Dig into a copy of the spring/summer issue of the USA Today Pet Guide Magazine and you’ll find an article called ‘Capture the Magic’, an article written specifically for the average pet owner who wants to capture better photos of their own pets, including a variety of tips from yours-truly. I’ve been in a few ‘pet photography tips’ articles in magazines over the years, but this is arguably the most well-written article I’ve seen on the topic, and the writer Lyndsee Cordes did a fantastic job of interweaving tips from three different pet photographers without losing the flow of the information, so I strongly recommend you check it out.

This issue also highlights a feature article about one of my favorite actresses- Katherine Heigl, a major champion for animal welfare, where she talks about her inspiring work with her Jason Debus Heigl Foundation and her new line of pet products and accessories- Just One, a line designed to help support needy pets. Read more about both of these wonderful causes in the article. A great issue all around!

You can pick up a copy of the spring/summer 2013 issue here.

The post USA Today Pet Guide Magazine Article With Photography Tips by Cowbelly appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

The photos in this post are of a dog named Cobi. Cobi has already touched many lives on the internet- through Facebook and Instagram, after I posted photos of him and his story.

You see, Cobi had cancer, a disease that claimed his life just days after our photo shoot. I’ve written several sentences here and deleted each one, because it’s so hard to know what to say. Here is what I can say: Cobi and his mom had a very special bond, not unlike the one I share with Fergie. She loved him with everything in her, that much is clear. He also beat the odds for his type of cancer (melanoma), living to just shy of one year following his diagnosis, when there is only a 5% chance of doing so. He was a fighter, and even when I worked with him, had a zest and love for life, and was full of personality and character. I fell so in love with that character that I didn’t want to leave. I could have easily photographed him all day.

A word about honor:

I lack the words to express the gratitude I feel for being able to provide this service to pet owners in positions like this. It is my deepest desire to provide imagery that keeps people close to their furry loved ones long after they are gone. What we are doing when we create photos of our animals is we are honoring them, by recognizing and celebrating the very important role they played in our lives here on earth. I hope I honored Cobi in these images, and his spirit lives on through them forevermore. RIP sweet boy. You will be dearly missed.

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post Cobi the sweet Shepherd mix on the road to the Rainbow Bridge appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

While looking through old photos lately I came across this photo of Duke. Duke’s shoot was in May of 2008, and took place at the Magnuson off-leash dog park and beach, Duke’s favorite romping spot away from home. Duke loved the water, and here we see him with not just one, but two balls in his mouth. There’s something about the way the light is hitting him, and how the water pushes out from his body, and the look on his face that I really dig. I usually grimace when thinking of shoots at dog parks, because they are usually far from ideal places to shoot, but now I’m looking forward to my next shoot at Magnuson Park.

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post Duke photographed swimming in May 2008 appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

Last week my challenge was a very hard one for me. It was simply: #line. Most of the photos I create, both with my phone and DSLR, are organic in nature, and as such, most of them have random edges, softer shapes, and very little in the way of straight lines. The joke here is that I can’t make lines and horizons/planes in my photos straight to save my life. It doesn’t matter if I’m shooting a dog or a house. ALL of my photos are crooked. And this is the truth. You can clearly see this in my building shots below. So not only did this challenge well- challenge me- because I can’t keep things straight, but it also forced me to look for lines, when it’s something I never do. I don’t think I did a very good job with this one, especially since buildings are such an obvious choice for this (although I do dig the metal art in the lower left), so I’ll want to revisit this in the future. But that’s the fun of these weekly challenges. They force me to see things in a different way, and try and be more creative through my photos. I still think I suck at iPhoneography, but I’m still new and still learning and the process is fun, and that’s all that matters.

Find me on Instagram @Cowbelly, and Fergie on Instagram at @MissMonkeyPants

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post Instagram Challenge for May 13th-19th: #line appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

I’m behind on Instagram blogging, so I’m going to do two posts this week. During the week of May 6th-12th my challenge was the color green, which was inspired by the photo of Fergie below, laying in the grass in my backyard. So far I’ve done the colors pink and green for my challenges, and will work my way through all of the colors of the rainbow during the rest of 2013. The shot of the buttercups was also taken in my yard, and the other two shots were taken at Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. These are all iPhone 5 shots, except for the photo of Fergie, which was created with my Canon 5D mark III and 20mm lens.

