Dog Conformation Show Photography

[amartin43206]

My wife and I have been asked to photograph our breed's national specialty this summer. It will be a small show, not expecting more than 50-75 dogs. We will be doing candids as well as photos of the wins. It is indoors in a poorly lit facility, needless to say. What kind of lighting do you guys suggest for the photos of the wins in situation like this? We currently do not own any external flashes and are looking to stay fairly cheap, but do want to know what's "best".

Also, what lens do you suggest for this kind of set-up? Thanks!

[runninmann]

Which lenses do you already own? Will you have any kind of set or stage for posing the winners so that you can set up your lighting? Is there a better lighted place that you can use for the posed shots of the winners and only have to worry about flash for the candids? Do you have any previous experience with flash/lighting?

[amartin43206]

Hi there, yes there will be a place with a backdrop setup for the winners, so we will be able to setup whatever we need to for lighting. As far as the candids, we are not able to use flash on these, as it will distract the dogs and the judge. We did some practice candids this weekend at a poorly lit trial and got fairly decent results, so we're not so worried about those.

Our lenses are: 50mm f1.8 and 70-200 f2.8 non-IS. We are considering renting the 24-70 f2.8 and the 35mm f1.4 as well.

The setup we've seen used before as far as lighting goes is two continuous lights set-up with umbrellas. No, we have no lighting experience. We were thinking of purchasing this kit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc....html#includes but are not sure what sort of lights/flashes to mount on it. Thanks.

[Rudi]

Originally Posted by amartin43206

We currently do not own any external flashes and are looking to stay fairly cheap, but do want to know what's "best".

Hmmm... this might come as a bit of a shock, so make sure you're sitting down. You asked about what is "best", and the best thing would be to set up two studio lights and use those. The biggest problem with pets is that they have no sense of timing, you can't tell them to smile and capture the moment. Monolights would recycle quickly enough that you would be more likely to be able to fire your flashes at the moment that you need them.



The second best thing would be to buy a couple of inexpensive hot shoe flashes, such as the Vivitar 285HV or similar (I wouldn't go cheaper than that), and use those, on a couple of light stands, with umbrellas to soften the light. Either way, since you do not currently own any off-camera flash gear, you will have to spend some money on either buying or renting some gear for this occasion.



And that brings me to my last point - you might be able to rent some gear for this occasion. That might make this less expensive, and at the same time let you use more capable (i.e. more expensive) gear, but if you go this route then make sure that you have enough practice with the new gear beforehand, so you know what you are doing. You do not want to be figuring all this out at the event!



Photographing pets is one of my favourite things to do, but timing is everything! Good luck in your endeavours, and make sure you let us know how it all went.



EDIT: I forgot to mention that all my sample photos were taken with one or two monolights. You can do a lot with two lights...

[cueball]

I have recently been approached by the local dog club that my wife and I are a part of to put together a shoot to earn money for the Nebraska Humane Society. A few weeks ago I ordered a Genesis 200 2-Light kit from Calumet Photo after many recommendations and good reviews from people here at POTN. I have set up my studio area in my garage to practice with and so far I am pleased with the self portrait results I have gotten. This weekend I will actually bring my two dogs out and start shooting with them to get used to having pets in front of the camera.

The monolight's, stands, and umbrella's are all very easy to set up. I would recommend getting some sand bags or a couple five pound ankle/wrist weights from Wal-Mart for whatever stands you get for the extra stability. The stands I got in my kit are quite sturdy on their own but animals can be unpredictable and don't know to be cautious around equipment. My other recommendation would be to invest in a longer PC cord (at least 15' ?) as the one that came in the kit isn't very long and has so far neeeded to be stretched about waist height from the main light to the camera on the tripod.

The Calumet kit runs about $370.00 or so (I received a student discount so I saved about $80.00 and got it for $290.00, not sure if that would apply to either of you but it's information just in case) and includes 2 monolights, 2 10' stands, 2 shoot through umbrellas, and all the cords you need. They have optical sensor's on them and although I haven't tried it yet, I believe you can trigger them using the built in flash. This is definitely not the most portable solution so if you are more concerned with portability the previously recommended solution of Vivitar's is definitely the way to go. Hope this helps.

[cueball]

Sorry, in all my rambling I forgot to include a link. Here it is, http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CF0502K1/.

