The Joy and Zen of photographing pets and animals.

Howdy all :-)

One thing that I always found enjoyable in photography is capturing images of animals and pets.
The reason is simple, you don't have to deal with any social human behaviors and reactions...so I find it becomes more of zen like experience.

For me it's important to highlight we aren't talking about getting a pet to pose in a specific way, but about finding compositions and natural poses that capture their mood and feelings. Well...At least the perceived feelings from a humans perspective.

I've selected a few photos to discuss further, keep an eye out for the full sets of photos soon.

I never want to force the image, by that I mean taking the time to evaluate and really look at your surroundings. Then look for those special moments to take your shot. With animals, it can be tricky to grab the perfect moment, so try and accept that is part of the process. Usually when it feels right its right. Here my daughter had been blowing bubbles, so I took a low position near Sox and followed the bubbles near by and snapped away. Its not a perfect photo but I love this moment!

Often animals and pets, help guide you with body signs. That playful look from a young dog can turn into fantastic moment to capture.

I find that its very easy to get tunnel vision when looking through a camera. Simply take a step back from where your pets is playing and look around. That allows you to see and frame your images better. Here I adjusted my position to allow for the contrast in lighting to play against Leo's bright fur.

I spotted this little fellow while walking in the park, someone started to feed him some apple, I loved the messy eating and focused on that moment rather then the fact there was a squirrel on a fence.

Most importantly of all enjoy yourself, even for trickier shots with animals. Digital cameras have aids to help, so take a little time to understand what camera features can allow you to think more about the imagery and less about the technicalities. In this case I simply jammed on the Continuous/Burst shooting mode to help nail that focus on the moving bird.

So relax grab a camera and don't worry about the perfect shot, instead feel the moments and grab them when you feel good about them.

Stay tuned for more art, photos and maybe an original meme or two.
Have great 2018!!
Nick