Preparing for your Pet Photography Portrait Session

If you decide to have your pet photographed by a professional photographer, what can you do to improve the quality of the photographs and comfort of your pets?  Lots!

Bring your pet’s favorite treats (especially small soft treats), and favorite toys, along with a squeaky toy to get their attention. Have a leash handy if your pet will be outside.

Clean your pet or have it groomed a day or two before your photo session, especially check around their eyes and ears on the day of your photo session.  Brushing your pet and checking her teeth is helpful.

Inform the pet photographer of any health issues your pet has. And share a little about your pet’s personality.  Is he shy?  Is she alarmed by loud noises?  Will she try to escape through the front door when the photographer arrives?

Is your dog excitable? Take him for a walk before your photo session.

Share any information about particular photos you want.  If your dog is very active you might want a photo of your pet chasing a stick or playing with a Frisbee.  If your cat has a favorite pillow or window sill, do you want to have a photo taken in those locations?  Do you want a nice portrait close up to put on your wall or a mouse pad to give as a gift to your child?

Do you want a photo of your pet with family members?  Here are some personal ideas to help you plan ahead.

· Try not to wear the same color as your pet, so your outfit won’t merge with your pet.

· Dark or neutral shirts are usually good, preferably a different color than your pet.

· Avoid crazy patterns, clothing with writing, bright white shirts and bold prints, since they will attract more attention than your pet or your face.

· Short sleeves, sleeveless shirts, low necklines and shorts will draw the eye away from your face as well.

· Fitted clothing often looks better than loose baggy clothing.

· If multiple family members will be in the photos with your pet, try to wear similar or coordinated colors (but not matching outfits). Otherwise, you will draw attention to whoever is wearing the very light or bright color.

· Adult ladies can wear a little more makeup than usual, including powder to reduce the shine from sunlight or photo lights.

· Wear your hair in a style that doesn’t block your face. 

Good places to take photographs are at your house or somewhere where your pet feels comfortable, like a local park, beach or horse farm. You can help the photographer by looking for locations in advance, in and around your home that have plain uncluttered backgrounds. A neutral colored couch, plain wall without multicolored trim, a large bed with a solid color coverlet, a northern window, fireplace, garden or grassy back yard can work well.

Hollywood Volunteer Fire Dept Craft Show Nov 20

Check out the HVFD 16th Annual Craft Show on route 235 in Hollywood, MD!  There should be lots of Christmas crafts available.  I will be selling my photography crafts tomorrow, Sunday, November 20th from 10AM-3PM in the main room of the Social Hall.  Admission and parking are FREE and refreshments will be for sale by the Auxiliaries.  Some of my items for sale include, photo mugs, tote bags, mousepads, clocks, and pictures.

Expect the Unexpected

On Oct 14th,I was wandering around St. Mary's College of Maryland looking for pictures of leaves for a St. Mary's County Camera Club competition.   Often I don't find the photo I plan to get, but find something else even better.  I was amazed to see waterlilies in October in the small pond. 

The lily pads were interesting too.  If you are familiar with old video games, the leaves reminded me of an old game.  Feel free to guess. 

Then, I saw an unexpected treat near sunset.    With photography you always need to be prepared for the unexpected.  It is worth having several lenses with you just in case.  That's life I guess! 

By the way,  I didn't find any good leaf pictures that day, but  I hope to get some soon.

(See also Jan 6, 2011 for a similar theme blog post)

Kelby Worldwide Photowallk 2011

I participated in the Kelby Worldwide Photowalk on Oct 1st at Historic St. Mary's City.  It was a gray day, but the temperature was pleasant.  (last year's walk was in July when it hit 100 degrees!)  We got together for one big group shot at the beginning of the walk and then separated to wander around the grounds.  Costumed employees were a popular photo topic since the Dove (ship) wasn't in port.

Each photographer could choose one favorite photo to add into a contest to compete against other photographers in the rest of the world.  There was a local Photowalk Flickr page for uploading some of our favorite pictures from the day.  A number of the really interesting photos used a technique called HDR, high dynamic range.  By merging several or many files with different exposures, the photo appears to have extra depth and vibrancy, even on a gray day.  Enjoy!

St. Mary's County Fair Photography winners 2011

The County Fair highest honor was a photo of a ship at sunset with silhouetted birds flying around it.  Very Nice.  We all agreed on it, which made it very easy.

Life in St. Mary's County was a photo of an old car in Leonardtown Square.

Sorry, I don't know the names of the photographers.

St. Mary's County Fair will be held Sep 22-25, 2011

Visit the St. Mary's County Fair Sep 22-25, 2011, or better yet, enter one of the competitions.  If you have a beautiful flower in your yard, a photograph, art or craft item that you think is exceptional, enter it in the County Fair Wednesday afternoon or evening.

The full program is available at the St. Mary's County Libraries.  There are lots of things to see and do from visiting the animals, watching a competition, sampling the food and riding a Ferris Wheel.  Some of my past favorites included watching the Mitchell Showboat Marionettes (the kids are so cute) and viewing the chain saw wood carver.  There are lots of things to photograph at the fair too.  The official St. Mary's County Fair website is easily found.  And you can't beat the price, $5 for adults!


I am also excited and honored to be one of the photography judges this year, so I won't be posting any winning photos this year, but I plan to take photos of this year's Fair for fun.

Blue Angels visited Patuxent River

We recently went to the Patuxent River Air Expo in St. Mary’s County on a warm sunny day. The crowds were out in full force and the Blue Angels were spectacular (as always!). They love catching you off guard and appearing unexpectedly when the crowd’s attention is concentrating on a diverting maneuver. There were so many different planes it was really tough to pick out which ones to share. I decided to also share the Ely-Curtiss Pusher biplane, representing the centennial of Naval Aviation.


To photograph at an airshow, I recommend a zoom telephoto lens with at least 300-400mm for distance shots, the brightest lens you can afford. A polarizing filter or circular polarizer (for digital cameras) is also nice to emphasize blue skies.  It is also handy to have a more standard lens to photograph the stationary exhibits and the spectators.  I often get cute shots of kids on Dad's shoulder watching the sky or looking at the exhibit planes.

To see some official photos and get more information