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SPOTLIGHT
Leigh & Claudette
A hoot!
Leigh and Patrick were inspired to bring in their two Greyhounds, Claudette and Cynthia, after seeing David's work at the Evanston Athletic Club.
Leigh says, "I knew that we just had to have our two girls photographed. We've taken so many photos over the years of the girls but we can't get them to pose and be as expressive as [in] David's work. It was really an easy choice!"
How does she describe her Sutton experience? "A hoot! I didn't think that in an hour, with two people, and two greyhounds we'd have that many shots to select. Ha, we were wrong. I was amazed how striking they were."
Both dogs were rescued. Cynthia is a retired racer, but Claudette was adopted as a puppy.
"The 'Oops' litters are from female racing greyhounds that become accidentally pregnant while racing. The whole litter is illegal by racing standards and can't be registered, raced, or bred and have until recently been destroyed at birth. We felt ready for the challenge of raising our first puppy so we took on Claudette. She has been a wonderful delight. She's a greyhound in every way but without the 'side effects' of track life."
Our framing partners
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REFLECTION & REFRACTION
"Never work with animals or children."
- W. C. Fields.
As a photographer I work with animals and children all the time - often at the same time. When people find out what I do - after they finish questioning my sanity - they frequently ask me, "Which are harder to photograph - kids or dogs?"
Pets and children require a similar skill set, so I usually tell people it depends on the child and on the dog. It sounds like a joke, but it's true. Beyond that, I can only offer some generalizations about similarities and differences - and I can identify more similarities than differences.
Dogs and young children share a trait that makes them good subjects - they lack self-consciousness. The more compelling portraits show people who don't look like they're thinking about being photographed. Not an issue with dogs. They don't think too hard about how they look. Young children don't generally think in those terms either - that is, until adolescence. From that point forward, self-consciousness becomes by far the most important (and challenging) obstacle to overcome in photographing people.
Luckily for me, I find that most adults and post-adolescent children become less self-conscious when they share the spotlight with a favorite dog or cat. Then the portrait becomes more about the relationship and less about "me."
Dogs and children also take a bit of warming up. Where an adult might walk into the studio and, after a brief chat, sit down under the lights, my smaller subjects have to be won over. They need to feel safe, to trust. Gaining their trust often requires a more oblique approach - as opposed to a straight-ahead friendliness "attack." This usually means letting them walk around the camera room and "sniff the corners" - both literally, in the case of dogs, and figuratively for children - and waiting for them to settle in.
Since kids and dogs are usually small, I find it helpful to get down to their level to get more interesting photos. Children appreciate this. They respond well to adults coming down to their level to talk. In the case of very small dogs, getting the camera right down onto the floor gives owners an unusual perspective on their pet.
Dogs and children have limited attention spans, so we tend to work in short bursts, punctuated by play breaks, rather than marathon sessions. When it comes to directing, both dogs and children respond better to persuasion than literal direction.
Kids and pets probably differ most in terms of language use. Dogs usually know a few verbal commands, but asking them to "step just a little to your left" or "tilt your head toward the light" doesn't work so well. Children usually respond to polite requests.
As I think about it, photographing very young children - pre-verbal - has more in common with photographing cats. Neither responds to verbal requests at all, so making their portraits involves more picking-up and setting-down, and then a host of non-verbal techniques to get the subject to "cooperate" by reacting and responding.
Meeting and photographing dogs and children (and the families they bring along) continues to fascinate me after over a dozen years. I so enjoy the various challenges of photographing kids and dogs that I think a more appropriate question would be, "Which are more fun to photograph, dogs or kids?"
Actors respect W. C. Fields' advice because they know kids and animals will ALWAYS upstage an adult performer. No matter how talented the actor, children and animals easily steal the show.
But should everyone follow W.C. Fields' advice? I prefer to ignore it.
David Sutton |
COMMUNITY FOCUS
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 New movie!
Sutton Studios' latest documentary film, shot and edited by Julia, features clients reactions to their photo sessions with and photographs of their horses.
Now you can watch both of our horse movies - the first featuring behind the scenes coverage of our Sunflower Farms location shoot - online!
PAWS adoption center opens the 8th
Be sure to visit PAWS Chicago's new state-of-the-art adoption center when it opens September 8. Featuring naturally-lit suites and playrooms for homeless dogs and cats (instead of cages), this new facility strives to ensure the health and well-being of its animal residents through frequent human contact and high-tech solutions for disease prevention. It has also been designed to welcome its two-legged guests with a warm and inviting atmosphere for education, adoption counseling and training. Several generous PAWS supporters and Sutton Studios clients have sponsored rooms at the center, and asked for portraits to display in them. We've developed a special display style, just for PAWS, that not only complements the decor of the center, but can withstand the rigorous cleaning required to keep the rooms safe for their occupants!
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