This week's Pet Photography theme is "Natural Light".  I've been busy with a few other things the last few weeks and haven't had a chance to join in on the Pet Photography circle, but I'm back this week!  Natural light is often my 'go to' when working with rescue dogs.  Often times they aren't ready for someone to put a camera in their faces, much less bring in any type of lighting to help light up their faces and more importantly their eyes.  This can be a wonderful and easy way to photograph, just need to make sure you keep a few things in mind.  I first look around for someplace I can photograph the pet where the lighting is even - by this I mean, there isn't sun on part of the pet and shade on part of the pet - your eyes tend to ignore this, however the camera will not - and it usually doesn't come out looking to good.  Second, I look for a way to put some light into the faces, especially the eyes of the dog.  The sky can often do this for you, but you need to make sure there is some 'life' in the eyes for the best photograph.

There are many other things to watch for, but definitely these are at the top of my list. With some rescue dogs, I am trying to get a good photograph that is sharp - as they are full of energy.  This can be happy energy because someone is paying attention to them or it can be fear (scared) energy because they have learned that not all humans are nice.  Either way, it's a challenge each time to get some great photographs.

Meet some of the rescues with Maxx and Me Pet Rescue (https://www.maxxandme.org/) here in the Tampa Bay area.

First up is Kane, a young male with a cropped tail - he is a beautiful boy! In this photograph of a black dog, you can see a little sunlight coming through on Kane's fur - this is subtle and adds a little interest to a pure black dog.

Charley is Kane's sister - she doesn't have a cropped tail (no idea why one does and the other doesn't).  Charley is a sweet young girl, and loves her brother.

Here's Charlie (a boy) who was rescued from a hoarding situation - he's a really cool young boy - medium size, so perfect for those wanting a dog that has some size but not real big.

Here's Charlie with his buddy Sam.  These two boys are not considered a 'bonded pair' (meaning the rescue wants they to stay together) but they definitely spent a good amount of time hanging close to each other (this was not posed, they sat together naturally).  They came from the same hoarding situation and are currently looking for a foster and forever home.  Sam was pretty shy, but loved the attention of being petted!

For more pet photographers sharing their take on this theme, head over to visit Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography fetching portraits in Coppell and surrounding communities in Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas and then head around the rest of the blog circle.

If you would like to book a custom pet portrait session, send an email to [email protected] or give us a call/text at 813-610-2671 in the Tampa Bay area (Florida).