Dulwich Park Dog Photo Shoot
Dog photo shoots in London are a great way of getting acquainted to London parks. I have done a few family photo shoots in Dulwich park, but this was the first pet photography session.
The photo session took place earlier in the year when rhododendrons and spring flowers were out so I was keen to include them into some of the shots, as well as some of the scenes of Dulwich park and the surrounding area.
This young chocolate labrador called Merry was so sweet and so full of energy. Her owner wanted portraits of her, but she also wanted me to capture her youthful energy. I find practicing recall and chasing ball are two good options to get a dog running, and Merry was totally up for it! In addition, I was keen to get a silhoutte image of her jumping. I saw a beautiful black and white photograph of family framed by a big tree, and this inspired me to take a landscape shot of Merry jumping, framed by the tree. At the very end of the photoshoot, the sun came out briefly and I manged to get a few frames of Merry jumping. This ended up being my favouite shot from the session.
If you would like to arrange a dog photoshoot in London, please get in touch to discuss your requirements. Thinking of buying a gift for a dog lover? Head over to my dog photography gift vouchers page or contact me if you would like to add additional credit to your gift.
Family Dogs / Surrey Family and Pet Photographer
Family Dogs
I love taking family photographs and I also love photographing dogs. That is why I recently started a personal project called Family Dogs, with an aim to document the relationship families have with their pet dogs. To kick start the series, I photographed a gorgeous cocker spaniel Lexi with her human family. We arranged our dog and family photo shoot near Leith Hill as the family lived close by and one of their favourite things to do in spare time was to go on long country walks.
Family portraits with pets
It was a warm summer day in late summer, with sunshine coming through the clouds but with rain looming in the distance. We started our walk at the bottom of the hill, walking up the gentle slopes, sun coming through the trees. This first part of the session provided some great opportunities for group shots, the colours of the dead leaves on the ground matching Lexi’s coat. It was lovely to work with the earhy colour palette. A part of the route up towards Leith Hill has some impressive tree roots which form an amazing pattern on the ground. I knew I wanted to include these in the photographs, so I positioned Lexi for a few dog portraits. I particurlarly like black and white versions of these photographs, the textures and patterns really come through. Once we were on top of the hill, I looked around for nice spots for some more family shots. The heather was in bloom and I wanted to include it in the photos. Often when photographing families with dogs, there is quite a bit of arranging going on. Either the dog doesn’t want to sit still, the kids want to run around or both things happen making it nearly impossible to take a group shot! On this occasion, by some miracle, the family set down and just as they did so (while also looking at the camera), Lexi came from behind and poked her head through a little hole in the middle. This is one of the rare unposed, unplanned photos which just happened and turned out amazing! It is one of my favouirtes from this family and pet photo session, probably because it was so spontaneous!
Dog Portraits
Finally, a dog photo session with an energetic dog like Lexi wouldn’t be complete without a few action shots. I got Lexi to run along the paths amongst the heather and she did so with such speed that my auto focus struggled to keep up. I love taking a variety of different shots which capture memories of our pets in different situations - while frantically running around, chasing a ball, playing with another dog or a family member, or having a quiet moment. Different moments take us back and awaken memories we thought we lost.
Family Photography with Dogs
If you live in Surrey and are interested in participating in my Family Dogs photography project, please get in touch - I would love to hear from you and photograph your family and your dog(s)!
Dog Photography Gift Vouchers
If you are looking for a different kind of gift for someone’s birthday, anniversary or Christmas present, then a photography gift voucher may be the answer. I offer 1h and 2h dog photography gift vouchers. You can add extra credit to the gift certificate, which can go towards digital files or prints, or leave it up to the receipient to choose what they’d like at the end of the photoshoot. Get in touch if you have any questions!