Find me on Instagram @Cowbelly, and Fergie on Instagram at @MissMonkeyPants

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post Instagram Challenge for May 6th-May 12th: #Green appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

It occurred to me that I didn’t have a gallery on my website highlighting my commercial dog photography work, so I decided to change that recently and add a commercial gallery of some of my favorite shots from both assignments and licensing deals. Some of the images are tearsheets and some are just favorite images from shoots. Enjoy!

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post New Commercial Dog Photography Gallery appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

Since I announced my plans to retire from teaching back in January, some of my colleagues have expressed disappointment that they never got the chance to take a pet photography workshop from me, BUT, I am here to say that doesn’t have to mean that pet photographers can’t still get fantastic information from terrifically talented, highly experienced photographers and business owners! I’m so thrilled to be able to recommend such great resources to my colleagues: dog photography workshops, consulting and mentoring. I knew it was just a matter of time before there were some other really wonderful educational resources out there, and here they are, in all their glory.

Here are my top 5 picks for pet photography workshops, consulting and mentoring that I wholeheartedly recommend, endorse and believe in. If you are a pet photographer looking for a wonderful, experienced, successful teacher, please consider signing up for one of the following:

1. Paw Print Divas Pet Photography Workshops

Talented, successful, creative, driven, caring and compassionate are all words I would use to describe teachers Barbara Breitsameter, Kim Hartz and Jenny Froh, the gals behind the newish (and wildly successful) Paw Print Divas intensive 4-day pet photography workshops. Their workshop covers business and marketing on day 1, and is followed by three full days of shooting at a variety of different locations.

Their most recent workshop was in Houston Texas and the next is rumored to be held at a fantastic uh-mayzing location that I am so excited about for the attendees I’m just dying to share (I can share it now- it’s Lake Tahoe!!). It’s going to be outta-this-world awesome. Really, from what I know about the next one, you need to be there, and will be so disappointed if you aren’t. They are working on organizing it for late summer/fall, so if you are interested, definitely send them an email to get on the notification list. Read more about these amazing workshops and talented women by clicking the link to their workshop website above.

2. Norah Levine Pet Photography Workshops through Santa Fe Workshops

Although Norah has been a professional pet photographer for over 10 years,  I just recently found out about her work and her workshop, and I have to say, my socks were knocked off by what I saw.

From the Santa Fe Workshops website:

3. Illona Haus- Scruffy Dog Photography 1-on-1 and 2-on-1 intensive mentoring sessions

Illona Haus, acclaimed owner of Canada’s Scruffy Dog Photography, offers intentive mentoring sessions to photographers. Illona is arguably the best in the biz when it comes to action work and editing, and I think I can speak for all of us pet photographers when I say “how does she doooo that?”.

From her website:

“These comprehensive two- to three-day sessions involve hands-on training, including real-life shooting scenarios with real dogs … not highly-trained models … forcing you to think outside the box and look at your photography in a whole new light. For a total of 24+ intensive, hands-on working hours, the scruffy dog studio is yours, and we cover any and all topics important to your business … from technical aspects of shooting to dog behavior, setting dogs and clients up for success at sessions, location scouting, working available light, workflow and post-production, business discussion ranging from sales and business materials, dealing with clients, ordering sessions, products, packages, branding and marketing, social media, commercial sales, and anything else you can think of! No subject is off limits. Because this is your session, it is focused solely on your needs as a photographer, where your business is at, where your shooting level is at, and what your goals are.”

I personally know that Illona pours her heart and soul into her mentees. If you want an intimate hands-on experience getting knowledge from one the best in the biz who has been prolifically photographing pets for many years, give Illona a shout and get signed up with one of her mentoring sessions.

4. Charlotte Reeves mentoring sessions in the U.S.

Charlotte Reeves is widely known as one of the best pet photographers in Australia. Charlotte is known for her colorful images that swim in gorgeous natural light and vivid colors, capturing dogs and cats having fun both solo and with their owners. Along with being a highly talented photographer and successful business owner for over five years, Charlotte is also a web designer and techy maven, and knows a thing or two about developing a brand and standing out.

