At The Salty Dog Studio in Costa Mesa, Katelin Journigan will capture the sweet, charming and sometimes goofy facets of your furry friend’s personality. Inspired by her own silver Labrador, Captain, the photographer pivoted toward pet portraiture a little less than a decade ago and is known for large, striking images meant to hang on home walls.
She also has a knack for catching pooches in their most uninhibited moments and leaves some of those outtakes in the batch of images that she shows clients.
“I leave in blinking eyes, anything super funny and quirky and silly that is going to really show the personality of the dog,” says Journigan.
At the end of a session, and if the dog can eat it, there might be a peanut butter treat too, which produces some of the cutest photos. “Every dog makes this hilarious face that is in between licking where their lips are pouted,” she says, “and it usually only happens when we give them peanut butter.”
What prompted you to focus on pet photography?
I was doing wedding photography for about 12 years. Nine years ago, I got my dog Captain. He’s a silver Labrador. I was photographing him a ton. Then, I had all these newly married couples that hadn’t had children yet, but had puppies that they were getting. They kept seeing my work and saying, “When are you going to photograph dogs?”
What’s the most enjoyable thing about photographing dogs?
I’m such an animal lover and they definitely can lift my day at any point in time. Getting to see all their different personalities and quirks, and getting them in front of the camera and seeing the uniqueness of each dog, is definitely the best part of my job.
The outtakes on your website are hysterical. What have been some of the funniest moments you’ve had in photoshoots?
I’ve had so many dogs poop during their photoshoot. It’s too funny. I’m like, it’s not the first, it won’t be the last. … I had one dog that was so excited, and would not stop wagging his tail, he ripped an entire 9-foot seamless backdrop paper with his excited tail. Just tore the whole thing down.
Why do you think people want portraits of their pets?
Unfortunately, I feel like dogs — and pets in general — just don’t live long enough. Most of [the clients], they want to have that portrait and that family member up on their wall. We really advocate getting artwork to put up and not letting everything live digitally. That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. I shoot outdoor and lifestyle stuff, too, but our portraiture is really to show the personality and the individual quirks of a dog, so when you see that photo, you just remember their soul and who they are.
People like to take candid shots of their pets at home. What are some things that people should keep in mind when they’re doing that?
If you’re doing it at home on your own, I think that having a good source of light is number one. It’s technical, but having them face a window or be evenly lit outside. If they’re using their phone, portrait mode is super handy and great. You can now do portrait mode with selfie, which is so cute for you and your pet. I think getting your dog in an environment where they’re definitely going to be completely themselves is a nice one. [There are] lots of different tips and tricks if you want them looking at you. I like to squeeze empty water bottles and red Solo cups that make clicking noises. Obviously, holding treats up, little dog squeaky toys, all of that to get them looking at you. I do find that dogs become a little bit more smiley on a hotter day, when they’re panting a little bit.
Source: Orange County Register
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