Hunting Dog Photography Tips - Part 1

5 month old Phoenix on point

Photographing hunting dogs whether they are training, trialing, testing or hunting is a passion of mine. There is something majestic and soul soothing about watching a gun dog work a field. I find solemn beauty in being outside, watching the hunter and the hunted and I appreciate and welcome the challenge of capturing it in a photograph. Lucky for me I get more opportunities than most through my hunting dog specific photography business Byrd Dog Photography. After seeing countless inquiries on hunting forums and Facebook as well as being asked quite often about how I take photographs I decided over the next few months during the hunting off season of Spring and Summer I would publish a series of blog posts making a few humble suggestions to help the average weekend warrior. By starting now your skills, like your dogs, will be honed by next autumn.

Before I cover the photography tips for this post I want to make two quick points. The first is hunting dog photography can offer some challenges not found in normal pet portrait or pet photography. For starters there are usually guns and live rounds getting fired when your in the field. Aside from having proper blaze orange clothing you need to make sure that the gunners know where you are at all times and that you are communicating with them if you decide to step in to get a shot (so you don't get shot numbnuts). Nothing ruins a good hunt like getting blasted with some buckshot. You also need to be cognisant of what the dog(s) are doing. Your there to shoot them in their element not get in their way. You need to be aware of accidentally flushing birds, ruining a good honor by standing directly in the way of a backing dog or putting to much pressure on a dog trying to get that infamous shot when running birds are in the equation. In addition if your the weekend warrior your probably trying to carry your own gun, flush your own birds, shoot AND take photos. This is incredibly difficult....I know I like to hunt over my dog too. If your one of these people take a look at some hands free camera straps they may make your life much easier if you have a DSLR and a decent size lens.

The second and final point I will bring up (then I will get off my soapbox I promise. This was starting to feel like a filibuster huh?) is any aspiring photographer should do their best to get familiar and comfortable with their camera, regardless if its a point and shoot or a DSLR. If your not comfortable shooting in manual and your camera has scene modes utilize some of the options. For instance if you want pics of your dogs in motion (retrieving a bird or coming out of the water) use the sports mode or if they are sitting in the blind try portrait mode. If you've never done it or are feeling hesitant don't be afraid, get out of Auto. You have nothing to lose by trying.

Puppies in low cover

This puppy was in higher cover. So I opted to shoot just his face with a touch of shoulder. 

Know your subject: Having a good understanding of the dog you are shooting and it's abilities will help you out immensely. Puppies and smaller dogs like Brittany Spaniels can be challenging if your shooting in high grass and thick cover. If you have the ability, try and keep these dogs in lower cover when getting photos of them on point or retrieving. If you can't don't be afraid to fill the frame. There is no rule saying that you have to try and cram the entire dog in the photo.  Having a clear, smaller sampling of the pup will have more impact.

Obviously the more finished a dog is the more time and opportunity you will have to shoot solid points and retrieves. When shooting puppies and unsteady dogs you need to have patience. Put yourself in situations that you know you will be successful. Control the things you can like where you position yourself and your shutter speed.

Getting the point: Everyone loves a striking picture of a hunting dog on point. In most instances what your aspiring for is to capture that intensity your dog has when he or she locks up. Their tail is up high, foot bent hard, eyes locked into position and sometimes their body is quivering. Fill the frame. Isolate your subject and eliminate the distractions in the background. Try to focus on the eyes....there's a reason why they are called the window to the soul. Also drop down to their level instead of shooting down on them. I am almost always shooting from my knee and have at times depending on the height of the dog sunk back to be sitting on my butt.

If your shooting a finished or steady dog on point you can choose to run them without a collar or you can remove the collar while they are on point. It really cleans up the photo. Take a look at Wyatt the white and liver shorthair shown above.

Keep in mind the cover you are hunting in or training could be high and may hide the feet. That's OK but if they are visible try not to crop them out. If a large portion of the dog is hidden crop the photograph at a natural body line like the knees, shoulder or chest area.

Lastly, don't run up behind a dog on point. Make sure you walk in at an angle or loop around so that the dog can see you moving in. If your moving in from the front be sure your not putting yourself in a situation where your going to flush a bird.

It's a bird, it's a plane it's Sizzle!

Action Shots: Hunting dogs are athletes and they spend most of their time in motion whether its working a hedgerow, launching themselves into a lake or retrieving that freshly shot pheasant. Some of these pictures end up being the most fun. Don't get sucked into waiting for the dog to get the exact place you want the photo to be taken. To be successful at this you have to be very precise. Instead try following the dog. Synchronize your speed of the camera with them and if your camera allows it set it to continuous so you are capable of taking more pictures.

