Patience
I take a lot of animal photos. Take a look at my photoblog and you will see. I enjoy it. Very rarely will there be a time when I don’t have a good time, and that is more than likely due to a pet owner wanting to see their pet in a perfect pose.
One thing I can tell you for sure though, is that you may never see that perfect pose. It all depends on the animal. And your patience! Some pets, like my Moms’ dog Scarlet, want nothing to do with it and freak out. I have yet to get a decent photo of her. She sees my camera and goes nuts. It’s a shame too, as she is a good looking pooch. But alas, the world may never see her.
On the other end of the spectrum is my son Nicks’ dog, Bosco. Give him some time to sniff around and make himself comfortable and you got yourself a willing model! I have captured a few good photos of him. He is one of those dogs who sees no need to move fast. Unless, of course, there is a snack around! Great to photograph and always seems happy.
Nick and Bosco came over for a visit one night and I quickly set up my background stand and put a roll of seamless paper on it. Bosco was right there checking it out but seemed distracted and just kept turning around, sniffing, turning around. I got a few shots off and he wandered off. Not even remotely interested.
He wandered into the frontroom and looked out the window for a bit. We tried coaxing him back but he just didn’t feel like it for some reason. I could have given up right then and there. It wasn’t like I was never going to see him again. But I was determined to get a decent shot. I had to change the game plan a little.
I put a LumiQuest Softbox III
Bosco hasn’t been over to my place that many times so he would set for a bit and then get up and wander around a little. My plan was to catch him when he layed down. I took a few shots to make sure I had the lighting dialed in. Now it was time to try capturing him with a good expression. The keeper came when he settled in next to my Lazy Boy. I took 3 frames but the best one was when he looked up at Nick. The Lazy Boy is right behind him in this shot. My lighting choice paid off for this one.
The point I was trying to make in this little story was that you shouldn’t freak out or give up if you have a good subject that isn’t cooperating. Just be patient, change gears and try taking a different approach. I’m not saying it works all the time, but if I had put everything away when Bosco refused to pose I wouldn’t have gotten this shot.
I posted this one on Flickr and within a day, Bosco was on the Explore page. I entered this in Syl Arenas Exciting Light contest on Pixsylated and got an honorable mention. None of this would have happened if I wasn’t patient. Try it some time and I hope it works for you too!