After a few weeks without photographing much over Christmas I couldn't wait to get out for my first shoot of the year!
Emily has been a friend of mine for sooo long! I'd promised her a photoshoot of her and her dogs ever since I was first looking for models to practise on last year when the descision come to make photography my living. Emily also helped me out assisting me at a photoshoot a few weeks ago - thank you!
We took Emily's dogs Willow and Archie up to out local woods for their photographs. The red and orange of Autumn was still lingering but the weather was murky and dull. However it was actually warm and dry! (Although I was a little disapointed not to be able to test out my new thermal gloves whilst photographing!) You'd never have known that though looking at this scene. This is my favourite image from the whole shoot!
Archie on the left is a lovely young collie. He's just under two years old and he would do anything for a slice of bacon in Emily's pocket! Willow is a dorkie.. no, I'm not being horrible, he's a yorkshire terrier x dauschand! Both of them were very happy dogs with their tails always wagging.
We started with pictures of the dogs just running about in the woods. Archie was content as long as he had a stick to play with and Willow was more interested in us, the squeaky duck in my pocket and of course the bacon! This is how we managed this shot... a dangling bit of bacon in front of the camera!
We had great fun, as did the dogs, mooching around the woods looking for logs for them to sit on sticks to throw. It can be a challenge getting dogs to sit and stay especially when you have to get TWO to sit and stay together when they'd much rather be chasing squirrels or sticks - but the boys did well!
I do love photographing both dogs and horses, the variety between the two (mainly the size difference!) means I get to play around with so many creative and new ideas. The common theme however being is I get to meet other like minded animal lovers too and tell the relationship between you through photographs. Willow was probably one of the smallest dogs I'd photographed. I came prepared, dressed head to toe in waterproofs so that I could lay down in the leaves to get Willow-height shots!
Thank you Emily for letting me photograph your dogs. It's great to finally meet Archie too!