Shaky dog story

Shoot action-packed pet portraits

When wet dogs start shaking off their coats, people usually dive for cover, but it’s a fun moment filled with both action and character. In this project we’ll look at how to capture that moment. We’ll explain how to light our sodden subject and set up a camera to freeze the action in crystal-clear clarity.

We’ve used Rotolight LED panels to light our subject here (you could use a couple of Speedlights), which have a high-speed sync flash mode that helps to freeze motion. However, as is the case with any LEDS, the maximum output doesn’t come close to the most basic flashgun, so we have to adapt out exposure accordingly with a higher ISO. LEDS have their benefits though – more battery, near-instant recycle time in flash mode, colour temperature control, and the convenience of what-yousee-is-what-you-get lighting.

While the lighting isn’t easy, you might find that the trickiest part of this whole project is the dog-handling. Our damp dog was more than happy to be soaked with water, but didn’t feel like standing in the spot we’d set up, preferring to run off to another part of the garden to shake off.

It took a few attempts to get her to stay put and get the posing and focusing spot-on, so you’ll likely shoot a few duds before getting a usable shot, but it’s all part of the fun! And what better way to spend a warm day in the garden than with your camera and four-legged friend?

the set up

One Rotolight Aeos light is placed to the right side of the camera, a second behind and to the left of the subject, and a smaller Rotolight Neo behind and to the right. Each light is set to HSS flash mode, which enables the use of a high shutter speed to freeze the motion of the dog.

aperture and focusing

A wide aperture of f/4 allows us to create a shallow depth of field, which has the nice effect of blurring the water drops, both in front of and behind the point of focus. But it makes precise focusing tricky, especially with a fast subject. Use Continuous AF and focus on the closest eye.