Taking Pictures like a Pro (trying to...)

A few of you may know that I officially started a pet photography division about a year ago. I bought my first DSLR camera and figured I'd be taking pictures like a pro within days. To say I underestimated what I had to learn about photography is a huge understatement. What I didn't realize is that I would love it so much. I love being behind the camera and I long for the day when I'm going to feel completely comfortable . As I mentioned in my last post, I do think I've learned a lot! Some of you also know that I love California and that we lived there for 3 years. We recently went back and this time I took my Nikon. I was only there for two full days and I spent most of the daylight hours with my camera in my hand.

We lucked out and were there when there was a storm off the coast so the waves were really big and that meant a lot of surfers were in the water. I went the The Wedge in Newport Beach which is a big surfing beach and then to the Huntington Beach Pier. Huntington Beach is also known as Surf City USA and it lived up to it. I could've sat there all day shooting photos but it was actually hot in SoCal so by late morning I packed it up. Here are a few pictures in and around southern CA: Corona del Mar, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.

About 1/2 mile from the pier is the Huntington Beach Dog Park so of course I spent some time there as well. I learned something on this trip. Pet photography is hard. Since all of my pet photography is outside in natural light, most of the dogs I photography are free roaming which means they're pretty unpredictable. If I were photographing them in a studio, the dogs would be a little more predictable and the lighting certainly would be. Outside, these are only two of the things that need to be considered. I had this epiphany while photographing the surfers. I was in a fixed spot and the surfers were fairly predictable. They were much easier to photography than the dogs on the dog beach. I still love photographing the dogs... especially on the dog beach because it was beautiful.

While at the Huntington Dog Beach, I noticed a woman taking pictures with her cell phone of her elder golden retriever. Not wanting to be too intrusive, I snapped a couple of pictures of the dog too. I approached her before we left the beach and gave her my cell phone number. I told her I'd taken a few pictures and if she'd like them, she could text me and I'd send them to her. She texted me and I sent her the pictures. I am not 100% pleased with the results but her response was "Ohhhhhh!!! I love them all!!! Thank you so much. Hugs."

I started my pet sitting business in memory of Sloan my chocolate lab. I started the pet photography business because of Buddy, our black lab whose health was failing and I wanted to have decent pictures of him. I've said this before but one of my biggest regrets is not having great pictures of Sloan. Providing that golden retriever's mom with those pictures gave me a feeling I can't even describe. The feeling is priceless. Here are some pictures from the trip. My favorite place in the world: southern California.

If you'd like images of your pets that you can treasure forever, I'd love to provide them to you.

Pet Photography Class

Yesterday I took a pet photography class. The good news is in the past year since I bought my Nikon, I have learned a lot. The bad news is, I didn't learn as much as I'd hoped I would yesterday. For anyone interested in pet photography and taking better pics of your own pets, here is my advice. 1. Have a lot of patience. (They did stress this a lot in the pet photography class yesterday.) When trying to take pictures of pets, it is really important to remember this. I don't consider myself an overly patient person but somehow when I have my camera and I'm working with a dog, I have all the patience in the world. It comes naturally to me and that is a good thing. 2. Have someone there with you who knows the dog. A lot of dogs don't like a camera in their face and won't give you very "natural" looks. When I'm photographing my own dogs, I experience this. I get a blank stare not the goofy smile I want. Even when I am making weird noises, if I have my camera ready to snap a picture, they don't respond like they normally would. Of course all dogs are different and I will add, some are easier to photograph than others. If you have someone to help you, have them stand behind you or in the direction you want the dog to look and make funny noises to get those cute expressions. 3. Don't use the dog's name to get his attention. Most often the dog will come to you when you use his name. If you want him walking (or running) towards you, then go ahead and use his name but if you're trying to get him to hold a pose, I wouldn't recommend it. 4. Put your pet up on something - a brick or stone wall, a park bench, etc. (Keep the dog's safety in mind of course.) Sometimes you can have better luck getting a dog to pose when he is up on something. 5. Try to capture catch lights in his eyes. To do this, have him facing the light source (the sun, a lamp, etc.) If you are using your phone, you may end up with the green glowing eyes however. Warning: Once you get a great photo of your dog with catch lights in his eyes, any other photo you see of him and he doesn't have catch lights, you won't like. Or at least this is what has happened to me. It is sad... I've not found great pictures of Sloan or Sam (my previous dogs) that have great catch lights. I will continue looking... perhaps I have some somewhere. 6. If you're using a DSLR camera, set the camera to Aperture mode and at F8 or F11. Try to focus on the dog's nose, particularly if you have a dog with a long snout. At F8/F11, you should be able to keep the entire dog in focus. (This is easier with smaller dogs... less to keep in focus. Ha!) 7. If you're using a DSLR camera and you are wanting to be more creative, in Aperture mode use F5.6 and focus on the nose. Part of his body and the background will blur. **Steps 6 and 7 are very basic examples and there are a lot of other factors to be considered really such as: how far away are you from the dog, how far away is the dog from the background, is the dog moving, etc.) 8. Don't use the built in flash on your DSLR camera. Ever.

