Aug 28, 2012
There was a whole gaggle of furry faces that passed in front of the Posh Pets‘ lens this week! And each one was adorable and is eagerly awaiting their forever family to come and find them! There is a little more info on each of these future pets on the Posh Pets’ Facebook page, but please contact Toronto Animal Services (North Region) directly to arrange an introduction. And thank you to all that share their lovely images…it really does help in finding them homes.
Aug 12, 2012
This week was the first time that Posh Pets Photography photographed guinea pigs! They really are very cute and these two in particular, Molly and Millie, are sisters that would love to be adopted together. And there were a lovely group of furry faces, both canine and feline…so something for everyone. Don’t forget that Toronto Animal Services is offering 2-for-1 adoption fees for all cats who find forever homes until August 15, 2012. So, if you have been thinking about a new family member, don’t delay!
All of these lovely furry faces have more information about them on the Posh Pets Facebook page, so go ahead and check them out. Of course, you can always contact Toronto Animal Services (North Region) directly if you want to meet any of them!
Jul 31, 2012
Here are this week’s adoptables all looking for a forever home! There are a number of kitties this time around, so please share their faces to help them get a little exposure. And if you see one you like, please contact Toronto Animal Services (North Region) directly and arrange to meet them!
For more information, you can also check out the Posh Pets Facebook page…they are all there gazing back at you!
Jul 18, 2012
It was a hot morning on Monday when I went in to photograph this week’s adoptables. Dog tongues were hanging out as we found some relief in the shade of a tree. Even the indoor kitties with their fur coats were evidently feeling the heat – I watched as one guy had all four paws in the large water bowl and was happily creating a wave pool with his paw, while simultaneously drinking. His feline friends looked on with curiosity mingled with disdain as he played with their water source.
So, with that, here is this week’s line-up…they are all available and eagerly waiting to meet their forever families at Toronto Animal Services! There is more information about each and everyone of them on the TAS site as well as the Posh Pets’ Facebook page. Please share their furry faces far and wide and let us know if one comes into your home – we love to hear the happy endings!
Jul 13, 2012
Ever heard of selective hearing? Apparently, it was an ailment I suffered from all through my teenage years…I listened to what I wanted, and simply “did not hear” the rest. (Of course, the parts that I did not hear were usually the good advice from my parents or anything else that would have been beneficial…)
Selective focus is similar, except it is done very deliberately. It is a technique to have the viewer focus on a particular area of the image, without the photographer having to say a word. This way the viewer can more easily hone in on the parts that are important and disregard the rest.
In honour of this theme, the Posh Pets‘ image was taken on Monday at the shelter. Here is little Kirby, who likes to play hide and seek with the photographer. He wasn’t particularly fond of the camera, so I had to use a long lens so that he would have his personal space. You can see though, that he always had his eyes on me, even as he took refuge in amongst the plants. Focusing on tiny, little Kirby threw the greenery out of focus and now you can clearly see his cute little expression, completely and utterly focused on me.
Kirby is also focused on finding his forever family. You are most welcome to come meet him and his shelter pals at Toronto Animal Services (North Region)!
Next in the blog ring is San Diego Pet Photographer, Karla Ogilvie. Please click through to see what she and the rest of the Beautiful Beasties gang came up with this week!
Jul 10, 2012
Yesterday was a beautiful morning as I headed off to meet the furry faces at Toronto Animal Services – lots of kitties and a quite a few dogs make up this week’s group! Please check them out and share their images so that they can find their forever homes soon! If you are interested in finding out additional information, please contact TAS directly. The Posh Pets’ Facebook page will have their ID numbers, which will help identify them.
See you all next week!
Jun 18, 2012
Just came home from Toronto Animal Services – North Region, where I met this group of furry faces all awaiting their forever homes. If you see someone that interests you, please contact TAS directly and arrange a meeting!
We’ll see you next week!
May 28, 2012
What a lovely morning to head down to the Toronto Animal Services (North Region) and meet a fresh group of furry faces! We headed outside before it got too hot to photograph the doggies and then back inside to see the kitties. I loved meeting (and cuddling) all of you!
Here are the doggies!
And here are the kitties!
Thanks so much for checking these guys out. Please feel free to share their images with anyone who would enjoy them and especially for those who are looking for a special pet in their life. As always, they will be featured on the Posh Pets Facebook page throughout the week where you can read a little more about them. If you would like to see them in “person”, please contact Toronto Animal Services (North Region) directly at (416) 338-8723.
See you next week!
May 21, 2012
Today may be a holiday for most happy people in Canada, but Posh Pets still headed off to Toronto Animal Services – North Region to photograph the furry faces awaiting their forever homes. It was a gorgeous day outside which is entirely appropriate the for the holiday weekend that, in the minds of many, starts the summer season!
Please note that a number of the dogs are not quite ready for adoption – in most cases they are going for their spay and neuter tomorrow. But then, it will be all systems go! Please feel free to contact Toronto Animal Services directly and inquire about any of these lovely guys and gals here.
Enjoy your holiday!
