Shoot Four Work Record

Plans for the Shoot

I will take my images using my Nikon D5300 DSLR Camera and will adjust the setting for each specific situation to suit the shot I am taking. The shoot will take place at Mutts in Distress in Little Hallingbury in Hertfordshire and I plan to take images in the two enclosed paddocks at the back of the kennel runs.

Several volunteers come in to exercise the dogs on a Thursday and they take each dog out individually to the paddocks to let them run about and to interact and play with them. There are two paddocks so 2 dogs are out at each time each accompanied by at least one volunteer. I plan to photograph the volunteers as they interact with the dogs such as by throwing balls, playing tug, getting brushed, giving the dogs cuddles and attention. I will try to capture the fun and enjoyment they are having and also the movement of the activities to show the exercise that the dogs are getting.

As the shoot is taking place during college time I have requested and been given permission to undertake my photographic shoot at Mutts during my photography lesson time.

What I Hope to Achieve

I want to capture images of the dogs running about in the paddock and interacting with the volunteers. There are lots of dog toys and balls that are left in the paddock for the dogs to play with and the volunteers will often play games with the dogs and give them attention, including

·         throwing balls for the dogs to run after and hopefully bring back

·         playing football

·         playing tug with dog toy ropes

·         giving the dogs belly rubs

·         training them to sit/lie down etc.

·         training for nervous dog such as getting them used to people coming towards them and touching their face

·         training them to get used to walking on a lead

I hope to capture many of the above activities over a couple of photo shoots in the paddock so will not get all of them on this shoot. What I want in my images is to show the effort the volunteers are putting in to interact with the dogs, to train them, play with them and exercise them. As well as the enjoyment the volunteers get by cuddling and giving the dogs attention. Some of the dogs have been at the Centre for a long time and the volunteers have got to know them well and feel affection for them and look forward to spending time with them. I want to capture the affectionate bond they have formed with the dogs in my images.

What I Achieved

When I arrived at the centre the volunteers had not yet arrived so while I was waiting I took the opportunity to capture some more images of the workers as they performed the routine daily tasks at the centre. Some of these tasks I have taken images of before but this time I tried to change some aspects of them to see if I could improve them. For example for the images of the dogs being fed through their hatches I cropped the image more so that the worker was partly out of frame. This made the task of them being fed more prominent as it covered more of the frame but still allowed the viewer to clearly see the task involved. 

One of the workers was scrubbing ground in dirt off the wire kennel doors that comes from the dogs paws as they jump up with excitement and put their paws on the door. This is a physically tiring task to do and this can be seen in the sweating and red face of the worker as she scrubs the wire door.

I also captured images of the worker carrying a large bundle of clean bedding for the kennel, this helps to illustrate the size of the task and the work involved in changing and cleaning the dogs bedding. 

When the volunteers arrived I captured images of them playing and interacting with the dogs in the paddock as well as while they were on the lead walking to and from the paddock. One of the specific things I wanted to capture  was the affection between the workers and the dogs. I had researched a number of photographers who take images of animals and people and have studied the way they capture emotion in their images. Photographers such as Jesse Freidin, Grace Chon and Elena Shumilova use various techniques including cropped images, blurred backgrounds, specific poses and eye contact to convey the affection in the relationship. So I tried to use some of these in my images to capture emotion. I however want my images to look natural and not posed for as I am trying to document a true version of the work that is done by the workers at the Centre. 

 


