Category: Pet Photography

Dog & Pet Photography

The doors are closed

The Doors Are Closed

by Shooting The Dog, posted in General Stuff, Pet Photography, Picture Framing

Time to close the doors

It is with a very heavy heart that we have made the decision to close the shop doors to the public from today. We do not offer an “essential” service to the town, so it seems like the responsible thing to do amid this global crisis.

Our hearts go out to all the other small local businesses that are having to make the same decision. We are a small community with many family run businesses at it’s heart. I plead with everyone, no matter where you are, that once this thing is over get out and support the small local businesses. We are all going to need your support if we are to get over this.

WHAT ABOUT MY FRAME?

If you have brought in things to be framed then we will complete the work as soon as we can. I will contact you once the work is completed and arrange for payment and collection/delivery. It will take some time, so please be patient with us.

If you are not willing to wait, then please contact us and we can arrange for you to collect the item you have brought in for framing.

What about my pet Photography Wall Art?

Again, any orders we have will be completed as soon as possible. I will contact you to arrange payment and collection/delivery. These are extraordinary times and we ask you to bear with us while we get ourselves sorted out.

Let’s Stick together!

If there are any Brixham businesses that need product photography for web sites to allow them to keep trading online, please contact us. This is a service we are happy to provide and will do so at a very reasonable cost.

Likewise, if anyone needs help in setting up an e-commerce website I am more than willing to assist.

Thank you!

A massive thank you to everyone who has supported this business over the last thirteen years. I have poured my heart, soul and bank account into getting it to where it is, and without your support we would never have made it this far.

We will be back. It might not be the same again, but we will be back.

Stay positive, and stay safe.

Corona Virus Measures

by Shooting The Dog, posted in General Stuff, Pet Photography, Picture Framing

Doing our bit to stop the spread

The corona virus outbreak is effecting us all in many ways, and here at Shooting The Dog we are taking measures to keep ourselves and our customers safe.

As of the week commencing Monday 23rd March we will only be opening the shop on Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week. Our normal opening hours will be in place on these days: 9:30 am – 4pm on Thursday and Friday, and 10 am – 3pm on Saturday.

Our shop is very small, so we ask that if you do visit, please only come in as a maximum of two people at once. If you see a customer in the shop when you arrive then please wait outside until we are free. The more distance we keep between us all, the less likely this horrific virus is likely to spread.

These are the plans at the moment, but may well change, and we will be following government advice.

The Framing Dept.

As many of you will know, Mel the framer is of a certain age; and falls into the “at risk” category. To ensure he keeps well he is, sensibly, following government advice and avoiding social contact as much as possible. This means that ALL framing jobs will be suspended for now.

Jobs we have in the shop awaiting completion, will be completed as and when it is deemed safe to do so. However, if you feel you cannot wait please contact us to arrange collection of your artwork. We will be contacting the customers of outstanding work later today to discuss their options.

We do not take these corona virus measures lightly, but Mel’s welfare is of upmost importance as is that of our customers.

Pet Photography

The pet photography side of things will , for the moment, continue; so if you are interested in having your pet photographed please contact us through the website.

We will have to introduce restrictions on the number of people who attend with the pets for studio shoots, but we will discuss this with you at time of booking. You should also be advised that it may take longer to get your final products to you.

Corona Virus Measures

Corona Virus and pets

If you are concerned in any way with regard corona virus here are some useful links to information currently available:

  1. World Health Organisation
  2. RCVS
  3. NHS

Indoor Dog Exercise Ideas

by Shooting The Dog, posted in General Stuff, Pet Photography

With measures being put in place to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, we might be forced to spend more time indoors, but that doesn’t have to mean that we can’t find fun ways to exercise our dogs.

Indoor Dog Exercise

Ideas for Indoor Exercise

We thought we would share some ideas to keep you and your dog exercised indoors. Lots of fun, and rewarding for both you and your dog. You might even end up with a better behaved best friend.

1. Indoor Fetch

These games are usually played outside, but why not bring them inside. If you have enough space in your house, these can be a great way to help your dog stay active. If your space is more restricted, a hallway can do the job. Get into the game by throwing his favourite toy or ball and race with him to get it instead of just watching him chase for it. Ideally, try to pick out a soft toy or soft ball. This way, both of you will have lots of fun without breaking any valuable items.

