Waltonpets Furtography Session is an animal shelter pet photography blog of dogs and cats at the Walton County Animal Control Shelter in Monroe, Georgia. Photos and blogs by William Wise of williamwisephoto.com and waltonpets.net.

Waltonpets Furtography session: Bettering my cat photos...

10/12/2016

"Raven", stray adoptable kitten. Support my work by downloading this photo at www.dreamstime.com. 100% of funds go back into shelter adoption photography and education programs.

"Skittles" turned in stray October 11, 2016. Support my work by downloading this photo at www.dreamstime.com. 100% of funds go back into shelter adoption photography and education programs.

The "cat couch".

Put your camera on continuous shooting mode and take a lot of photos!

Wednesday, 10:45 AM - Having to produce so many animal shots for our website, my photos tend to get a bit repetitive and boring. "Grab a dog... go outside... leash... photo... return." (But during the high impound season, that is often all I have time to do.) Even the new “studio shots” of the cats have become redundant. So last night I re-read a good book called Pet Photography 101 by Andrew Darlow to get my creative mind going again.

To fit with the holiday season (a tip from Darlow’s book), I grabbed “Raven” and brought her outside to photograph on the Halloween display at the shelter front door. The trickiest part about this shot was keeping her from running off! Because of past incidents, I don’t like taking the animals outdoors unrestrained very often.

To produce Skittle’s shots, I simply put a furry blanket on the "Kitty Studio" table and two pillows in the back. The hope is that someone will see the photo, imagine this cute kitten sitting in their coach at home, and come rescue her.

One more tip: take a ton of shots! I took over 60 shots of “Skittles” for the four photos on the website.

3 Comments

gail pickel

10/12/2016 01:19:35 pm

Absolutely LOVE the background cushion prints used in Skittles' photos. Perfect choice!!!

Do you have any plans for changing dog photos as well?

Trish

10/12/2016 09:27:34 pm

Bill ~ your photos are always eye catching and beautiful. They showcase your shelter’s lost and surrendered perfectly. I know, all to well, that feeling of getting bored with the same look, however potential adopters and rescues can see the personality of the pup, which you always seem to capture, through your photos. I don’t think you need to get overly creative. Your latest cat shots are fabulous. What you’re doing works! ~ Trish

Andrew Darlow link

10/17/2016 09:32:50 am

Hi William:
Thank you very much! I really appreciate your kind words, and it means even more to know that my suggestions helped you create better photographs. The photos you showed look fantastic! I know that good quality photos definitely help to get animals adopted faster.

If you’d like to keep in touch, feel free to send me a friend request on FB: http://www.Facebook.com/adarlow, and I have a photo tips page at http://facebook.com/andrewdarlow .

And if you use Lightroom, I just posted an article here with some tips and an embedded tips video: http://www.imagingbuffet.com

All the best,
Andrew

Andrew Darlow
Editor, The Imaging Buffet
http://www.imagingbuffet.com
Author, 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques:
An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers - http://www.inkjettips.com and Pet Photography 101:
Tips for Taking Better Photos of Your Dog or Cat - http://www.PhotoPetTips.com

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Waltonpets Furtography session: Bettering my cat photos...

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