Photographing Your Pet

Lots of books on photography at Manadon Bookstore.

Click Logo

Photographing your pet can be an incredibly rewarding experience.  Done well, it will allow you to immortalize Fluffy the cat or Spot the dog - that significant member of your family - the pet that shared your food, chewed your shoes, and brought your slippers.  In fact, the act of seriously photographing your pet will bring you both closer because the process opens you to noticing the small, wonderful things that you might have missed before - the way he wags his tail, etc. 

As with anything, it's best to proceed with a goal in mind so you know where to start.  What are you trying to accomplish?  Are you trying to capture your pet's playful side?  Are you trying to set up a funny
photo using a prop such as a birthday hat?  Is this an interactive portrait between your pet and your child?   Sit down and put on paper your goal, because it will help you in preparing properly.  Nothing is worse than spending an hour going to your favorite location with equipment in hand and realizing your forgot a favorite toy - do your self a favor, do not skip this step.

Manadon Bookstore

Now that you have decided on your goal, it's time to decide the proper setting.  Indoors vs. outdoors.   Near the fireplace with an open fire in the background, or in a studio.  At the beach or in the woods.  As you think about the location, think about how your pet will respond to the surroundings.  If you decide the public park is the perfect place, you must think about your pet's resistance to distractions.  Is he/she able to resist running after another animal or person?  The more you know your pet and see things through his/her eyes, the better off you will be.

Now you are at the critical preparation stage.  You've set your goal, you've decided on the appropriate setting - now try to anticipate all that can (and probably will) go wrong.  The following tips will help reduce the chance of things getting out of hand.

• Exercise your pet - just enough so they are still alert, but not hyper.
• Lighting - outdoor is best, but flash will work too.
• Grooming - only if it doesn't adversely affect your pet's mood - then do it well before.
• Props/Toys - favorite of the pet.
• Food - favorite of the pet.
• Be prepared for sudden movement - shutter speed about 1/125th and use iso 400 or 800 (if indoors)
• Watch for scene clutter
• Have your subject at least 6 feet away from background to reduce shadows
• Bring an assistant to help manage your pet

The first time you make out your list, the process will be a little tedious, but the beauty is that once the list is made, all you need to do is modify it slightly for the next sessions.

On Location - Whew, you've made to shooting location - congratulations.  Hopefully, you've brought everything you are going to need, right?  Right!  Now, it's time for setup.  Be organized, get everything laid out in a logical fashion.  The last thing you want to be doing is fiddling around with equipment when you need to be shooting pictures - an animal has a zero attention span and you have got to be ready to snap that picture when the moment is there. 

How is you animal's demeanor?  Is he/she super wound up?  If yes, then perhaps some light exercise would be in order - nothing too heavy, but just enough to help him/her calm down.  How are you?  Are you stressed?  Relax, and go with the flow - animals are super sensitive to your mood.  Give your pet some last minute grooming - just touch-ups.  If you are outdoors, how is the wind?  Is it too strong?  Is the sun too bright?  Remember, overcast is much better for exposure.  Make sure that your pet is far enough away from your background so as to not cast any shadows.

Shooting - One of the most important things to remember is to get down on your pet's level, as much as possible.  A shot from above doesn't portray intimacy.  In addition, when you are at your pet's level, it's easier for you to empathize with it.  If you've never crawled around on the ground before, you might feel a bit foolish, but trust me, it makes all the difference in the world.  Make sure that you and your handler work with each other - you have got to be in charge, but also try to be flexible - you have a lot of variables that
you are managing.

Be patient, and have a lot of fun!!!

Join eBid - THE on-line auction site with NO listing/buying FEES!

Books, books, books!

At Manadon Bookstore, we have lots of books about Birmingham and its heritage.  If you are thinking of visiting Birmingham, here are a few tips on what to look out for.

Britain’s second largest city after London is Birmingham.  Birmingham is the cultural centre of the West Midlands and offers the casual visitor an enormous range of exciting opportunities and things to do. Offering an unsurpassed range of shops and shopping centres, and literally hundreds of activities and things to do, Birmingham is the ideal tourist destination; a city that is always guaranteed to keep you occupied.

As a city, Birmingham is packed with places to visit, enabling you to get a real taste of the city’s culture. Just a few of the places include:

Birmingham Cathedral :  Built in 1725, this is one of the city’s most beautiful historic buildings, complete with four Pre-Raphaelite stained-glass windows.

The Royal Air Force Museum: Treat yourself to a stunning display of aviation history and witness over seventy aircraft situated within three separate wartime hangars. You’ll see Spitfires, Hurricanes, Vulcans and more.

Cadbury’s World: One of the country’s biggest and most popular museums. You’ll find out about the history of chocolate, and how it originated in South America, as well as seeing a genuine production line.  Of course, a visit isn’t complete without sampling the produce…!

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery: Witness a huge variety of exhibits that range from spooky Egyptian mummies to a wooden toy collection for the kids. Treat yourself to some culture and examine the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the world.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens: An astonishing fifteen acres of beautiful gardens are available for exploration, as well as four glasshouses containing exotic plants.

When it comes to finding something to do, you’ll find that Birmingham has it covered.

For books about just about anything, please go to Manadon Bookstore.

Books, books, books!

Welcome to our new blog.  We are an on-line bookstore, supplying quality rare and specialist books to customers worldwide from our base here in Plymouth, UK, situated mid-way between the Dartmoor National Park and our stunning South Devon coast.


We will be using this blog for all sorts of reasons, like letting you know when a really special title comes in, or if we have a promotion coming up, or maybe just to let everyone out there know what's going on in this beautiful part of the Devonshire countryside.


With all this fantastic scenery around here, it probably won't surprise you to learn that one of my hobbies is photography.  I love landscapes, but I've been fascinated by a book that has just come in called "Photo Guide To Fishes of the Maldives" by Rudie H. Kuiter.  The underwater photography is superb and the information about the different types of fish I should think would be invaluable to anyone going on a diving trip to the Maldives.


There are other great books being listed to our website at Manadon-Bookstore every day, so please take a look.