Charlotte is offering extremely limited 1-on-1 mentoring sessions during her trip to the U.S. in June of this year. Sessions are just $150 for one hour or $250 for two hours. She has limited spaces available in the following cities on the following dates:

San Francisco, CA – Tues 4th to Sat 8th June
Denver, CO – Sun 9th to Thurs 13th June
New York, NY – Tue 18th to Fri 21st June

Topics mentees can choose from include:

• Defining your target client and marketing (including social media marketing)
• Website design and search engine optimisation and promotion (did I mention I’m a website designer too?)
• Session procedure and shooting technical advice, including shooting on manual and shooting with backlight (theory only, no time for practice unfortunately!)
• Camera and lens selection
• Finding and choosing locations – what to look for and how to use the available features of the location
• Working with various types of pets – techniques that I use to get the shot
• Dealing with clients and best business practices including customer care and relations
• Editing and presenting your images at their best (bring your laptop along and I can demonstrate)
• Workflow
• Pricing for profit including what products to offer
• Quoting and securing commercial pet photography jobs
• Referral systems, how to set them up and make them work for you

Drop Charlotte a line ASAP if you are interested in learning from her, or click on the link to her blog to read more about her mentoring!

5. Gary Parker Swamp Dog Photography Workshops

If you don’t already know about Gary Parker’s work, you need to. It’s some of the best dog and cat photography I have ever seen.

Gary Parker is a highly successful multi-award-winning commercial dog and cat photographer, with a career spanning 30 years, whose client list includes such greats as Purina, Heinz, Pfizer, Pedigree, Nabisco, and Iams.

Gary recently announced plans to teach a dog photography workshop, through his website Swamp Dog Photography Workshops. The plans are so new that details of dates and cost haven’t been released yet, but Gary is accepting emails from interested pet photographers and will announce details soon. Send him an email through this blog post, and get on board with this workshop. This is one you don’t want to miss!

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Additional pet photography business resources:

For those who are primarily needing help with the business side of their pet photography businesses, such as with marketing, pricing, sales and working with clients, I have several educational resources available that will help with the business side of things.

First, take a look at the PDF resources I have available: The Pet Photography Marketing Guide (117 pages), and the Pet Photography Pricing & Sales Strategies Guide (55 pages).

The Pet Photography Pricing and Sales Strategies Guide contains: how to determine expenses and revenue, a suggested price list for pet photography, photo shoot tiers and pricing, different types of shoots, pricing for a variety of different products, collection pricing and options, client buying trends and more. The sales strategies part of the guide contains information on how you affect your sales, how you can shoot to sell, consumer psychology when it comes to spending money, value vs income, different sales strategies (i.e. how to sell), add-ons to sales, 5 no-nos to pricing, a sales Q & A and more.

For those who are starting up pet photography businesses, and don’t know where to start, take a look at the book I wrote, Beautiful Beasties: A Creative Guide to Modern Pet Photography. The book has several chapters you may find helpful: ‘Post-production’, ‘Going Pro’, and ‘Business Essentials’.

The ‘Post-Production’ chapter covers:

Establishing a digital workflow, and quickly and efficiently culling and editing in Lightroom.

Tips on how and when to use Photoshop to your best advantage and what it can do that Lightroom can’t.

Common editing errors newbie pet photographers make.

The ‘Going Pro’ chapter covers:

The start-up process from A-Z- every step you need to do to get your pet photography business up and running.

A foolproof 10-step portfolio building process: how to do it and for how long, what to emphasize, important steps to take along the process, what to charge, when and how to change prices, the best recipe for future success, and how to start a pet photography business the right way.

Start-up and ongoing expenses, and how to keep your costs low.

Pre-shoot and post-shoot client process. Every step is outlined, from their initial phone call or email, to when they receive their products in the mail, both on the client-side and in-house.

The ‘Business Essentials’ chapter covers:

Pricing products for profit, which is what separates your business from a hobby. What not to charge, and how to create pricing for various products.

Different products to offer that your clients will love, you can proudly stand behind, and won’t leave you confused or overwhelmed by all the different photo product options out there.

Branding: how to set your business apart from the competition, and create both a look and a name for yourself that expresses who you are.

Marketing: a variety of different successful marketing strategies, including grass-roots, low or no cost marketing. A list of businesses to network with and create complementary marketing partnerships with, and how to quickly and effectively grow word of mouth.

Some other fun parts of the book are: working with ‘Stage-mom’ owners (i.e. difficult clients), pet photography don’ts that will give away your lack of experience, challenges galore in pet photography, ten ideas for getting variety in every session, and creating and finding your own unique artistic voice. There are also exercises at the end of every chapter to help you practice what you learn in the book.

For less than $20 you can have a wealth of information in this book that will get you started on the right path in your career.

Go check out the workshops and mentoring I listed above, and my PDFs and book, and please share this post with all of your pet photography colleagues on the forums, Facebook walls and blogs you frequent so they can have the benefit of learning about great educational programs too. Thank you so much and best wishes on your career!

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post Five GREAT pet photography workshop and mentoring options for photographers appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

As a caption on one of my Instagram photos I posted below, I wrote this:

“For years in my teens and 20′s I wanted to escape from Seattle, and did a few times: working in a fishing cannery in Alaska for four months when I was 17, living and working at Mt. Hood Oregon for two years when I was 21-22, and studying in Aix-en-Provence France for four months when I was 25. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to appreciate my native Seattle so much more, and now, now I am in love again. I don’t think I’ll be here forever, but it sure is nice right now.”

I hope these photos help demonstrate why. #ahhhhemeraldcity

Find me on Instagram @Cowbelly, and Fergie on Instagram at @MissMonkeyPants

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post Instagram Challenge for April 29th-May 5th: #Seattle appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

Sorry about the blog slow-down. The weather is getting nice, and I am getting busy. But I have some really fun and exciting things in the works, so stay tuned for those!

During the first really good weather week we had here in Seattle recently I headed to the Arboretum to do a fun little shoot for Kona the adorable Shih Tzu puppy. Kona’s mom is a past client of mine, and I photographed her beloved dogs Macintyre and Mable up in Edmonds in late 2011. Sadly both Mac and Mable passed away within a month of each other last year, so a few months later, their mom got a new furbaby- Kona Macintyre, who is now 9 months old. Kona is just as cute and sweet and charming in person as he looks like he would be in his photos. Just so good-natured and fun to be around. I told his mom that if he was my dog, I would get absolutely nothing done because I’d be cuddling with him and playing with him all day long. And did I mention he’s soft too? Like teddy bear fur. Oh, and those ears. He looks like he has a pageboy haircut. #swoon.

A new favorite on the right below. Adorable dog + doggie smile + green goodness + blue sky = love.

Have you guys ever seen photos posted of celebrities where they look like they have been partying a little bit too hard the night before? But then they post another photo that was taken right after the unflattering one and they look happy and normal? This pair of photos of Kona reminds me of those.

Thank you so much Edna and Kona for the super fun shoot! I look forward to getting your canvas display done for you so you can add your new baby photos to your other baby photos.

The post Kona the adorable Shih Tzu puppy at the Arboretum appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..

It’s funny what your brain will do when you have insomnia and are running on a few minutes of sleep, which is the state I was in when I started creating these and sharing them on Instagram a week ago.

I introduce to you my fun new project called DogSplits (and CatSplits too, we can’t forget about the kitties). I take the funniest photos I have, and make the animal a mirror image of him/herself. Here is what I have learned while doing this: #1- bulldogs, pugs, and other short-nosed breeds look exactly the same when you mirror them, #2- some of these can make a person laugh so hard they snort and/or cry, #3- occasionally I will create a DogSplit that results in a dog that looks exactly like a specific cartoon or movie character, like the guy on the middle right who looks uncannily like Sid the sloth from the movie Ice Age.

I am actively creating more of these, and already have around 75 more where these came from, so I will be sharing a lot more over the coming weeks and months, both here on the blog, and on Facebook (and yes, most likely on Instagram too). Life is tough, and we all need a little humor in our lives, and if some of these funny animals can help make people laugh and brighten up their day, then I’ll keep posting them for as long as people want to see them. Enjoy my DogSplits!

Find me on Instagram @Cowbelly, and Fergie on Instagram at @MissMonkeyPants

www.cowbelly.com

www.stockdogimages.com

The post Instagram Challenge for April 22nd-28th: #DogSplits appeared first on Seattle Pet Photography: Blog for Cowbelly: funny, engaging pet photos. Est 2003..