May 18, 2012
Project 52 is back this week with a fun challenge! And by that, I mean a challenge. We were to produce an image that would showcase more than one animal. As you can imagine, this can be a little daunting – trying to get multiple pets within one frame, all looking cute, takes time and imagination and sometimes, a little bit of serendipity. Well, just to make things a little more challenging, I decided to photograph 3 dogs that were currently awaiting forever homes at Toronto Animal Services. Imagine…three dogs, running free within in a shelter environment, with absolutely no one to assist me. Was that crazy? Probably, yes. But, I think you will agree that the final Posh Pets image is a keeper!
I would like to take a moment to tell you a a little more about this cute boy trio. Toby, on the left, has a wee bit of an issue – his tongue is always hanging out like that due to the fact that he has no teeth on that side and a probable neurological issue. It gives him a perpetual goofy expression. Maxie, the Shih Tzu in the middle, was surrendered by his previous owner with a badly ulcerated eye that, unfortunately, needed to be removed. He is doing remarkably well adjusting to having just one eye. Hubert, the cutie on the right, is a lovely boy, but will need a bit of a strong lead to have him trained properly. However, they all got along with each other famously. Which just goes to show…if you look past the imperfections, you can find friends anywhere!
Now, adoption photos tend to be one animal per image so that prospective human parents can see who they are asking about. So, here are their final images. Enjoy!
Next in the blog circle is Boston Dog Photographer, Kaylee Greer. Please see what groups of animals she and the rest of the Beautiful Beasties gang photographed this week! And don’t forget to have a nice, long weekend (if you live in Canada)!
May 17, 2012
Here are this week’s little furry faces – and this week they are all fine felines! You can meet each of these little guys at Toronto Animal Services (North Region). And, as always, they are being featured on the Posh Pets facebook page, so you can check them out there too with a little more information about them. Posh Pets really would appreciate you sharing their lovely images so that they can find their forever homes. Here we go….!
See you next week!
May 4, 2012
This is a chance to go behind the scenes at the Posh Pets studio to see some of the post-processing that goes into every Posh Pets image.
It used to be that a photo could be taken as evidence, even in a court room, simply because what was displayed in the image could not be altered. These days, however, with the vast array of tools at our disposal, images can be changed to such an extent that what is portrayed can be complete fiction. My style of pet photography is such that I like as much realism as possible and so, like a lot of photographers, I aim to get as much of it right “in camera” rather than relying on fixing it afterwards in photoshop. But there are certain things and situations that call for a little more manipulation. So, I let my clients know that, for example, while their dogs are always on leash during our session, leashes will be cloned out later on.
Every week, I volunteer my time to photograph the adoptables at Toronto Animal Services. In that environment, animals can be a little unsure of themselves and some do not necessarily want to meet the new person with the big black box (my camera) in hand, no matter what treats I offer. That was the case this week with this little guy, Bailey. Sure, he would take the treats and the little pats on his head, but turn the camera on him…and he took off. He really was the cutest thing though! So, I gave him his space and took out my 70-200 zoom lens. That way I could sit back and take images across the room. However, I couldn’t get close enough, so this is what I ended up with.
Bailey really is very cute in this image, but you wouldn’t know it because he is so small in the picture and his is surrounded by beige! So, it was off to a software program called Lightroom for a few tweaks. The first order of business was to check Bailey’s eyes by magnifying them. They have to be sharp or I essentially ignore the image. In rare instances, where I was purposely throwing the eyes out of focus (maybe focusing on the nose or a paw), then I am happy to see out-of-focus eyes. Otherwise, for my style of pet photography, the eyes are where it is at and they have to be in focus.
Second, I fixed the grey haze that all digital images seem to have. Truthfully, I never noticed it when I first started in photography until someone pointed it out to me. Now, I see it everywhere.
Third, I croped and straightened. Now, in this image, I cropped in a lot. In this situation, I felt confident to do so because I knew where this image would end up – as a very small picture on the web. I also photograph with a camera that has a large number of megapixels, so it can handle being cropped in quite a bit. However, please understand that I purposely used this image because it is rather extreme example of cropping and it demonstrates what is possible. But, I wouldn’t recommend that anyone routinely take images this far back and try to crop them in afterwards. In any case, it is amazing what a little crop and straighten will do for any image!
Lastly, I throw a little light on my cute subject. And, because I like the backgrounds a little darker, I often choose to do a little vignette. Not always, but quite often.
Then the image gets transferred into Photoshop where I will do any other heavy duty post-processing. This is where I will remove leashes on dogs, remove dandruff and fly away hairs if necessary. I might also choose to convert an image to black and white if I think it works.
After that, for every image, I look at the eyes and give them a slight pop (again, this is my style and not everyone will want to do that). Finally, every image gets sharpened and prepared for output depending on how it will be displayed.
Whew! Here is Bailey’s final image…what do you think?
So, that is about it for the Posh Pets workflow! I don’t use a lot of textures or actions (although I do like to experiment with my personal work) because I like to keep it as real and simple as possible. Hope you have enjoyed this sneak peak at the work done long after a Posh Pets Session has ended!
Next in the blog circle is San Diego Pet Photographer, Terran Bayer of Westway Studio. Please check out her work and the rest of the Beautiful Beasties gang this week. And please leave comments – everyone loves to receive feedback. Have a great weekend!
