Any photographer who loves animals is likely to be interested in pet photography. However, while pros like Bruce Weber Photographer make things look easy, anyone who has tried to photograph an unpredictable pet like a dog or a cat knows that it takes a lot of patience and dedication to become an expert in this photography niche. However, with hard-work and practice, one can surely improve their pet photography skills and be able to take stunning images of their dogs or cats.
Bruce Weber Photographer underlines certain basic aspects that must be considered for good pet photography
The equipment needed for pet photography should ideally be a mix of things that would be needed for sports and portraiture photography. Camera equipment that can work fast is important for pet photography. Having a fast burst mode while still capturing RAW format images is vital, so that when the photographer lays into the shutter base, the camera ends up capturing a selection of images. Cats and dogs move unpredictably, and hence the photographer has to try to get the rough setup they need and subsequently take as many photos as possible. Older camera equipment might only e able to do half a dozen of RAW photos before the shooting has to be paused to write the data to the card. Hence, the photographer must try to get a new-age equipment for their shoot.
Much like sports images, while shooting pictures of pets, one would want a camera that has accurate and fast auto-focusing. Pets tend to move around quite a bit, and are very energetic. A continuous drive autofocus lock can be a valuable tool to keep the focus accurate.
The lenses chosen for pet photography must be portraiture lenses. Unlike human portraits, however, having a really bright lens with an extremely shallow depth of field is not needed. Shooting with low f-stops can blur the long snouts and wagging tails way too much. Therefore, it is better to have the lens set at f/5.6 or higher and subsequently make use of ISO settings to keep the shutter speeds fast.
A lot of amateur photographers assume that they should mostly use flashes and artificial lighting in pet photography, owing to the wider depth of field and fast shutter speeds involved. While certainly such lighting is important for studio shoots, most pet photos tend to be taken outdoors. There are many reasons for it, the most important one being that outdoor settings provide pets with ample space to play around. The photographers, additionally, get to capture their behavior in their natural environment, which can lead to quite stunning photos. Capturing pet photos outdoors, especially on cloudy days or during the golden hour, would be perfect for attractive and adorable images.
Bruce Weber Photographer has taken a large number of dog images over the decades, in a varied range of settings. A pack of golden retrievers has accompanied Bruce on his professional journey, and made their way into many of his personal and professional shots.