Slow down is the topic for week 50 of our 52 week pet photography project. Perhaps because I am still fairly new to photography, I feel like this one comes fairly easy to me. Perhaps because I have all of the patience in the world when I photograph dogs, I tend to take things slowly anyway.

I'm not sure where that patience comes from. I think it must be because I love doing this so much. Trust me, I don't have that kind of patience in most other aspects of my life. 

I actually include part of this lesson "slow down" into my introductory comments to my clients when we first start the session. I tell them that their dog doesn't have to be perfect during the session. I tell them that we'll praise her when she does what we want and we'll give her some breaks as needed during the session. I tell them that I want all of us to have fun because that will show in the images. If I sense that the pet parents are feeling frustrated because their pup isn't doing what they want or what they think I want, I basically ask them to slow down. 

When photographing dogs, I find that I slow down a lot. I'm waiting for them to look at me or settle down. I have the camera ready and I'm just waiting for the right moment to snap the shutter.

Here are my images from a photo session earlier this week. This is 9 week old Ivy. I love her smile and the fact that I was able to capture all 4 paws off the ground in this first image. I find that when I photograph puppies, I seem to capture a lot of images like the 2nd one where one of the front paws looks like this. In the 3rd image, I love the fur on her ears.

Ivy is precious and I am so fortunate to be able to do this. When people regularly tell you that you have the best job in the world, that is truly a blessing.

**By the way, Ivy lives with a dog trainer friend of mine. She will be fully trained and available for sale in about 3 months. Anyone interested can contact me and I can put you in touch with Courtney, the trainer.** If you are wondering, Courtney plans to regularly bring in puppies, train them and sell them. I love this idea because one reason why dogs end up in shelters is because they aren't trained properly. This also means that I regularly will get to photograph PUPPIES. It's a win win win all the way around. :)

This is a blog circle and next up is Jessica Wasik with Bark & Gold Photography serving Pittsburgh pets and their people. Be sure to click the link at the bottom of each post to see each photographer's take on the topic 'slow down.'