[Rick Anderson]

I would recommend that you do not use a wide angle lens - 35mm is too short unless you are using a crop camera. Even so, the 50mm 1.8 is a great lens for dog photos. Short lenses can be used for impact but they tend to distort features. Umbrellas tend to work better than softboxes since their fur absorbs much of the light. Set up the lighting low and shoot from the dog's eye level. Dogs can be very intimidated by the equipment so I try to set up first (I use a stuffed animal for lighting setup) and I use as little lighting equipment as possible - modified off-camera speedlights are perfect 99% of the time. You want to create a comfortable environment.

You should borrow a few dogs for practice - it is VERY important that you and everybody else is on the same page during the shoot because dogs have very short attention spans. The owner can help pose the dog and make him comfortable but you need to be able to get the dog's attention before he is over stimulated. Communicate to everybody involved that you need the dog to look at the camera and pay attention to YOU and ONLY YOU, which means everybody else needs to shut the you-know-what up!

Find out a little about the dog's personality ahead of time - if you show him food or a ball is he going to give you that curious look that everybody loves or is he going to charge at you and knock down your lighting in the process?

As another poster said, it can be hard to time the right moment so be ready. If I am using a tripod for a posed setting, a wireless shutter release is my best friend. My favorite little trick is the following: I give the dog a small treat then coo over him a little. Squeeky toys tend to overstimulate and the dog loses interest. I keep a plastic bag with some paper and my remote in it. I reach into the bag and make a little noise with the paper, which IMMEDIATELY gets the dog's attention and eyes on the bag (unless he has been overstimulated.) Crunch, crunch of the paper and you have that adorable tilt of the head and his eyes following your hand. Click and you are done.

The most important thing I can say is to have fun with it.

EDIT: don't forget exposure compensation for white and black dogs.

[silvex]

I would try the 135Lf/2 or 100f/2 and shoot ISO1600+ with a monopod. The 50f/1.8 will give you a heartburn, since it will hunt in dim light.

[RiKaN HaVoK]

Originally Posted by Rudi

Hmmm... this might come as a bit of a shock, so make sure you're sitting down. You asked about what is "best", and the best thing would be to set up two studio lights and use those. The biggest problem with pets is that they have no sense of timing, you can't tell them to smile and capture the moment. Monolights would recycle quickly enough that you would be more likely to be able to fire your flashes at the moment that you need them.

I'm sorry but those arent the type of shoots that you do at a dog show ... plus the dogs are trained to stay still and "strike" a pose to show his/her fetures .. that's whats confirmation about ....

I used to breed boxes and I miss it so much .. however the politics in the Boxer breed is outright wrong ..

Here are a few pictures of stuff you will probably be shooting (along with some candids) and preping yourself for .. (50-75) dogs of the same breed is a MAJOR, probably about 4-5 points depending on the breed ......

http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/dog.jpg
http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/bighead2sm.jpg

http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/newpic2.jpg

http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/...oldderbylg.jpg

BTW, none of these are my picturtes .. just something to know you might be shooting ....

[Rudi]

Originally Posted by RiKaN HaVoK

I'm sorry but those arent the type of shoots that you do at a dog show ...

Maybe not, but most of those were shot at different Pet Expos, and the same lighting will show off the winners well.

[amartin43206]

Thanks for the reply, for a national specialty, 50-75 dogs is really not a lot. And that is definitely the maximum that there will be. This is not an AKC sanctioned specialty as the breed (Portuguese Podengo) is not able to show AKC other than companion events currently. My wife is experienced with shows, so we pretty much know what to expect.

I think we have decided to go with an umbrella set-up, thanks all for the input for lenses as well.

Originally Posted by RiKaN HaVoK

I'm sorry but those arent the type of shoots that you do at a dog show ... plus the dogs are trained to stay still and "strike" a pose to show his/her fetures .. that's whats confirmation about ....

I used to breed boxes and I miss it so much .. however the politics in the Boxer breed is outright wrong ..

Here are a few pictures of stuff you will probably be shooting (along with some candids) and preping yourself for .. (50-75) dogs of the same breed is a MAJOR, probably about 4-5 points depending on the breed ......

http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/dog.jpg
http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/bighead2sm.jpg

http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/newpic2.jpg

http://www.gatesmillsboxers.com/art/...oldderbylg.jpg

BTW, none of these are my picturtes .. just something to know you might be shooting ....