Pet photographer sets up shop in S.F.
Pet portrait photographer sets up shop in Santa Fe
Magoo lay atop a picnic table bench, his droopy, basset hound eyes looking to the clouds.
Three petite pups, Hugo, Target and Mika, gathered together in their owner’s lap, the toy poodle leaning in for a kiss.
Two greyhounds, Cash and Rocco, stood in a pile of fluffy pillows, peering out a full-length window.
These are some of the photos taken by fine art dog photographer Jesse Freidin, a man who jokes that he “speaks dog.”
From behind his camera, Freidin captures dogs’ candid moments, their close-to-human expressions and the authentic interactions they share with their owners — a bond he says reveals a form of “unconditional love that’s rare to find in the world.”
Freidin, who has been featured in countless big-name publications for his work, has shot hundreds of photographs of dogs in the past 10 years. Since moving to Santa Fe earlier this year, he’s set up a studio on Lena Street, where he hopes to attract locals who share his “respect for the craft of photography” and his passion for man’s best friend.
“There’s people here who have this intersection of valuing art and valuing dogs,” he said, adding that it’s a strange business, but one he loves.
Surprisingly, Freidin, 37, grew up afraid of dogs after being bitten by a yellow Lab at age 7. But at 22, and desperately in need of a job, he took a job at Fog City Dogs, a canine boarding and day care center in San Francisco.
He recalled his first day, as a stealthy pit bull named Lennox approached him. To his surprise, the dog was friendly and social, and the two became fast friends. Freidin credits Lennox for
instilling in him a love for all dogs, and drastically changing his life’s trajectory.
“[Lennox] was like an ambassador. … He introduced me to that [dog] world,” Freidin said. “I was fascinated by that connection.”
Around the same time Freidin was working at the dog day care, he started a one-year internship as an assistant for family portraiture. Though he enjoyed the experience, it left him questioning his career path. As the apprenticeship came to a close, Freidin said, a mentor suggested he try photographing a dog.
A pug named Gus was his first model. The squished, expressive face was “so simple and powerful and brought so much joy to people,” that Freidin said the experience cemented his desire to continue photographing dogs. Freidin hasn’t looked back. “There’s something so deep about the dog-human bond. The science of that connection and the emotional weight. … That’s what I’m curious about,” Freidin said.
In 2017, he published Finding Shelter, a photo book focused on the relationships between animal shelter volunteers and their canine dependents. Throughout the project, and all of his studio sessions, Freidin said he is constantly surprised how much he learns about other people by watching the animals with which they interact.
“I really fell in love with observing people through their animals,” he said, adding that before any photography session he has a consultation with potential clients, intending to familiarize himself with the dog’s personality and its impact on the owner. At that time, he will talk about pricing.
“They’re telling me about their dogs, but really, they’re telling me about themselves,” he said. “If I don’t know the emotional history of the dog, I won’t make a good portrait.”
To get a strong picture, Freidin said he doesn’t entice dogs with squeaky toys or treats.
“We’re overstimulating dogs to get this posed, cute moment, which I think is dumb,” he said. “I just let them be themselves. … That’s when the real character comes out.”
Freidin, whose Boston terrier, Pancake, recently died at age 13, said clients with aging dogs regularly come to him for a final portrait.
Valeda Stull, a fashion photographer from New York, is among them. In 2016, she said she had Freidin photograph her 14-yearold Chihuhua.
“Time was of the essence,” she said, adding that Freidin was able to calm her dog’s “nervous energy” and capture their relationship in an authentic way. “He was able to slow the process down and make it deeply intimate. … He has this natural ability of working with animals. It’s surreal.”
Because Freidin knows the impact of a dog’s companionship firsthand, he said he does more than create a “shallow” snapshot or a “cheesy canvas panel.”
Dog portraiture — in various artistic forms — is becoming increasingly popular. Locally, the Winnow exhibition, which celebrates dogs in contemporary art, went on display in July at Burro Alley, where it will stay through Sunday to benefit the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society — a type of fundraising Freidin hopes to initiate someday.
Numerous other exhibits showcase dogs, while painters, sculptors and photographers statewide make the four-legged creatures their artistic focus.
But amid the saturation of dog art, Freidin said he believes his work stands out.
“I have such a deep respect and curiosity for the role dogs play in our lives,” he said, adding that there are “few people out there who are treating it in such a revered way.”