Picture purrfect Pet photography flourishing By: AV Kitching Posted: 3:50 PM CDT Monday, Sep. 18, 2023

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This article was published 18/09/2023 (1118 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Families aren’t surprised when photographer Bruce Allen Hendricks starts growling midway through a portrait session.

In fact, it’s something most people who’ve been photographed by Hendricks have come to expect.

And when it comes to photographing pets who refuse to play ball, Hendricks, 53, has a novel approach to coaxing recalcitrant furry family members; he plays the fool.

“You have to learn to be a bit of an idiot,” Hendricks, who owns Impact Photographic Design, says with a laugh.

“When an animal comes into my studio I will give it time to check out the space to sniff around or calm down and then once they are comfortable I do whatever to get the animals attention: bark, meow, growl. If I am photographing a family portrait I say ‘humans, look at me, keep on smiling but I am going to make some weird noises to get your dog’s attention.’”

A genre of photography that’s been around for nearly as long as the art itself, animal photography was primarily used as a form of documentation intended for scientific rather than artistic purposes.

While pet photography is growing in popularity globally, it’s still a relatively new genre in Manitoba.

“People now want to photograph their pets because they want to remember them as they are today, in 20, 30, or 50 years from now,” says Sabrina Naayen, owner and photographer at Pawparazzi Pet Photography.

“Cellphone images and digital files get stored on your hard drive, almost never getting a second or third look. A printed photograph, one you would put on your wall will stay up forever.”

Naayen, who has been photographing families since 2012, established her pet arm three years later. In 2020, she decided to concentrate solely on photographing pets. Since then she has taken pictures of nearly 1,000 animals, with last year being her busiest one yet.

“I photographed 114 dogs, two bunnies and 33 cats in 2022. I’m always trying to get the cat number up since cats are my first love and most favourite to photograph,” she says.

Naayen admits most people assume photographing felines can be too challenging, but she welcomes all cat personalities.

“The secret to getting a cat to pose for you is to make them think it was their idea. Some cats are also very treat/food motivated,” she says.

“People now want to photograph their pets because they want to remember them as they are today, in 20, 30, or 50 years from now.”–Sabrina Naayen

Hendricks, a photographer since he was 17, photographs dogs more than any other animal. While it can be tricky to shoot any animal — furry, feathered or scaly — he almost always gets the shot he wants, he says.

“I am stubborn. Photographing animals can sometimes be a war of attrition; who is going to give out first. No animal has bested me yet. I remember wearing out a puppy and at that point I was able to get the images I wanted. Sometimes you just have to keep on pushing: try something different, try different noisemaker, a different ball, a different stuffed animal. Something that gets their attention,” he says.

One of his most unusual requests was to shoot an angelfish.

“I have never had anybody else ask me to photograph their fish in a tank. It shocked me when I had the request. I was amused by it. His name was Frankie the angelfish. I was sad to hear that Frankie was gone but at least he was memorialized.”

For Sunny Szpak-Holly, a dove named Lovey Dovey was her most unusual subject.

Szpak-Holly, a photographer for 14 years, started taking pictures of animals eight years ago. To date she’s photographed hundreds of creatures — from bearded dragons and doves to cats, dogs, hens and lambs.

“Winrose Animal Hospital, the local pet clinic, had a dove living there, which became an honorary staff member, so we did a staff photo of it,” Szpak-Holly says.

Finding the right thing to get the attention of an animal is one of the unique challenges of the job, she says. For her, cats are the hardest because “they are just stubborn; they do what they want to do.”

Dogs, motivated by treats and alert to sounds, are the easiest to shoot, although earning their trust can be difficult.

“Some animals from different situations and sometimes there is fear and aggression. For me the hardest part is learning to get the animals to trust you,” says the owner and photographer at Sunny S-H Photography.

Photographing animals has given Szpak-Holly a greater sense of compassion, which she has translated into her “heart project” — a series where she offers families portraits of pets who are approaching the end of their lives.

“We lost four senior dogs in three years and I realized how important pet photography is after you’ve lost an animal. A lot of the time we have cellphone pictures but we don’t have beautiful family portraits to hang on the wall,” she explains.

“We lost four senior dogs in three years and I realized how important pet photography is after you’ve lost an animal.”–Sunny Szpak-Holly

The series, #projectgooddog, is a free service. All Szpak-Holly requests is for families to make a donation to the local rescue.

”It’s very, very difficult photographing them but every single one of these people reach out to me afterward and thank me,” she says.

Taking pictures of animals has impacted each photographer’s life in a positive manner. For Hendricks, dealing with creatures with “pure hearts” is a unique joy.

“Animals don’t judge you on your looks, finances or what you’re wearing; they judge you on your personality. They are genuine 99 per cent of the time and if you approach them being a decent person then they are automatically decent back to you,” he says.

Naayen says pet portraiture has given her new skills and helped her become a better technical photographer.

“It’s given me something to look forward to doing every single day. It brings me joy. Meeting new cats and dogs, sharing stories with people, connecting. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with my career, and now that I know I don’t want to stop,” she says.

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca