Where did Joe go?
Those words jumped into my mind and made me feel sick to the bottom of my stomach.
Joe, he is my dog, he is not the best for recall, he got on the scent of something far more exciting than me and he was gone. Into the woods…
The longest 20 minutes of my life, I did start to panic, I am not proud. I tried to think logically, he will follow the scent back to me, once he has finished his fun. Don’t move from my spot, keep calm. I had visions of him running out the woods further along the track and then into the road, causing an accident, getting stuck in the woods, slicing himself open on old wire, impaling himself on a broken fence post or tree stump. Yes, I have an amazing over active imagination! It was not serving me well so I needed to keep my mind occupied. In my head I had designed the ‘Lost’ poster, picked the photo, chosen where I was going to put the posters.
Then, through the trees comes a very fast, exceedingly happy but knackered puppy dog….such relief, lots of tears from me.
So I do get it, when a client is worried about having their dog photographed as they can’t be off lead. It really is not a problem at all for a few reasons…
Believe it or not most of the dogs that I photograph stay on their lead throughout the entire session for their safety.
I can even capture action shots using a special long line, all whilst keeping your dog safe and sound. Thanks to the magic of the digital darkroom, the lead will be removed from any images that you order. "But what about their harness or gentle leaders—can those be digitally removed too?" I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to remove a harness or gentle leader from your final image, especially large harnesses that cover the majority of your dog’s chest. If your dog usually walks in a harness or gentle leader, I recommend using it to walk to the session and between shooting locations, but swapping it for a regular flat collar while I photograph. If you have a sighthound or other dog that can easily slip out of a flat collar, martingale collars work well and are more photogenic than harnesses. If you are local to me in Devon, we can do your photoshoot at my outdoor studio, its a safe place for your dog to walk, run and have fun.
Your dogs safety is paramount to me.
To see other FAQ click here
To have a chat to me click here
Joe and I are now training (virtually) with Woodhead Woofers to work on our recall bond, it is great fun and I am learning so much. You can find them on Facebook.