Indoor Fetch

2. A Game Of Tug

Tug-of-war is a really fun game to play. No equipment is needed except for a rope or an old piece of cloth. It can be very good to help your dog learn self-control. However, you have to be conscious that this game can be risky. It may bring out aggressive behaviour in your dog. A relationship of trust and respect must already be established in order for you to enjoy this sort of game.

Tug Of War

3. Do Some Training

Do some training

Spend some time reinforcing basic training, or teach your dog a new trick. It’s great mental exercise for your dog, and a wonderful bonding exercise. A good starting point is to teach your dog to come to your hand.

You can find lots of inspiration here

4. Enrichment Toys

Toys you can hide treats in, or that have puzzles for your dog to solve to get a treat are great ways to keep your dog entertained. Mental stimulation ideas are as important as physical exercise ideas.

Our good friends at Ruffle Snuffle have all sorts of exciting toys, Fidget loves his Ruffle Snuffle mat. You could try making your own from egg boxes, plastic cups or whatever, and hiding treats in them. Just makes sure they are dog safe!

5. A Relaxing Massage

A nice massage

Your dog will love time spent giving them a massage.

You can find out more here.

So even if you can’t get out and about with your dog as much as you would have liked to, there are plenty of things you can do for a bit of indoor dog exercise. When you have finished you could always relax and take a look at our website, and maybe book you and your well exercised friend in for a pet photo shoot.

Why Do Dog Photography?

by Shooting The Dog, posted in General Stuff, Pet Photography

Dog & Pet Photography Specialism

I am often asked why I specialise in dog and pet photography. Why not weddings and people portraits?
The easy answer is that I love dogs, and most other animals. I enjoy working with them. People just don’t interest me so much. And maybe I just like a challenge!

So how did it all start?

Back when I had a real job, I spent most of my time in an office. At the weekends I would go out with the camera and photograph the local wildlife. Birds, insects – anything really, it was my way on unwinding. A lot of my time was spent on my local nature reserve that was run by the London Wildlife Trust, or crawling around in my garden.

The River Crane, Twickenham
The River Crane, Twickenham

I learnt about patience and how to approach animals. There was a lot of sitting around on river banks and lurking in reed beds. More importantly, I learnt about cameras, and how to get the best out of them in different conditions. If I was to offer one piece of advice to budding photographers, it would be learn how to use your camera. No amount of Photoshop knowledge can rescue a bad photograph, I know because I have taken hundreds of bad photographs! But that is how you learn, you need to understand why a photograph is bad, or why the main subject is just a blur of feathers or fur. And the next time you get the chance you make sure you get it right – or at least move in the right direction.

Red Fox, Crane Park Nature Resreve
Red Fox, Crane Park Nature Reserve

Can I Sell my Photographs?

After a while I was spotted by some of the wildlife trust rangers and volunteers. They asked me to exhibit some of my photographs of the nature reserve in the visitor centre. And I sold some! My first photography sales. This in turn led to some of my photographs being used in publications regarding biodiversity around Richmond and Twickenham. Slowly, little ideas were springing up in my head that maybe, just maybe, I could start doing this hobby I loved on a more professional basis.

Migrant Hawker Dragonfly
Migrant Hawker Dragonfly in flight.
Bee on Lavender
Bee on Lavender
Marsh Frog
Marsh Frog
Blue Tit
Blue Tit

From Wildlife to Pets

Things all moved on about thirteen years ago, when I was made redundant. I moved back down to my home town of Brixham and bought myself a little shop. I started selling prints of Brixham and the surrounding areas. It wasn’t long before people were asking me to photograph things for them – all sorts of things. But at one point someone asked me to photograph their dog … and the rest, as they say, is history.

Many of the skills used in photographing wildlife come in extremely handy when working with pets. So it seemed the perfect step for me. I could still spend my time photographing the animals I loved, but still be able to make enough money to eat (at least once a month!).

Now I can’t imagine wanting to do anything else.

dog portrait 1
dog portrait 2
dog portrait 3
Easter Contest Image

You Could Win A Pet Photo Shoot

by Shooting The Dog, posted in Pet Photography

Today we are launching our 2020 Easter Parade Competition.

Make an Easter bonnet and take a photo of your pet wearing it. Send it to us, and you could win a studio pet photo shoot voucher (worth £65) for your pet.

You can find all the details and the entry form our special 2020 Easter Parade Contest page.

