| Author | Thread |
|
|
05/31/2006 11:05:26 PM · #1 |
I have been thinking I might wanna do some pet photography as a little side job, I find that of all subjects I shoot, I love photographing animals the best.
I have always been an animal person/lover and all animals seem to love me..
I should have been a vet I guess.
My problem is--
Number 1: where to find clients?
Number 2: no studio-- so it would be mostly outdoor shoots I guess.
Alot of my "animal" shoots are just snapshots in my portfolio, but I know I could do some more serious photos when I had to.
Any ideas on how to get a start on this adventure?
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:09:04 PM · #2 |
You could try to find clients at dog parks, Kennels, Vets, Pet shows, Pet stores. Maybe advertise in local papers for starters.
Hope this helps some.
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:11:23 PM · #3 |
Lori, I notice alot of animal shots in your portfolio also-- have they all been for personal use, or have you ever done any for a "client"?
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:13:05 PM · #4 |
You'll have to have the patience of a saint to do pets.
One way to reach clients is to go to events where there are pet owners. Where I live, there is an annual "Pet Fair" set up in the convention center where different animal groups, vendors of animal related products from toys to food to clothing to... pet glamour photography all set up booths. The event draws thousands of people. You'll need an eye catching display and a great portfolio that people can thumb through. Get business cards printed and place them on bulletin boards outside of pet shops, and pet supply stores. Hand the cards out wherever you go.
If you produce a quality product at reasonable prices, word of mouth will go a long way too.
Good luck
Message edited by author 2006-05-31 23:16:04. |
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:13:41 PM · #5 |
Dog Groomers would be my guess. After all, they ARE there for some bling..why not offer to photograph them as they come in and go out. Then you can post some there at the groomers and let people see THEIR work, (before and after baths, cuts, etc...) You would be helping the Dog Groomers too, and they might even commission you to take some photos for advertising. One thing ALWAYS leads to another....
Maybe after people see what kind of work YOU do, they'll commission you to do a photo shoot.
Worth a try anyway..
The way I see it, you can sit home and wait for the clients to come to you, or you can go to the clients.
Message edited by author 2006-05-31 23:20:44. |
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:15:16 PM · #6 |
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:17:53 PM · #7 |
They have all been for personal use so far. I do have a few of my dog photos on a stock photography site.
My goal is to do equestrian photography. I have taken some pictures for friends, of them and their horses, as well as for a friend at a horse show. I haven't asked for payment as I am still trying to see what I like to do best and to develop my style.
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:32:51 PM · #8 |
Michael Joseph - best in the business, IMO. I've seen his studio..... and his PRICING!!! OMG OMG!! Its a great business to get in if you love it. You might try emailing Michael and ask a few questions - he's a great guy and will most likely help you.
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:36:04 PM · #9 |
Cindi--
Do you think most clients prefer a "Studio" type shot-- kinda along the lines of a family portrait done profesionally or would outside work also..
Like I said I have no studio equipment available to me.
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:40:17 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by buzzrock:
Cindi--
Do you think most clients prefer a "Studio" type shot-- kinda along the lines of a family portrait done profesionally or would outside work also..
Like I said I have no studio equipment available to me. |
This guy does about 50% families with pets (outdoors or in his studio) and about 50% on-location studio shots (books one city at a time via mailings, goes to the city on the choosen day, sets up in a rented studio space and shoots all day, or two or three), then mailes the prints to the clients.
You could probably get a nice start, enough of a start to buy more equipment, by starting with pet pictures at a local dog park or through the humane society, etc.
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:44:07 PM · #11 |
Sorry, thought I linked the webpage... Pets by Michael Joseph
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:51:13 PM · #12 |
I started doing them in 2004 for the local salon. Every year, they host a "Dog Days of Summer" event. All proceeds go to the Animal Rescue League. I go and set up outside and take pet portraits for $20 for a 5x7. Out of that $20, $15 goes back to the ARL, and the other $5 goes towrds printing and mailing them the picture. Last year, I raised almost $100 in 2 days!!!!
