Setting up some pet photography milestones for yourselves is a great way to improve your skills. Every photoshoot has taught me something new. This blog is about some of the goals I’ve set for myself in my journey with pets and cameras.

Milestone 1: Cat Photography

Unlike dogs, cats are not really excited to meet strangers. During an adoption shoot for HPA Cats and Kittens, I observed that every movement I made scared the kittens. These situations test our patience. I kept my calm and eventually the cattos also started getting comfortable in my presence. I had a wonderful time clicking Hope and Joy.

Milestone 2: Studio Shoot

Studio setups are generally quite elaborate and require advance equipment. However, with some research and help from a few YouTubers, I managed to set up my DIY studio. Cookie loved this photoshoot because treats were flying to him till I got a good shot. The results came out well and this was another successful pet photography milestone. Here’s a DIY studio shot of Cookie, trying to catch his ‘treato’.

Milestone 3: My first client

I was super excited when I got my first client and almost couldn’t sleep that day! ‘Gooogle’, the Shih Tzu, was very friendly and extremely cooperative. She found her toys to be much more interesting than me and was mostly occupied in her own world! Her parents were equally fun and we had an amazing photoshoot. Touchwood, the shoot went well and I got the confidence to take off!

Milestone 4: Website and branding

When I started pet photography services, T & I brainstormed a lot of names for this venture. But I couldn’t choose one and decided to settle with ‘Petframez’ temporarily till we found ‘the one’ we were looking for. After a few months, T came up with ‘SnootShoot’ and I loved it the moment I heard it! It’s quite a task to come up with a unique name. Even if you do, it’s a rare possibility that the social media handle for it isn’t taken already. If you’re looking for names, I suggest checking for the availability of domain names and social media handles simultaneously.

Milestone 5: Dog in air (Action photography)

Long before I even thought of getting into the pet photography business, my friend Likesh asked me to check out the photographer, Claudiopiccoli. Ever since I saw his clicks, ‘dog in air’ was added to my to-do list. Personally, action photography will remain one of the most satisfying milestones in my pet photography career.

Pet photography is quite a challenging and at the same time an extremely rewarding career choice. If you’re thinking of venturing into pet photography business, my advice would be to start with your pets. If you don’t have pets, work with a friend’s pet. Try to understand their behaviors and know them better every day. Plan your pet photography milestones.

Every pet understands the language of love and peace. Remember! What you see in your viewfinder is what your camera sees!

Mahalo!

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