Dogs against white background

[wen-tom]

Hi all,
I have just started working for a small dog training company who also run a rescue service for dogs. They want to get nice pictures of the rescue dogs against a white background for their re-homing pictures and have asked me if i can help.

I have no idea where to start except for the fact that I had my dog professionally protographed a few years back so i know what they are trying to achieve...

I dont have a budget at all and have only a hall which is not very well lit. I need to find something at fairly low cost to use as the white background and also need some help on how to get the best shots of the dogs.

I desperately need help on how to achieve this.. not much to ask of you all i hope

 

[AbbysFamily]

You could pick up white bleached muslin at any fabric store and make yourself a easy to hang backdrop with a loop of fabric and a rope if there is ANYTHING to connect to or if you can put some eyes and a couple of screws?

I'll leave the rest of the questions to some of the others, but muslin makes a very nice cheaper backdrop.

 

[wenrob]

You could even you use a white sheet or shower curtain, just make sure it pulled taught so you don't have any wrinkles. (I pick up those cheapy throws at Wal Mart) I would suggest a different color like medium brown or a taupe. Dogs shed and even having them up and away from the back round you're going to have a hair covered back round in no time.

 

[ssanders79]

Check the remnant and clearance sections first at the fabric stores. You might get lucky.

As for the actual photography.. let the dog smell/investigate the camera so they are comfortable. Some animals get easily spooked by the shutter click. And remember the dogs are running the shoot so be flexible. Good luck.

 

[Quicklabs]

First, thank you for what you are doing to rescue dogs. I hope that your pictures help to bring them to their forever families.
If you are using a white background, be especially careful when you are photographing black dogs. Make sure that your exposure taken from off the dog, not the background. Black dogs are very hard to photograph -- it is hard to get the expression in their dark eyes against those dark coats. The white could complicate this issue further. Is there any particular reason why the background has to be white? You might "lose" your lighter color dogs off this background. Most of the pro shots that I have of my girls are done in a light to medium brown color. This works well for the black dogs as well.
Good luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Do you have to shoot them indoors? I think outdoor settings look so much more natural. Take a look at some of these for ideas - click on each individual dog to see more pictures.

 

[wen-tom]

thank you all for the ideas so far. I don't know why they want them on a white background, or why they wouldn't prefer outdoor shots apart from the risk of awful weather.. they just want more of a "portrait" shot than a natural shot. we already have lots of natural shots of the dogs that come in to us. I have aready mentioned that it might not be great for white/light or black dogs so i think we will need another coloured option for this.

anyone have any ideas on how i would light this? with no professional studio lighting...