Entries must be made through the official page …. so why are you still here? Start making your bonnet!

Win A Pet Photo Shoot

Traditional Framed Prints

by Shooting The Dog, posted in Pet Photography

We are going to start a series on the blog looking at our products in more detail over the next few weeks.

Today we are starting with our traditional framed prints.

Pictures Displayed The Traditional Way

Traditional Framed Print 3
Traditional Framed Print 1
Traditional Framed Print 2

All our framing is carried out by our in-house framing department. So we can frame your prints exactly to your requirements. This allows us to match your framed artwork to your style, whether you live in a sleek modern apartment or a cosy little cottage.

A3 Framed Print Example

Our range of framed prints span from A4 up to a large 30″ x 24″ statement piece and prices start at £100.

Traditional Framed Prints

Prices

Framed A4 Print
£100
A4 Print
2" Mount
Your choice of frame
A3 Framed Print
£150
A3 Print
2" Mount
Your choice of frame
Framed 20x16 Print
£180
20" x 16" Print
2" Mount
Your choice of frame
24 x 20 Framed Print
£200
24" x 20" Print
2.5" Mount
Your choice of frame
30 x 24 Framed Print
£200
30"" x 24" Print
2.5" Mount
Your choice of frame

Triptychs

Another way to show off your photographs in a frame is in a triptych. Three images in the same frame. We offer two print sizes for our triptychs. The smaller one being three 7×5 prints and the larger one being three A4 prints. The frames can either be portrait (three images shown vertically) or landscape (three images shown horizontally).

portrait triptych

We can of course put any number of images into one frame upon request.

Triptych Prices

7x5 Triptych
£140
Three 7" x 5" prints
Your choice of prints
2" Mount
Your choice of frame
A4 Triptych
£220
Three A4 prints
Your choice of prints
2" Mount
Your choice of frame

So that’s about it for a glimpse at our traditional framed prints. If these aren’t for you, don’t worry, we’ll be looking at our aluminium prints, fabulous acrylic prints and our prestige canvas gallery wraps over the next few weeks.

Is Pet Photography Expensive?

by Shooting The Dog, posted in Pet Photography

We hear it a lot from people outside the studio. Admiring the photographs in the window and then telling each other how expensive it must be; even though they haven’t asked us. So today’s post is all about the money. But is pet photography really that expensive?

At this point I could start complaining about how much it costs to run a photography business, and, yes, we have our overheads like any business – and we want to make a profit and eat occasionally.

So why does Pet Photography seem expensive?

Well to be honest it’s not cheap. But then if you wanted cheap you wouldn’t be looking at a professional pet photographer. We don’t want to be cheap!

What we want is to offer is value for money, good service, and professional, high quality products.

I have tried keeping costs down in the past by using cheaper suppliers, but in the end quality tells. No-one wants to have to keep delaying their customers because a supplier has sent another duff bunch of products which then had to get reprinted. Paying slightly more – and hence have to charge slightly more- to ensure that the products we provide our customers are the best we can get, is a much better option.

We want to provide artwork that will last a lifetime, memories that live on forever – that shouldn’t really fall into the cheap bracket.

A Quick Comparison

Acrylic Gallery Panel

Let’s take a look at one of our popular products – our wonderful 20 x 16 acrylic panel.

A glossy high definition print that oozes quality and definitely makes a statement in any home. It’s fabulous … and it retails at £270.

If looked after properly, it will last a lifetime – so that’s a one time cost.

We decided to take a look around on the internet for something to compare this to, to try and show what great value for money this investment would be. We struggled to find anything interesting to be honest, but we did find one or two interesting things.

Make-up – I’m not making this up!

According to a study in 2017, women spend an average of £450 per year on make-up. That would almost pay for two of our acrylic gallery panels- and you would be able to wear make-up again next year!

An average of £200 a year is just spent on fixing eyebrows that were plucked to oblivion only a few years ago.

Must Have Coffee … Really, I Need A Coffee!

In the UK the average person is spending more than £300 a year on coffee, and over £700 a year on wine.

If you just cut down a bit not only would your blood pressure thank you, but you would soon be able to afford our fabulous acrylic gallery panel… that will last forever.

So What I mean is ….