In the pet photography class yesterday, they talked a lot about taking pictures of pets inside in more of a studio setting. Unfortunately, that isn't the type of shooting I do nor do I really want to do (at least not yet.) To do studio or portrait photography, you really need two off camera flashes, set on stands, and set to fire wirelessly. The external flash for my camera is $500. Until I am ready to really explore this option, I'll stick with mainly outside photography. Although I did purchase a lens for low light photography (which is generally what I am doing when I am shooting indoors.) I do have a favorite picture of Moose that I shot indoors. It's posted below.

Here are a few more dogs I've seen recently (and these shots were all taken before the pet photography class yesterday.)

Sunny, Ollie and Fozzy

Recently I got to spend a lot of time with Sunny, Ollie and Fozzy while their family was on vacation in Europe. I'm sure their family took a bunch of great pictures while they were there and I of course took pictures while I was at their house.

I joke about Ollie but he really is either running and jumping around or he is sleeping. He reminds me so much of my dog Moose who is also part hound dog. They get super excited but love (and I mean LOVE LOVE LOVE) to sleep more than any other dogs I know. Its the way they sleep that honestly makes me jealous. Can I be jealous of the way a dog sleeps? My goal over the next week is to capture some pictures of Moose sleeping... look for that post soon.

Sunny is just a lover. While I was pet sitting with him, it was probably 95-100 degrees every day. One afternoon he crawled up on the couch with me and got in my lap. Crazy dog.... he had to be hot. I was. He's probably 85lbs and he is very furry. We stayed like that for awhile though... it was so sweet I couldn't move. I don't mind at all making these types of sacrifices for my job. It is rough. ha!!

Fozzy is the senior of the crew and I think she is around 12ish. She is funny though too. Once in awhile she'll get a burst of energy and she'll want to chase around with the big boys outside. They're both scared of her and I can tell sometimes they're not sure if she wants to play or not. Whenever we were in the house, she was content to just curl up at my feet.

Sunny, Ollie and Fozzy are such great dogs and I am so fortunate that their parents entrust their care to me. All three of them just want to be loved on and pet. And Ollie loves to run through his yard treeing squirrels too.

This Pet Sitter takes a Vacation

When this pet sitter takes a vacation, photography is now part of the planning. Since I was going on vacation in mid July and it was so hot & humid in Charlotte, I opted to head for the much cooler Canadian Rockies. Banff in Alberta Canada has been on my bucket list for several years. It did not disappoint. I thought the pictures that I'd seen online must've been photoshopped but no, it is real. The Banff area is as pretty in person as any picture I'd ever seen. I wasn't sure what to expect because further north there were quite a few forest fires. Luckily for the locals, it rained a good bit the week I was there. Not so great for me and for photography but I still loved the trip. I arrived mid-afternoon at the hotel on a Saturday. I grabbed some lunch and then walked into town. I'd read online that anyone doing any hiking should have "bear spray" so I spent my $40 CAN and signed my waiver that I wouldn't use it as a weapon. I'd watched a video online (you gotta love youtube) about how to use the bear spray should you encounter a bear. Don thought I was crazy for buying it but the chicken in me needed it. After checking out some of the t-shirt shops on Banff Ave and armed with my bear spray, I headed back for the hotel.

