Behind-the-Blog: Taking Pictures

Since we've been getting a lot of questions about our photos, we thought we would 'pull back the curtain' to show what really goes behind taking the photos we post.

Taking Photos While Walking Two Dogs

Most of the outside photos are taken while I am walking at least one dog. Sometimes two! Sometimes with the angles of the leashes, and a random photobombing ear, you can tell that I am handling both dogs while photographing. Can you tell this post, , this post and many photos in this post were taken while I was walking both dogs?
Since we use a DSLR camera, I've learned wider lenses help photograph the dogs even while I have them close to me on the leash. We used to use the 35mm which is good for photographing the one dog I'm walking, while also taking good portrait shots. I also like the wider angle lenses to get both dogs and scenery. I usually use the 24-70 which lets me fit both of them in the photo using the 24 low end while still being able to take closer photos with the other end. We also have a superwide Tokina 11-16 that will fit both of them in the photo and takes a cartoon-like, bobble-head photo, like this one:

Holding a Camera with Dogs:

Our DSLR is a bigger camera which can be difficult to handle while walking both dogs and handing their stuff.

For most of the walks I bring their city dog essentials bag to carry the things we need, and carry the camera if I need to. Things can get tricky when holding both dogs and leaning down to pick up poo; I always have to be careful the bag or the camera don't swing forward into the poo (luckily...it hasn't happened!). It has become a bit of a balancing act, but the pups have also been practicing a reliable sit-stay while I pick-up poo so I have never been lurched forward.

Teaching our Dogs to Model:

We have learned an extra reason to teach sit-stays and down-stays are to help the pups stay still for photos. We practiced conditioning the word 'camera' to make them look at the camera when I'm holding it in front of my face. It was similar to teaching 'look at me', using a treat near the camera and rewarding them each time their eyes flick in that direction.

The pups are actually this funny in real life, and they give us a lot of material to work with. I will usually wait to get the expression I want from them, and I will usually take a couple of photos of the some pose so one will turn out good. I've also noticed taking photos after giving them treats also gives us a lot of funny photos.

Planning Ahead

During the winter, when it's dark when we leave in the morning and by the time we come home, it can be really, really hard to get photos to use for our posts. It takes a lot of planning ahead trying to find time to take photos on the weekend. We will also work to take extra photos (we call them 'stock footage') that we may not post for a bit, just to make sure we do have enough pictures when we write.
This part has actually become a lot of work, so we do really appreciate hearing all the comments and knowing people are out there.

I'm definitely still learning, but can answer any other questions about what we've done so far.
Also, what are some other things you've learned about successfully photographing your pup?

Also:
The faux pas question we're always being asked.
Modeling
Coming out from behind the blog