Out with the paw patrol

Ross McLaren explains how to capture the expressive nature and character of your pet dogs on their daily walk

Having fallen in love with photography through my underwater work, I had been looking for another outlet that we could enjoy together as a family and one that was a little less wet. I’m not sure that dog photography quite fits the bill of being drier, especially when I find myself lying on the beach or in a muddy field trying to get the shot, but it’s certainly something we’ve been able to enjoy together during our family days out. There are some incredible pet photographers out there for inspiration, but you don’t have to be a professional to be able to shoot photos that really capture the unique individual character of man’s best friend.

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1 Candid shots

I like to capture the raw, candid moments when I’m shooting. Those facial expressions the dogs pull in a split-second as they are running or enjoying the open air really highlight their personalities. This isn’t easy, though, and takes a lot of trial and error because their expressions can quickly change.

2 Get on the level

Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty! Descending to dog level will really enhance your shots and help to convey the speed of the dog’s movements. It also means you can clearly see when a dog is airborne in mid-stride as there’s an obvious gap between their galloping feet and the ground.

3 Try these settings 3

Getting to know your camera is important so that you can make adjustments on the fly. I always shoot in Manual exposure mode but, in practice, I really only alter my shutter speed. Starting off at 1/2000 sec with the aperture set to around f/4 and Auto ISO (with a maximum limit of ISO 3200), it’s only a quick turn of a dial to change the shutter speed or aperture, if required, while the camera takes care of the ISO.

Burst mode 4

Being able to shoot up to 10fps (mechanical shutter) and 18fps (electronic shutter) on my Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III comes in handy for photographing dogs. It does feel a bit ‘spray and pray’ at times, but it certainly helps capture the split-second moments that you would miss when shooting single images.

5 Shoot fast

With dogs running around at high speed, you really do need a fast shutter speed to freeze the movement. If the area has water, like on this beach, the fast shutter speed also means that any splashes will be frozen in place as well. If you’re struggling with the focus point, make the aperture narrower, to more like f/5.6 or f/8, and see whether Auto ISO has enough leeway to keep the image properly exposed.