I was practicing at getting pets with black fur to stand out when using a black background and black ground. It isn’t too difficult but is useful to practice every now and then because animals with black fur can be challenging when it has to be done on the fly. Granted, the strobes help but they also help keep in mind how lighting works so when it comes to do so without a strobe a setup can still be figured out with natural lighting.
And we got that down rather quick by making the background stand out and by getting a light on the subject. So, I decided to shake things up and paint the dog with different color light gels. As you can see in the photos he was absolutely thrilled with the whole experience. That stated, nap time is as good as any to photograph a pet. It certainly makes movement shake less likely to happen. Ideally, I’d of got shots of him sitting but he just wanted to lay down, so we went with that.
Sometimes you just have to go with what your subject gives you. That’s okay though, because they are still giving you whatever they got and with pets that’s all you can, and should, ever ask of them.