Parrots from Nature Visions conference Nov 3, 2018

I got to practice my pet photography at the conference.  I like to photograph both wildlife and pet animals for my business.  Usually, I photograph owls or hawks.  We enjoyed photographing the refuge parrots instead at a new seminar this year.  The exhibitors were very helpful and offered to use a white backdrop and even set 2 sun conures on Jim's shoulder to nibble gently on his ear.  The birds had such personality, talking, eating, playing, and interacting with us.  Parrots are fun!  

If you are interested in getting your pet photographed in St. Mary's County, please e-mail me at calmreflectionsphotography@gmail.com. Pet photo sessions make a unique holiday gift.

The Hollywood Volunteer Fire Dept Craft Fair yesterday was the best ever.  There was quite a crowd. (If only we could bring the dog.)

     Zeus and Scarlet.  These two were bickering.

     Angel doing a pedicure

     Winston was a real character.  We tried to get him to raise his head feathers.

      He talked ALOT!  He was very cute  eating here and dropping his food.

A Photo Session with Cali, the Cocker Spaniel

We recently photographed Cali, an adorable brown and white Cocker Spaniel.  Her family members won a Silent Auction I gave away earlier this year.  We went to a local beach on a pleasant sunny afternoon and took photographs using a cute plaid outfit already owned by the family, as well as a Santa costume.  Cali was well behaved for portraits and she also had a chance to play and be uniquely herself.  I enjoyed visiting with a Cocker Spaniel, since my family once owned one when I was a teenager.

Cali will be featured in her family's Christmas cards this year.

Pet Photography Practice

I try to find time to practice pet photography when I can.  I recently read a book I would recommend called "Pet Photography 101:  Tips for Taking Better Photos of your Dog or Cat" by Andrew Darlow.  The book has 101 tips for taking good pet photos.  He also has a companion pet photo tip website and a flickr site.

The first thing I concentrated on was trying to be at the same level as the pet.  For some of these photos I put my sister's Westies on a chair.  The chair was a fairly nice backdrop and I didn't have to lie on the floor to photograph them.  I moved the chair so that there wasn't a lot of extra things in the back and sides of the photos to distract your eye.

I also looked around for helpful props that we could use and found a dog leash, a Fire Chief hat and a silly martian headband.  The dog leash looked the best.  I am especially interested in humorous pet photography, so I also tried putting a dog in the little bathroom sink.

It was helpful to have my husband there to get the dog's attention.  Even with help, it still takes patience to get good photos.

I am gathering ideas for humorous photos.  Please send me any inexpensive ideas you have!  I plan to visit Target to see if they have any cute costumes.  I also got some useful props from the dollar store.

Pet photography

On our trip to Great Falls I met a beautiful Siberian Husky named Mishka, the Russian equivalent of Teddy Bear. I asked her owner if I could take some photos. The dogs fur was sooo soft. I’m learning that it takes a lot of patience to photograph pets, but I usually come up with something worthwhile. I also need a lot of help from the owner to help keep the pet interested or still enough to photograph.