Pugs in the Park: Canine Portraits and Candids

Saturday, 2/14/09

A friend of mine got a 10 week old Pug puppy through a rescue organization last month. For those of you who have had puppies, you can vouch for me how quickly the little buggers change. I’m so glad I got photos of him as a puppy. One of these days, I’ll have to post recent photos of Gracie, who is way bigger (and longer!) than anybody expected.

Julie Poole is probably my favorite canine photographer- her work is technically flawless and her photos show off a signature style.

Most of my equipment and training is geared toward outdoor/action photography so I do my best work outside in a casual and informal setting. This is how I did my shoot this Saturday:

First, I met the dogs and they became acquainted with me. Then, we took the dogs for a walk to the local park. Willie watched the house while we were at the park.

Before we turned Clancy and Otto loose, we posed them for a few portraits. Before exercise, dogs usually look more alert but also have less of an attention span.

Most Pugs have dark faces and light-colored bodies. I metered off the dogs’ faces to keep detail but I also watched for blown-out highlights on their bodies. We had an overcast day so the light was pretty even.

We set the Pugs loose in the dog park. Clancy and Otto the Pugs are far more interested in people than in other dogs. A Puggle was at the park and was desperate to play with his cousins. Otto politely avoided him.

Clancy is getting used to the dog park setting. He was a little shy but he came out of his shell…

Eventually, the Puggle found another Puggle and they were a perfect match.

After the Pugs were done socializing, we did a few more posed photos. Clancy wanted to play checkers, but could not locate an opponent:

Clancy was ready to go home:

He played with Otto and then crashed. Big day for a little pup.