I'd been planning the trip for several months and since I've recently taken up photography, I decided to spend a day with a local photographer who could provide me with some tips on photography as well as the best places to shoot around the area. The 2nd part was easy.... anywhere around Banff is an excellent place for photographers. I kid you not, everywhere you turn is a breath taking view.

On my first full day, the photographer (Mark with Rocky Mountain Photo Adventures) picked me up at 4am. Luckily I was still on east coast time so it was 6am to me. We drove 60 minutes to Moraine Lake near Lake Louise and set up to do some sunrise shooting. The hike to the location wasn't long but it was uphill and then back down over some rocks to reach the lake so I was huffing and puffing when we got there. We got the camera set up on the tripod and starting taking some practice shots. We were shooting towards the mountain range behind Moraine Lake which is the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Unfortunately, the skies were pretty cloudy. Clouds over the mountains would've been okay but the clouds also blocked the rising sun. We weren't able to capture any photos of the sun hitting the mountains which was the shot I thought I'd be taking.

Mark suggested we go down to the water and look for some other photo opps. He got pretty creative and we were able to come up with this composition. Honestly, it wasn't the image I was hoping for but I do like the orange rock on the left side of the photo and the reflection of the mountains in the water. We snapped a couple of photos of a stream as we were hiking out of the area (the 2nd photo.) We wrapped up our day around 1pm.

In Banff this time of year, the sun rises around 5:30am and sets around 10pm. Since we'd finished our day at 1pm, I still had a lot of daylight left. There was an area near town called Vermilion Lakes that was supposed to be a nice place to do some sunset shooting. As the sun sets, it hits Mount Rundle one of the famous peaks in Banff. I decided to get in the car to go check out the area and see where I might want to set up. There are 3 lakes along Vermilion Lakes Rd and I'd stopped at the 3rd to snap a few pictures. A car pulled up behind me and said if I drove down the road just a ways, I could see a black bear. I hopped in the car and drove around 50 yards. There were cars stopped on the other side of the road and a Canadian Parks Authority truck stopped in front of me. I looked to my right and saw a very large tree trunk being pushed over by an angry grizzly bear. The park ranger guy was waving everyone past so I didn't get a chance to snap his picture. It was a very cool experience although I will say my hands were shaking as I drove by. Seeing a grizzly that close (he was probably no more than 20 yards away) was surreal. Needless to say, I decided against returning to this area to do any sunset photography. :(

That was the end of day 2 in Banff.

Day 3 in Banff

I had a long list of places I wanted to see on day 3 but I wasn't sure I'd get to all of them. I left the hotel around 6:15am and headed for Lake Louise which was a 40 minute drive. It was another cloudy morning so I wasn't sure what type of shots I'd get. I didn't spend a ton of time here because I knew the shots wouldn't be great because of all of the clouds. The color of the lake water is just amazing but the clouds covering the mountains in the background is disappointing. After I captured a few photos, I headed for Peyto Lake.

A NOTE ABOUT BEARS If you didn't read my last post, This Pet Sitter takes a Vacation, reading it now will make this next part make more sense. :) I'd done a lot of research prior to the trip and I knew that I was in bear country; black bears and grizzly bears. Several of the places I was going required hiking in "tight groups of 4 or more." I may delve into that phrasing in another post.... but it did turn me into a huge chicken and not wanting to venture away from the crowds.

My photographer guide Mark from the day before told me this about the bears: He said to make a lot of noise when you are on the trail because you don't want to startle the bear. Let him know you're coming particularly if you are rounding a bend and you can't see what might be ahead of you. He said black bears and grizzlies are very different. If you see a black bear, get as big as you can and make a lot of noise. Most will have no interest in you and he will be reluctant to approach you if you seem bigger than he is. (He did also say if it was a black bear with cubs, get out. Mama bear will become much more aggressive if her cubs are around.) He said with grizzlies, forget the strategy of trying to get big. He said grizzlies know that they are bigger than you. You want to back out of the situation as quickly as you can. Back out, don't run. So this was my bear avoidance training.