Although pet photography can look expensive, once you look at how much we spend on things that really don’t last long (especially coffee and wine, in my particular case) then you can see that it really is good value for money. And with a £50 credit towards wall art purchases when you book your photo shoot, then I would go as far as to say it’s a bargain.

Cut down on your wine, coffee and make-up

Book your pet in for a photo shoot
More Information

End of Promotion

by Shooting The Dog, posted in Pet Photography

Christmas Card Mini-Sessions

Our Christmas Card Mini-Sessions promotion has finished for the year now. Many thanks to everyone who came in for some unique and personal Christmas cards featuring your dogs. It has been great fun, with a wide range of dogs coming into the studio over the last few months.

A selection of our models

Here are a few of the dogs that came into the studio:

If you missed the promotion then our standard pet portrait sessions are always available. Just get in touch with us and we’ll sort out the rest for you.

Our gift vouchers are also available in the shop, or you can order on line. All the information is here.

Christmas Card Mini-Sessions

by Shooting The Dog, posted in Pet Photography

It’s October, so it’s time to launch our Christmas card mini-sessions, which will be available throughout October and November.

Christmas Card Mini-Sessions

What’s a Christmas Card Mini-Session?

Good question! It’s a half an hour photo shoot resulting in some special Christmas cards with your pet as the star. £35 will get you your mini-session and ten Christmas cards, if you want more you can order as many extra cards as you like at just £3.00 a card. You can even choose more than one of your images to make up your order, so that your friends don’t all get the same card.

Do I need to bring any props?

You certainly can if you want to. We can provide a small selection of Santa hats and reindeer antlers, but if there is something special you want then it would be best if you bring it along to the shoot.

What About Christmas Magic?

We can add a bit of sparkle, snow or whatever you have in mind during post processing of the images. Discuss it with us at the shoot to get your perfect Christmas card.

There may be an extra charge for this depending on how much magic you want to add!

Can i bring my twenty dogs?

With the limited time for the photo shoot, and to ensure that we spend enough time with each pet, these mini sessions are limited to just one pet at a time. If you have multiple pets that you would like in the same card then please ask when booking, but to ensure that we have enough time to get the best photographs you will need to book a multiple session.

I love the image, can i buy it as wall arT?

Of course you can. If there is an image from your session that you decide you would like up on the wall then you can order wall art in exactly the same way we do for our normal sessions.

What if you have already shot my pet?

Don’t worry you are not left out. Just get in touch in the normal way and we will do our Christmas magic on one (or more) of your existing photos. The cards will cost £3.00 each.

How do I book my Christmas Card Mini-Session?

Contact us in the normal way, we’ll call you at a convenient time to arrange a suitable date and time. We’ll take care of everything from there.

Just mention Christmas Card Mini-Session in the enquiry section.

Christmas Card Mini Sessions Poster

Sample Books and Camping

by Shooting The Dog, posted in General Stuff, Pet Photography

September is nearly over, and has seen the arrival of our sample photo books and a well earned early autumn short camping trip.

Sample Photo Books

With a change to a new supplier, it was exciting to receive our sample fine art photo book this month. They come in a presentation box, and have a wonderful linen finish cover to them.

Book Sample - Title Page

We can add any text you would like, so if you wanted to tell your pet’s life story then this is the perfect product for you.

Book Sample - Inner Pages

They also make the perfect solution when you can’t quite make up your mind what photograph to select from your photo shoot.

Gift Voucher Re-launch

Gift Vouchers

We have also re-launched our gift vouchers over the last month or so. More information can be found here.

The perfect gift for the pet lover in your life, and can be customised to your exact requirements.

SEptember Camping Trip

Camping at Hennock
The Perfect Campsite

As usual at this time of year, me and Fidget escaped the town centre life and headed to the country with our trusty tent for a few days. The weather was perfect and the campsite was a dream. Just what we needed to unwind and relax for a few days.

Camping - Sleepy Dog

Little Fidget had a wonderful time, and never ceases to adapt to life under canvas. Long walks in and around Dartmoor ensured he always slept well.

Camping - Ball Games

He was also (as ever) always up for a game of ball when the opportunity arose.

Tent lit up at night
The tent at night

But now we are back, and getting ready for the next three months in the lead up to Christmas. October will see the relaxing of the dog bans on the local beaches, so we are hoping that we get a few location shoots booked in for some beach action.

Puppy Picture

On my next blog I hope to be able to tell you a little bit more about this little character.