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Linda Johnstone - Changing to a career in photography - part 2 of 1 2 3

Published 01/12/2013

It seemed like a natural choice to take the bespoke training course at the then local-to-her Aspire Photography Training when Linda began considering photography as a career choice. 'I still keep in touch with the photographers I trained with at Aspire and we support each other. Being a photographer on your own can be challenging sometimes.' Keeping your skills updated can be tricky to find time for when you're running a business but Linda still enjoys workshops and has her own mentor, Simon Young. 'It's really important to spend time doing your own shoots and not just using your clients as practice for new things because that's really stressful. So I make time to shoot as often as I can and occasionally do workshops in order to keep learning new things and progressing my work.'

Focusing on photographing dogs was an obvious choice for Linda.

When you have grown up your entire life with canine companions, you develop an affinity for them and it becomes much easier to take a great picture of them. 'If you're nervous and it's a large dog who is a little boisterous then you're really going to be up against it', says Linda.

'The dogs, they can sense these things so they will always be looking at their owners for reassurance or they're going to be looking at you suspiciously which will mean that the pictures won't be as good as they could be.'

Since a dog is often an integral part of the family, photographers are often asked to photograph the family pet as part of a portrait session.

If you've never grown up around animals it can be hard to know where to start, so I asked Linda for her top tips. 'The first is that you have to build rapport with the dog. You have to get down to their level and see the world from a dog's viewpoint, both literally and metaphorically! Knowing when to stop is crucial too - when they start yawning and you know they're bored then we take five, just as you would with a person.

Lastly you need to have masses of patience. Patience in abundance!'

Working on location is something that Linda believes is key to capturing the best of a dog's personality and making it look natural. 'When you photograph a dog in their own environment they're more relaxed and confident. You get to capture the real them rather than an excited dog who is in unfamiliar surroundings.' It's also worth considering why pet owners get portraits of their dogs. 'With a pet portrait you're capturing memories, more so than with a child. A picture of a dog on their favourite walk or sleeping in their chair at home is more meaningful once they're gone than a studio portrait.'

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1st Published 01/12/2013
last update 09/12/2022 14:56:04

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