In reality the owners probably do not have any shots of their best friend doing what it loves best and this is one of the main reasons why they book me to capture their dog in a natural environment doing what it loves to do.
For me also,capturing that moment where the dog is in full concentration,using every muscle in its body to get back as soon as it can,is amazing!!
Take this picture below
As I lay on the floor with my camera equipment and my long lens (wondering if it would get through the next couple of minutes in one piece) I took my position and the trainer sent him on his merry way.
My camera can fire up to seven shots per second but unless you are pointing it accurately at your subject, its useless.
As this very powerful dog came running towards me,very very quickly. I held on and held on and then right at the last second i pressed the button and that familiar sound of the rapid shutter firing away at full speed filled my ears,but I kept my eye to the view finder until I could hold on no more and pulled my head and more importantly my very expensive lens out of the way and he just missed me by a millisecond, I could feel the air flowing past as he continued on past me, thankfully without my head or lens.
We were all relieved as I stood up and checked all my limbs were in the same place as they were when I lay down and looking into the viewing screen on the back of the camera I knew we had something special and that the few seconds of fear had been worth it and the client would be very happy with this photograph of their best friend,which they were.
Going that extra mile is what its about in any situation and none more so than photography, that special shot takes planning and preparation and sometimes guts but the result will be on the walls of my clients for years to come and that makes everything worth while.
