Lara Blair - Photographing Dogs Techniques for Professional Digital Photographers

Check out Amherst Medias blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/

http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2013 by Lara Blair.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

All rights reserved.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc.

P.O. Box 586

Buffalo, N.Y. 14226

Fax: 716-874-4508

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt

Editorial assistance provided by Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder, and Carey A. Miller.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-540-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012936515

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

Id like to thank my husband, Dave, who has always supported my ever-changing career as a photographer over the years. From working weekends to deciding not to work weekends, from taking multiple clients over the holidays to scaling back for the sake of our family, from capturing everyone under the sun to finally finding my way to the dog world, you have always believed that I could find the perfect path in this industry. I love you forever and ever.

To my sweet daughters, Katie and Rachel, I express deep gratitude for your enthusiasm about my work. You see the beauty in these animals as much as I do, and it is always fun to share it with you. Thank you, also, for being my muses over the years. As difficult as it was, the posing that youve done for me in costumes, in the forest, and in the rain have been my favorites. You are my proudest accomplishment. I love you.

For Kate, caretaker of the animals who needed it most, I say thank you for the gift of Fauna. You were a blessing in my life and I miss you. Having your little dog in our lives reminds us to always be kind, caring, and loving with all living creatures.

Lara Blair began her photography business in 2000 with a film camera and a dream of creating black & white photographic art for families. Over the years, she incorporated color film and eventually did a complete transition to digital, with a learning curve that amazed her. A move to New York with her family inspired her to fine-tune her style and type of subject she preferred to capture. It is there that she discovered she was more interested in what the family dogs were doing while taking family portraits. A move back to Washington state was the perfect time to reinvent the wheel, and Lara Blair Images dog studio was born!

Lara has a passion for working with women who are beginning their journey with photography. With a masters in teaching, she uses all of her skills to instruct the technical part of this art, but also facilitates the artistic quest for individual style and subject matter. Her annual retreat, Ignite the Heart, alternates between Italy and the Oregon Coast and takes only twelve people. This is the highlight of her year. Lara also teaches workshops in her studio and around the country.

Lara loves to create collages and large wall displays using digital imagery and other mediums. She is a lover of the vintage world and enjoys taking dreamy images of styled subjects which are displayed on her personal blog, Modernprairiegirl.com.

For more information on classes and retreats, please contact Lara at .

Author photo courtesy of David Blair.

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. Roger Caras

In this digital age of photography, there are people opening their portrait studio doors every day. It seems that in any given town there is a plethora of photographers for potential clients to choose from, and at times it can be difficult to differentiate them in terms of their photographic style and level of experience. I had always believed that finding a niche market and focusing on this client base alone would be the key to creative and financial success in the portrait photography industry. Not only is it a lot less complicated to market to and provide excellent service for a niche market, it is always a good thing to be seen as an expert in one particular area of photography. Potential clients who belong to this niche will seek you out and hire you because they trust that you are the best.

For me, it proved to be true. I just never thought it would come in the form of a four-legged creature that slobbers on my backdrop. Now that Im in the middle of this treat-giving/ ear-scratching/ball-throwing portrait world, I can honestly say that its the best decision I ever made. I had been, like so many boutique studio owners out there, a Jill of all trades, photographing just about anyone who wanted to schedule a session. I found that there were certain client ages that were difficult to work with (goodness knows, my own kids in their toddler years were a portrait nightmare!) and there were sessions I had trouble ending because my subject matter was just so darn fun. Enter the dog friends and their owners. I loved these sessions more than any other, and I began to notice that I was capturing them for arts sake outside of studio hours. I also had success working with a Humane Society as our main charity project. This was the key to a full-on revamping of the studio marketing campaign and a much happier, more balanced work life that brings me joy every day.

Welcome to the world of dogs. come in, come in!

Dogs are like people with their expressions in so many ways! It is a pleasure to capture them.