Butts & Toes – Remember the Details

Welcome back into Fridays! The snow has departed, the mud and the mid spring browns have arrived. Browns and muds usually aren’t the requested backdrops for portraits (pair them with golden hour and they are STUNNING!), so what to do instead of portraits?

Remember the details that make your dog! And to add the challenge we’re going to focus on the details that aren’t part of your dog’s face! (This fits into the weekly theme of  “No Faces”!).

Enter in butts and toes! Butts have swirls of fur and tails attached to them. Toes can be freshly covered in mud, tucked neatly in in a sit or lay or completely relaxed while your dog snoozes. Embrace the details as we wait for the leaves, grasses and flowers to emerge here in Minnesota!

Tips for photographing dog butts:

• Look for swirls and patterns in the fur
• A relaxed tail will help camouflage an anus
• Avoid making the anus a large element of your image
• The 3/4 angle will help turn the butt away from you slightly for less anus
• See if you can use the angle as a look over your dog’s shoulder as they watch squirrels (or see if you can get their attention for the suave over the should look)

Tips for photographing dog toes/feet:

• Get in close and play with different angles (looking down, ground level/eye level, looking upwards
• Can you find a pattern, texture or color that mimics your dog’s fur?
• Or can you find a pattern, texture or color that is a complete contrast?
• Take advantage of sleeping dogs to get super close “beans” images plus images of paw pads and the fur between toes

(The black dog is Axel and the brown and white dog is Bender! They will both be 10 this year!)

Other details non face details of your dog you can photograph: ears, tails, knees, grey hairs and coat colors. Get in close to give each element proper emphasis.  What other elements of your dog can you think of?

Next visit Jemma Martin of JM Photography, specialist pet photographer in Suffolk, UK who prides herself on capturing the character of your best friend, to see her take on no faces! Read through everyone until you end up back here!