It is such a huge success, and every time I do it, it gets bigger and bigger. This year, I am scheduled to shoot 2 - 8 hour days!
The best thing about it, besides helping a great cause... it has opened so many doors for me! I get clients that call for pet portraits all the time. It has also got me a job with the salon as their offical photographer, family portraits and weddings galore!
Maybe you could hook up with your local animal shelter and see if they would be interested in doing something like this. Maybe give them a percentage of what you bring in.
If you need any help, or any info, just give me a PM and I will happy to help you out! :)
Lorrie
|
|
|
|
05/31/2006 11:53:17 PM · #13 |
| DPC member clarmore does pet photography as a profession, although she hasn't been around here for a couple of months as far as I can tell. Her profile lists her website, though. I'd bet you could get in touch with her via that route. Keep us posted about how it goes for you, would you? |
|
|
|
06/01/2006 12:06:51 AM · #14 |
Great post with lots of good info. Good luck to you.
I'm interested, too. I've done a couple pet shoots at Christmas with Santa and recently a shoot at a grooming salon where I displayed a couple 8 by 10's in their shop. I'm playing the "wait and see what happens" game right now. Been too busy to pursue it further but it was a lot of fun! Got some really cute shots. Space in the salon was pretty tight for three dogs, but it worked...thanks to some editing afterwards. |
|
|
|
06/01/2006 01:56:50 AM · #15 |
There is pet photography and then there is specific type of pet or animal photography. If you say you are a pet photographer, you might get everything from cats and dogs to lizards, to birds to hamsters, to snakes to spiders... there are about as many different types of pets out there as there are people. Unless you really are set up to do all kinds, it's better to specialize at first. For instance, with dogs. Or cats.
I've done dog photography for about 6 years. In the dog world you have formal dog portraits, casual dog photography (usually of dogs at play outdoors) and you have dog event photography. Although I do formal portrait work, most of my photography in the dog world has been at events. The types of events are dog shows, agility and herding trails, ring sport, carting, frisbee, obediance and just about anything where there is dog competition and orgazined activities. The pet store photography, animal shelter photography, and dog product photography is usually an organized event.
There is money to be made, but there are a lot of differences between people photography and animal photography. Animals can be harder to work with than 2 year old kids throwing tantrums. You have to deal with scared animals, out of control animals, aggressive animals, not to mention owners that are worse than the animal themselves. And then you have the problem of animals that think your background is a great place to leave some Pee-Mail for the next dog that comes... or worse, cats like to leave it in camera bags. You can never get the smell out either.
I tried the formal portrait route, which is what I was interested in because of my experience with shooting humans. But I don't have a studio either, outdoors is too uncontrollable for formal stuff unless you are dealing with show dogs that are use to distractions. I tried going to people's houses but found that a lot of times they didn't have room for me to set up my equipment. Usually I couldn't put up a background and instead of being able to use all my lights I'd be stuck using just one or maybe two if I was lucky. So I started shooting more event stuff. I've done a lot of agility and herding. I've found that a lot of owners/handlers love getting good shots of their dogs performing. Even if they don't win, they like seeing how they look while running agility or herding sheep or cattle. That's where I made most of my sells and contacts. It helps that we raise dogs that do a lot of this, so I started with our breed and worked out to a few others. I decided not to branch out to much though, or I'd be out on the road every weekend going to shows hundreds of miles apart. Even back when gas was a lot cheaper, that was still a lot of road time that added to the cost of doing business. I sometimes wonder how the photographers that do this year round, make any money.
I also provided pictures to a lot of club newsletters and major organizations. This help get my name out in a wider area. A lot of my work became recognizable this way also and people would contact me to take pictures of their dogs at upcoming shows.
I've not gotten rich doing this. I can't even say it pays for my equipment. For some reason, I seem to be able to outspend any income I have from photography. But at least it does bring in some money. And considering I don't do this full time or even half time, it's not bad. But it isn't that easy either. So doing some reserach and asking questions is good. And consider narrowing your focus down a bit from "pet photographer".
Mike
|
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/30/2025 11:04:57 PM EDT.