In this image I captured Paula giving Bart the Patterdale terrier cross, a treat to eat. Paula is facing towards him and is kneeling down as he is a smallish dog and they are both making eye contact with each other. Bart is taking a treat from Paula’s hand with his mouth. I think this is a good image to show the interaction between the volunteers and the dogs as there is little else in the image to distract the viewer’s attention from the subjects and what they are doing. The subjects are in the centre of the image making them the focus of attention and are close together so that they form a single shape outline. The image reveals a close relationship between Paula and Bart and this is reflected firstly in that she is rewarding Bart with treats, secondly she has knelt down to be closer to Bart, and that she is making eye contact with Bart and he is returning the eye contact. They both look comfortable and relaxed in each other’s presence and the image does not look posed for. This gives the image a more natural feel to it so the viewer will connect more it and the genuine feelings being displayed. The image however could be improved by zooming in more on the subjects to make them more prominent within the frame. In this way any facial expression could be more clearly seen. Also by using a narrow depth of field the background could be blurred to make it even less of a distraction. But I am reluctant to do this as I feel it takes away from the natural feel of the image. The lighting was also not perfect as the image is a little dark, I did try to adjust this but that image was a little too light. This photograph was taken through a wire fence as I was in the adjacent paddock. It was a difficult day to photograph as it was a very sunny day but there were also clouds and I kept having to adjust the lighting throughout the day. I also had to work very quickly when taking images of the dogs as if you miss an opportunity for a good photo you cannot ask the dog to redo it as they do not understand. So working with animals is a little harder than with people.



This is another of the volunteers called Julia, she is Paula’s twin sister. In the image she was going to play a game of fetch with a white and black collie called Jive and was about to throw a toy for her to fetch. However Jive saw me kneeling down to get a better perspective for my image and she started running towards me to say hello and get attention. I therefore kept taking images as she got closer to me creating a series of images where Jive gets sequentially nearer the camera. Both Julia and Jive's motion have been caught in freeze frame with Julia in a coiled position as she is about to throw the toy and Jive is in a classical running position with her front legs raised in mid-air and her head positioned low and forwards. The freeze frame gives the impression of motion to the image so that the viewer can more easily feel the energy and excitement in the game. It makes the image more dynamic and dramatic and therefore more captivating for the viewer and documents the activity that is taking place more clearly. To improve the image it would have to be taken much closer to make the subjects more prominent but at the time I was experimenting with an idea for Photo shopping that required them to be a distance away. I am planning to create an image in Photoshop that captures in a dramatic way the game of fetch that the volunteers play with the dogs. This will involve using amalgamating multiple images into one where numerous copies of the subjects are seen in a single image in different positions.
 


 

I also captured images of the dogs being taken on a lead to the paddock, coming from and returning to their kennels. I felt this was an important thing to show as it is part of their training to get used to being on a lead and to walk calmly next to the person if possible. This is important in order to get the dogs safely to the vets for appointments such as for injections and also to make it easier for rehoming. In the image Paula is positioned to the right of frame along a line set by the rule of thirds, this makes her a focal point for the viewer especially as she is wearing a bright red top. The viewer’s eye is then led along the diagonal line created by the dogs lead which takes them to Bart the dog. Paula is also looking at Bart so this further directs and influences their route around the image. Bart is walking towards the left of the frame following a line that runs parallel to the line of the edge of the grass, and the path that runs in front of the kennel runs. These diagonal lines, in addition to leading the viewer through the image, add the perception of motion to the image. This makes the image come alive more and helps to illustrate the task that is being shown. The colour of Paula’s red top also gives the image a more active energetic feel as she walks along with Bart.

I then Photo shopped the image to make it look like Bart has a very bright future ahead of him which he hopefully does when particularly compared to his past. To achieve this I have removed a lot of the colour in the background area behind Bart to the right of the frame. Then have left the area he is walking into with Paula full of colour. I think this subtly illustrates that while he has had a less than bright past, with the support of the workers at Mutts his future will be rich and vibrant.




What I am going to do Next

I will continue taking images in the paddock in my next shoot. This will give me the chance to capture images of other different volunteers interacting with the dogs, as well as there being different dogs that are being exercised too. This will be good as the dogs have different personalities and some are more active and playful that others so will provide me with various opportunities to capture the images I want. Some dogs like to use their time in the paddock to be cuddled and get attention from the volunteers while other prefers to run and play. So the next shoot will give me the opportunity to capture these different interactions.

During my research a photographer that captured the excitement and acrobatic nature of dogs playing was Graeme Williams in his 'Two dogs' series of images, and I would like to capture the dynamic nature these images have in later shoots with dogs jumping and racing about playing with the workers.