Backing Dogs: When shooting one or more dogs backing each other I always refer to some basic composition rules. Now don't go rolling your eyes and slamming your laptops shut because I used that boring text book word composition. It's not as awful as you think. Look at it this way anyone can take pictures, what you want to do is tell a story. That is the difference between aimlessly snapping away and creating a photograph. Shooting honoring dogs is a great opportunity to use a spin off to leading lines. In other words use the objects your shooting i.e. the dogs to draw your viewers eye through the photograph. This creates depth and perspective.

Most of the time when I'm shooting dogs in the field I am using a 70-200mm lens BUT occasionally I like to use a wide angle zoom lens. One of my favorite times to do this is when photographing dogs that are honoring. When I do I push the lens all the way out and get as close as I can to my subject. Two things have to occur to get this shot and be successful you need to have dogs that are very steady because you are going to get extremely close to them while on point which equates to pressure. And you have to have a dog owner that is comfortable with you getting that close and getting the shots you want in the midst of a hunt. The dog above in the forefront wearing the blue collar is a NAVHDA versatile champion VC Rahway River's Prince of Darkness call name Ozzie who is owned by Geof Ferrer. Both of which who allowed me to sneak in and get this shot while on a hunt. 

Things to Remember: I'm going to refer to Malcom Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule in which he says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery. Not all of you are gunning to be masters so you won't need a complete 10,000 hours or 10,000 photos to be content with your improved skills but the only way to get good at something is to practice. Take pics of your dog(s) all the time even when they are not hunting. Take photos of them in the backyard, lounging in there dog bed or on a typical run in the field. Be willing to try things, be willing to get out of auto, be willing to ask other dog owners if you can photograph their dogs. Don't take 1 photo in a situation take 10 purposeful photos. Think about leading lines, shoot from your knee, pay attention to where the dogs feet are and how high the cover is. Implementing these few tips on your next training session and each one after will start you on your way to taking better photos of your best dog friend.

Hunting Dog Photography Tips Part 2 will cover shooting the sequences of retrieves, water work, natural framing, including the handler in shots, puppies and more so check back in the next few weeks. In the meantime follow us on Facebook and show us some love at: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer and Byrd Dog Photography.

The Anatomy of Holiday Puppy Photo Shoot

Warning: Cuteness Overload!! 

SEASONS GREETINGS!!! My gift to you readers this festive season is oodles of cute GSP Puppy holiday inspired photos! Regular followers of this blog and corresponding facebook page are well aware that I occasionally (ok...more than occasionally) dress up our two German Shorthaired Pointers in some bizarre holiday attire. It's become a tradition since I first dressed Cleo up as the Elusive Easter Pointer several years ago. Since then both Cleo and Luna have been adorned in sparkly Tutu's, Snorkle gear....you name it. 

Santa is looking a little extra dapper this year

I knew this year I would have a rare opportunity considering Cleo blessed us with 8 beautiful puppies 4 weeks ago. I started buying props and outfits weeks before the pups had even whelped. Jim feels its incorrigible behavior but lets be honest.....it's just fantastic planning.

I solicited the help of my best buddy Jackie Secan (The Thelma to my Louise) to give me a hand and be my primetime puppy stager. Jim was thrilled Jackie was in town to help me and he used it as an opportunity to retreat to the safety of the woods with Cleo and Luna in tow.

This is Sleepy.  The less well known 10th reindeer.

I'd like to note that having a puppy stager is invaluable because there is no way to get quality shots without some help. When dealing with adult dogs I can whoa them and bribe them with tasty treats. With little puppies you are completely at their mercy. So for all the decent shots you manage to capture there are just as many awful ones. I've included a few bloopers below for your amusement. 

Sometimes you get photobombed

The talent can walk off the set

This is what happens when Santa's sleigh goes from zero

to sixty (Hold on to your britches)

Wardrobe malfunctions can and do occur

And the talent can fall asleep

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Be sure to check us out and follow our shenanigans on facebook at Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.



Lady Bella and her Birds

Monday I ventured to New Hope, PA to photograph a beautiful 19 month old GSP named Bella. Her owner, Patricia Stewart-Busso was looking to get some pictures of her in action in the field. There is no doubt that Bella loves herself some birds! Patty hopes to one day field trial Lady Bella but has been focusing on showing her at the present. Which I find to be super interesting mainly because I know little to nothing about showing dogs. But I feel it just goes to show how much you can do with this versatile breed: Hunt, Trial, Show, Dock Dive, Agility, Obedience the list goes on and on.

 

Honed in on a chukar

Bella keeps a pretty tight schedule with her showing. She's pretty booked up for the next couple of weekends on the show circuit. Patty said she hopes to have her back in the field and training this summer. It was a pleasure to meet Patty and Bella was quite a lovely dog.

