STORY BEHIND THE STILL
Check out Anne Geier’s adorable pet portrait and find out how she achieved this perfectly timed delightful shot
PHOTOGRAPHER: Anne Geier WEBSITE: www.annegeier.com LOCATION: Grundlsee, Austria
TYPE OF COMMISSION: Personal SHOT DETAILS: nikon d750 body with 35mm f1.8; 1/1,000sec at f1.8, iSo 400
ABOUT THE SHOT: As photographers, we love making images of our furry companions, just as much as the public love viewing our shots. However, with a popular subject comes the issue of repetition and uncreative compositions. Photographers like Anne Geier demonstrate how innovative use of the environment can generate next-level pet portraits.
“The lake Grundlsee shows a very special magic – something mystical. That is why I wanted to underline this mood with a dog that shows the same magic.
Bruce, the dog model, was the perfect choice as he has a magnetic personality and his colour fitted almost perfectly in this landscape,” explains Anne.
By incorporating the dog in a wider-framed shot of the beautiful landscape, Anne has produced an image that has more than one string to its bow – the mood of the environment matches the personality of the dog, so there is more of a story. Some careful forethought is required for this to work, however, as Anne describes.
“I knew if I wanted to exactly capture this special mood in a photo I would have to take care with the weather conditions. [For this type of shot] the weather has to be fine, there should be no wind and it’s great if there is some fog, but you can’t influence the weather conditions and therefore you have to be flexible. I had a main idea and decided to implement this and wait to see what would emerge from the situation.”
To successfully shoot her canine models in the field, Anne has to overcome a key challenge: timing.“The main challenge [for this image] was to be in the right place at the right time – only in that case would the reflection of the mountains show up in the lake. Then there was the short time frame to make the image; there was only a brief moment when the sun came out above the mountains and was in the perfect position for me to capture the sun’s rays, before it climbed too high.”
Right
SUNRISE
Anne used subtle post-processing to enhance the mood – she added some cool tones for the mysterious feel, then
introduced a vignette to focus attention on the dog