Shoot Eight 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 focus on taking images in the isolation kennel block, the centres ground, as well as in the fields.

On this shoot I plan to focus mostly on taking images of the puppies that arrived from Romania. I did not capture any images of the two youngest pups in my previous shoot so I want to take photos of them. The younger puppies will probably be rehomed very quickly so I will need to get the images I want before they are gone.  I particularly want to take images showing workers interacting with them or caring for their needs.

I will try to capture another image of a dog being given its dinner through the hatch, so that I can continue to improve this.

I will also take more images of the staff taking care of the donkeys, sheep and hens.

What I Hope to Achieve

I want to capture cute images of the puppies showing them interacting with the staff. I want these images to be captivating to make the viewers wish they were there cuddling and playing with them themselves. I am sure the workers will look happy when playing with the puppies so I will capture the emotions they display. I have asked one of the volunteers to wear a T shirt that has writing on the back advertising that homes are needed for these dogs. I will take images with this message clearly visible to illustrate that finding homes for the dogs is a part of their job too. This takes place at the Centre mostly through their web site and through fund raising events, to make people aware that there are dogs coming into Mutts all the time that need a home. The website/Facebook page also provides information about the dogs that are rehomed and this is a good way of using social media to keep their profile up and involve others.

I will try to take images of the hens, donkeys and sheep being cared for. This will probably be them being fed as I seem to miss the cleaning out of the stables. I will take images that are closer or possibly cropped or at a different angle. This will make the images more unusual and add interest for the viewer. By changing the perspective I can exaggerate a particular feature of the animals and this can make for entertaining images.  

What I Achieved

I managed to capture some images of the younger puppies, although their dark brown/black colouring and the poor light in their kennel made it difficult to get good images. I did capture some good facial expressions of one of the workers showing the fun she was having with them. I also managed to capture a clear image of the worker’s back while wearing the T shirt with the writing saying that good homes were needed.  

I was really happy with this shot I captured of Tom being fed his dinner through the hatch. I feel that this image captures both the dog and the person well and that the dog and worker are both looking at the dog bowl directing the viewer’s attention. The worker’s arm also does this. Also Tom is fairly calm this time so is not diving into the bowl or jumping in the air. The lighting is also good so that Tom is highlighted and framed by the natural light from the hatch but it is light enough inside the kennel to see the worker. This image really focuses on the task being done and is taken I think in an interesting way.

While I was on my photo shoot a small white dog was handed in to the Centre as a stray. He was microchipped so we knew he had an owner and a message was left on their answer machine. The dog was very old about 19 years old and was shaking with fear. His back legs were very weak and he refused to eat anything , even treats.  I captured an image of a worker carrying him and holding him close as she walked about the kennel. This made the dog feel more secure and he eventually shook less. I think the expression on the workers face shows the concern she feels for the old dog. I also took the image slightly tilted to convey the way the dog's feels, showing his world has temporarily been turned upside down. Fortunately, the owner came to collect him an hour or so later, they were so happy he was unharmed and had been taken somewhere safe.  

I chose this image to Photoshop and simply by increasing the brightness I felt I improved it. The subjects pose and her facial expression can now be seen more clearly, as can the top of the dogs face behind the volunteers arm. This helps the viewer connect emotionally with the subjects. Also the brighter image also reflects the affection the little dog is receiving so the image comes across as more positive and happy and not so sad.

I also captured images of the slightly older puppies. In one image there were three pups together in the kennel making the focal point better to achieve due to the rule of odds. However it was difficult to capture them all together so I settled for having the one closest to the camera cropped somewhat. The foreground is slightly out of focus due to the setting of the depth of field and this focuses attention on the two in focus pups in the background. Those two pups are also staring at something out of frame so creating mystery in the image. While the pup in the foreground is staring at me taking his photo. The image therefore has two parts each focusing on the pups, and this makes it interesting for the viewer to explore. I also gave the image a tilted horizon to show that the puppies’ world has changed completely in the last few days from what they have known in their Romanian shelter that was burnt down. This will have left them feeling a little unsure and off kilter and I thought the image should reflect this to the viewer. The first pup near the camera also shows how much the pups have changed as they are now happy to be up close and around people.

I took a number of images of the sheep, donkeys and hens, individually and together. These images show them being fed and I have tried to take the images slightly differently to add interest. Several are close up cropped images of the sheep and donkeys as they accept treats of slices of bread. I have also taken the image at a strange perspective to distort their features slightly by making their nose look bigger. In the first image the two donkeys are in similar poses, resting their chins on the top of the fence and each is waiting for the persons hand to deliver the piece of bread to their mouths. It is a fun image and when one of the donkeys pulls his top lip back and shows his teeth  the image becomes very funny. I think that this image captures the fun that you can get in volunteering at an animal rescue centre.

I also took a more conventional image of the donkeys, sheep and hens being fed altogether in one image by the worker. The worker is standing on one side of the fence while the animals line up on the other side in the field. The sheep and donkeys crowd around in front of the worker with the smaller sheep nearest and the taller donkeys behind, while the hens who are a little scared of the sheep make their way to the clear stretch of fence on the right of the frame in the hope that they will be seen and get some treats too. This makes an interesting picture as the fence leads your eye from right to left the scene gets more congested. It’s as if the animals know their place and assume these positions automatically. I also think the sun beaming down on them from the top right of the frame adds a little interest to the image and makes it look like a lovely day to be outside enjoying the sun and interacting with animals.  

Finally I took a few portrait images of several of the dogs, most with a worker being partially visible in the shots to illustrate they were present and were interacting with the dog. I took these fairly close up to make them feel more intimate and convey emotion.

What I am going to do Next

The next shoot will probably be my last one so there are a few things I want to complete and finish off.

I will try to capture more images of the young puppies.

I have not yet tested my decisive moment inspired image from the back kennel runs with dogs present in the runs. I want to make sure the dog’s forms are big enough to be noticeable.

I also want to catch some freeze frame images of the cleaning of the kennels. As most of the cleaning I have photographed has been inside the kennels it would have been difficult to capture this due to the poor lighting. I will therefore take my freeze frame images in the  outside run where there will be good natural lighting.

Shoot Eight Straight Images

In this shoot I tried to improve upon my image of a dog, Tom,  being fed his dinner through the door hatch to its run.



I took some more images of the workers looking after the donkeys and sheep trying to get more interesting and captivating images.



A stray dog was handed in found wandering the streets. He was identified by his microchip and was 19 years old and was very frightened and was shaking. I captured an image of a volunteer giving him cuddles to stop him shaking. Fortunately the relieved and grateful owner came and collected him within an hour.



This is an image showing how vigilant you have to be when working at the Centre. The dogs there can be very clever and have learned how to push the kennel doors so that they bounce back and they can then get their noses in and push them open. This image shows Bart in the process of doing this and trying to get out to play.



I wanted to take an image where the dog dominated the frame and was the complete focus of attention, as the photographer Graeme Williams does in some of his images. I therefore took this image zoomed in close up to Niebla so that it became more personal and intimate but not so much that it was too intrusive. I also took the image as though it was from the perspective of the level of the dogs eyes so that it was more like what he would be seeing. It can insinuate that humans are on the same level as dogs are. We are not superior to them as people seem to think. So this image may encourage them to think of dogs as equals rather than toys that we can do what we want to. If this was the view that people had, then we would find fewer cases of abuse and neglect of dogs. I also felt that this would give an insight to the viewer of what the dog was seeing and would help them to identify and bond with the dog. This would help them understand why the volunteers and staff care for the animals so much.



I made a simple change to this image using Photoshop. By just increasing the brightness I focused more on the protective pose that the shaking dog is being held in. It also makes both the volunteers face and the subject more visible and the expression more easy to see. The brighter image also creates a more appropriate mood showing the affection the dog is receiving as the darker image could appear a bit more sad and depressing.



The light in the kennel block is not very good for taking images so when I took this image of Bart trying to escape the image was quite dark and you cannot see his eye very well. To improve the image I used Photoshop to decrease the contrast and increase the brightness so that now Bart's face is not so shadowed and now more visible to the viewer. Also the slightly orange region on the wall is reduced making it less distracting.

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