Charles Kissinger was there to plant some birds for Bella. He also had his 4 year old German Wirehaired Pointer with him. I asked him to put a bird out for Hunter since I haven't had the chance to photograph a lot of GWP's. All that hair gives them quite a bit of character.

Check us out and like us on facebook at: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.

If your interested in booking a photo shoot with me at Byrd Dog Photography please email me at byrdgirl50@aol.com. 

A Day at the Eastern GSPC Field Trial

Snip's Sixth Sense Wyatt MH

This past Saturday I ventured to Medford, NJ to the Eastern GSPC Field Trial. This was the very first field trial I have ever attended. I'm by no means new to dog hunting events as Jim and I run our GSP Cleo in NAVHDA and AKC hunt tests, but hunt tests and field trials are substantially different. What I found to be very much the same with them though is the great people you can meet at either style event.

Raf and his Setter

Kona the 11 month old English Pointer

Lovely Mae

I ended up at the field trial because I was hired to photograph an amazing GSP named Snip's Sixth Sense Wyatt MH. Wyatt had a great weekend placing 3rd in Open Limited Gundog on Friday, 2nd in Open Gundog on Saturday (both days he was handled by Bruce Shaffer) and he placed 3rd on Sunday in Amateur Limited Gundog while being handled by his owner Jon Sensinger. I got to witness his impressive run on Saturday with him taking 2nd out of 20 dogs. He is ranked 11th with the GSPCA Open Gundog and 13th with the AKC GSP Open Gundog for 2011. Wyatt is 34 months old, has his health clearances and is available for stud to approved dams. For more information on him please contact Bruce Shaffer through his website.

Wyatt

One of the most interesting aspects of the field trial for me were all the horses. At one point I had to laugh to myself as I was jogging along next to about 6 of them.  I can understand after attending the trial why a horse is a necessity. The dogs run so big. Unfortunately I can't get good pictures on a horse. I can only hope that Nike and upland boot manufactures will team up and develop a cross training mud boot. After running about 6 braces I appreciated the fact that I'm in good shape otherwise it would have been a really long day!

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My new Logo!!

Over the last 8 months I have been on the hunt for a logo for my Byrd Dog Photography business. Having a logo is an important part of being branded in business and makes you more identifiable. Someone may not remember the name of your business but they will remember your logo. For instance when you think of McDonald's you think of those golden arches. Your logo goes on everything from sweatshirts to business cards to brochures to your website. It's your symbol. It's what represents you. What I discovered over this past 8 months is that it really matters who you choose to brand you and represent your identity to the world.

From the beginning the name that kept coming up during my research was that of Greg Blair. He not only came highly recommended to me but he had the experience and portfolio I was looking for. Greg not only has 20 years experience in design (10 of those years owning his own design firm in Milwaukee, WI) but he is also a dog lover and an upland hunter. I loved the fact that when I told Greg I wanted a GSP in my logo I didn't have to explain to him what one looks like. He already knows....in fact he owns one as well as two fine looking English Pointers.

Neenah Creek's Unanswered Prayer - Call name Rookie (13 years old)

1X NSTRA CH, 2005 Wisconsin Regional Champion

2006 Wisconsin Regional 2nd Runner-up

Blair's Bella Dancer - Call name Bella (4 years old)

American Field Placements

Blair's Highway Man - Call name Dan (3 years old)

American Field Placements

As long as Greg has been in design he has been hunting over dogs. To him there is nothing nicer than seeing a pointer run, point, and stand for the flush. He loves the whole package and I can relate to that. He loves hunting grouse and makes his way to North Dakota each year for sharptails or huns and also gets to Northern Wisconsin for ruffed grouse.

For anyone who owns a animal rescue, a kennel, a hunting club, a veterinaries office, a hunting preserve or anything related to the outdoor industry and you are looking for branding materials such as logos, brochures, or web design I highly recommend contacting Greg Blair. What he can offer you which many other designers can not, is he understands your audience because he is an active member of it. It's been my experience through this process that having someone who truly understands your end user is invaluable. Below are some examples of Greg's other logos. What you will notice is he has a simple, clean style to his designs. He lets strong, bold graphics convey the desired message to the marketplace.

I'm not trying to pigeonhole Greg as he does logos and branding for all kinds of business's not just the dog related industry. I can say from experience he is a real pleasure to work with. If I ever need additional marketing material in the future he will be the person I contact. Feel free to check him out on his website or send him an email at glblair5@gmail.com. I know you will be happy with the end result....I sure am!  

Some more examples of Greg's work:

Check us out and like us on facebook! Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer