Outdoor Dog Photography Brighton East Sussex

I photographed these two beautiful 10 month old Pointers back in the summer and this particular photo shoot reminded me of how important good communication is. And I don’t necessarily mean between photographer and subject. In my experience it’s very rare to encounter fully obedience trained animals, which means getting our subjects to do what we want can be difficult at best. Or more often, completely impossible! It’s the communication between photographer and owner which is key.

Outdoor Dog Photography Brighton East Sussex

Animal photography often demands that we work very quickly. That in turn means we can’t be both photographer and animal wrangler. A well briefed, well-prepared (and realistic) owner can mean the difference between getting a good set of pictures, or very few which might be saleable. Getting a lively pet to stay still in front of the right background, in decent light, long enough to gain well composed photographs is harder than it sounds. Which is precisely why pet owners often end up calling in an expert. Personally I love these challenges and I always look forward to pet photo shoots.

I also find animal photography uplifting because pets are so funny and so affectionate a lot of the time. They make me smile, and that’s priceless. These two youngsters were no exception and I still smile when I think about the afternoon I spent with them at their stunning manor house in East Sussex. At 10-months old these dogs were full of beans and we were all worn out (in a good way) at the end of the afternoon. The brief was to capture some natural portraits of both the dogs on their own and interacting with their glamorous owner. And of course some more formal images showing the breed characteristics, stance, and shape.

I am forever grateful to their owner for her patience and tenacity in getting this pair to stand so beautifully – a few seconds is all we needed. At one point their owner and I had been investigating one end of the house and as we walked back towards the kitchen I encountered a trail of familiar objects. My camera bag had been carefully emptied – and I do mean carefully, because there wasn’t a mark on anything. The dogs had decided to help me out by bringing my kit to me. As I returned to the kitchen I picked up lens pouches, lenses, lens cloths, and various other items which had been pilfered from my bag. Animals can be so full of character and this is precisely why I enjoy photographing them so much. This pair creased me up and at times it was difficult to work because we were laughing so much. For me at least, this sort of photography is a marvellous antidote to everyday life.