Families turn to pros to capture canine memories

Lori Fusaro with Sunny, an 18-year-old pit bull and Gabi, 11. Fusaro is to publish a book called My Old Dog next year. She's shot thousands of photos for Los Angeles Animal Services, which puts old (and young) dogs on their website in the hope they will attract the right owner.

Lori Fusaro with Sunny, an 18-year-old pit bull and Gabi, 11. Fusaro is to publish a book called My Old Dog next year. She's shot thousands of photos for Los Angeles Animal Services, which puts old (and young) dogs on their website in the hope they will attract the right owner.

Published May 23, 2014

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Los Angeles - It takes more than a squeaky toy and a camera to capture memorable pet portraits.

Professional pet photographers in the increasingly competitive business quiz owners about their dogs’ personalities, find the ideal setting and use favourite toys to bring out the best in the animals they shoot, knowing the portraits will outlive the pets.

“I spend time getting them to trust me so I can reach into their soul,” said Rachael Hale McKenna of New Zealand, who just released her 15th book, The New York Dog.

Twenty years ago, most people did not think to put their pet in a family photo or on Christmas cards. Today, both are likely to be built around a beloved animal. And the older a pet gets, the more people think about professional portraits.

McKenna and two other well-known pet photographers live continents apart and all specialise in candid photos of dogs not taken in a studio. They spend time with people and pets before they start and they know the importance of immortalising ageing animals.

Jenna Leigh Teti of Jersey City, New Jersey, offers a package for very old or terminally-ill dogs.

“It’s an important shoot for me, a special thing to capture for someone. And it’s happening more frequently.”

To catch the quirks that bring photos to life, Teti and Los Angeles photographer Lori Fusaro send letters before an appointment. Teti asks clients to pick out a celebrity their dog resembles for clues about their relationship.

A bulldog owner named him Tony Soprano, the mafia boss on the TV series. The owner of a small mixed-breed cited Cary Grant “because he really knew how to charm the ladies with his dance moves”.

Teti’s methods have created lasting memories for Zarina Mak and her a pair of rescue mutts.

“You know when you look at the photo these dogs are family members and not just discarded dogs,” said Mak, who has had them photographed twice and plans more as they age.

Photo sessions usually take an hour or so, the photographers said, and their prices vary from $175 (R1 800) to $500.

Fusaro has come up with some go-to spots – an outdoor dog heads to a hiking trail; a couch potato gets a sofa; and an active pooch frolics on a beach.

She never heads out without a squeaky toy, animal calls and her “secret weapon”, a coach’s whistle.

“It only works once” to get pooches’ attention, Fusaro said.

In front of the camera, some dogs are timid and some are hams, McKenna said, but her secret for a successful shoot with any canine personality is patience.

“Never force an animal to do anything,” McKenna said. “If an animal doesn’t want to do it, you are not going to get the image you are after anyway.”

There’s not much forcing to get Mak’s two mutts to mug. She snaps them frequently on her phone but Teti was able to capture something deeper.

“I could never get the true joy of them on the cellphone,” Mak said.

Sapa-AP

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