum three sessions a day, and we take the time needed with you are your pet. We allow you and your pets breaks when they need them, take the time for you to be in the portraits, etc. We let you and your pet determine the pace of your session so you are always in control, we are just there to direct you and facilitate creating the images that fit your vision and home that we have discussed before your session.
I hope this helps you feel better about your pet and their ability to be professionally photographed and create portraits that you will want to hang on your walls for many years to come.
If you have any questions or want to talk more about booking a sessions with your fur babies please email us at michelle@urbanograhystudio.com or call us at 440-694-5753.