I was really excited to see Peyto Lake (Pee-toe.) I'd read online that there is a lookout that gets really crowded with tourists as the day goes on so I wanted to get there early. I'd also read that there was a nice hike to do above the lake that was rarely crowded. I was hoping to find some people interested in exploring the upper part of the lake trail. When I got there, I found 2 people on the lookout. Turns out they were a couple from The Netherlands. They were super nice but not interested in hiking the upper trail b/c the husband had a bum knee. I asked if I could walk back down to the parking lot with them as I shared my fear of bears story. Turns out they shared some of my fear - they were carrying bear spray and the wife kept saying "Hi Bear" when they were out walking alone.

**I should mention that when I got to Peyto, I walked about halfway up the trail to the lake and I turned around to head back to the car. I was psyching myself out thinking about bears. I took a deep breath, turned around and headed back up the trail to the lake.

I didn't spend much time at Peyto and I was disappointed about not doing the upper trail. Part 2 of Day 3 to follow.

Banff Day 3 Part 2

On my way to Peyto, I'd seen a mountain with a lake in front of it off to my left. Since I wasn't at Peyto very long, I decided I'd stop and I am really glad I did. Perhaps my favorite place of the day: Bow Lake.

There were trails to walk leading to the mountain but alas my bear paranoia was still ever present so I stuck to the trail around the lake. According to the trail map, there are falls in the area. A must do next time (and there will be a next time!) There is a lodge here called Num-Ti-Jah Lodge and I might consider staying here for a night or two next time I'm in the area. It is rustic and must have great views of the lake. It is about an hour or so north of Banff and would eliminate so much time in the car (I feel like I spent a good part of my trip driving. Not a bad thing given the lovely scenery.)

Crowfoot Mountain and Crowfoot Glacier are near Bow Lake. I'd read about Crowfoot Glacier but didn't realize I'd be near it. It's a glacier that is in the shape of a crow's foot however one of the talons has melted away.

It was still early in the day and I felt reinvigorated after stumbling upon Bow Lake. I drove to Lake Louise town for a quick lunch (which was super crowded and not so great but I needed food.) I then drove on to Yoho National Park and Emerald Lake. I'd seen pictures of Emerald Lake online and was hoping I'd get a chance to see it. It was a little further west (about an hour) and I wasn't sure if I'd go that far. I'm glad I did.

After taking in all this beauty, I decided to head back to Banff. It was mid afternoon by the time I got back and it was about the same time of day, I'd seen the grizzly bear the day before. I was driving by Vermilion Lakes Road so I decided to see if I would see Yogi Bear again. I drove down the road (it is a dead end) and as I was coming back, I noticed several cars stopped on the road above where I was. I looked and sure enough, there was the bear walking in the grass above where I was. He was probably 100 yards away (maybe further.)

I had the wide angle lens on my camera since I'd been out shooting landscapes all day. He was headed for the woods so I had no choice if I wanted to try and get pics of him to use the lens that I had on the camera.

I snapped a few pictures and he went into the woods. I pulled the car over, hopped out and grabbed my zoom lens from the trunk. I made my way down the road and found several other cars (probably around 6) pulled over also trying to get pictures of the bear. Several people were out of their cars and there was one guy on his bike. The bear was probably 20 yards from the road, behind a lot of trees eating. He didn't show any interest at all in the people but I was thinking the whole time, these people are crazy, they need to get back in their cars. I snapped a few more pictures and then the Canadian Parks Authority truck pulled up and made everyone move on. I was told that in Banff, the authorities make the people leave when bears are sighted. It's the bears' land... the people need to leave.

If you are viewing this page and the next several pages from your phone, there are 2 columns of pictures. You'll need to scroll to the right to see the 2nd set.