One new foster and one rehabilitated foster...

[rpcrowe]

Rascal is a two year old Maltese who was surrendered to us because his family could no longer care for him. He is a handsome boy and a very cooperative photo subject...





Anya, a young Shihtsu is now healthy. She had a bladder stone and internal bleeding. Surgery and a transfusion from our Goldendoodle, Holly saved her life.

[NorthernFocus]

Their stories aside, these are some excellent portraits. Have you ever thought of doing dog portraits to raise funds for your rescue? I'll be you could set up a booth at various events, advertise the proceeds go toward rescue, and people would line up with their pooches. Just a thought.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[kaneohebud]

Hi Richard! Beautiful models and very sharp photos. Dog rescue is a very rewarding exercise.

[rpcrowe]

Their stories aside, these are some excellent portraits. Have you ever thought of doing dog portraits to raise funds for your rescue? I'll be you could set up a booth at various events, advertise the proceeds go toward rescue, and people would line up with their pooches. Just a thought.

Dan,

I have thought about it but, it hasn't progressed much further than thinking. That is totally my fault!

I was very impressed with a setup that a photographer had at a dog show. This was outdoors and his setup was in a large camping tent. They has lights and several backgrounds on a roll. His wife did the Photoshop work and the printing right there and they sold the prints to the customers right there and they also supplied contact sheets for future orders.

Of course, I would not have to be so sophisticated in my setup...

[GBO25]

Fabulous. My favourite has got to be the little maltese but I'm biased by my own maltese/bichon cross.

[madcrow]

Richard, more heartwarming images, each one better than the other. Keep up the good work and well done.

[rpcrowe]

It's really a great feeling when a dog subject is not only cooperative but seems comfortable during the shoot. We put a lot of effort into these shots since they are so important in finding a furever family for the dog. Sometimes the dogs are exuberant other times they are frightened. Treats will sometimes work but, there are a lot of small dogs who are not interested in treats.

I try to get the dog used to me and our house before I begin shooting. However, this is not always possible. I picked up Rascal from one of our Los Angeles volunteers (we meet about mid way - right at a total of a hundred miles for each of us to drive) and drove home with him. He was quite scared during the drive but, settled down by the time we arrived home. Judy groomed him and then it was time for his photo session because he was due to meet his new foster mom right after the photo session. Well, the little guy was perfect and I only shot about ten or twelve shots because I knew that I had it in the can! In fact, any one of the shots would have been O.K...



Anya had been living with us during her recovery. She was also a good subject, probably because she was comfortable with us and just about any of the twenty or so shots I did of her would have been good enough to use after some simple post processing.

Sometimes it is a relatively minor thing like eye direction or ear placement that makes me decide between one shot and another.

In shooting the portraits; I try to use a background that will compliment each dogs looks or coloring. I don't worry about the fact that lots of my dog pictures are similar. Each is used individually so it doesn't matter if the background is the same color for two or more dogs or if the poses are somewhat the same Standardizing the shooting set ups also makes post processing more simple and quicker

BTW: as in portraiture of humans, especially females, having the dogs clean and well groomed is very important. Luckily, my wife is able to do most of the grooming herself.

Having a helper to control the dog is also just about a necessity. You can see the show leads (which I clone out in PP) on each of the thumbnails in the above image...

Using the WhiBal Target is very helpful but, I could actually use the white coat of the Maltese as my target

[rpcrowe]

Anya's picture has been on the Internet for only a day and a half and a pre-approved adopter wants this beautiful girl

[rpcrowe]

Both Rascal and Anya have been adopted.

Rascal had a line of people wanting to adopt him and Anya's new mom paid for a round trip flight from San Diego to Oakland, CA so I could deliver her there. Which I did yesterday!