Channeling Grace Chon - and others...

I've been following and studying pet photographers for some time now.  In previous posts, I showed my efforts to learn from the work of masters such as Tim Fach, Andrew Zuckerman and Jill Greenberg.  These shooters were known for their use of flash in their work with animals, and I wanted to understand how they achieved their effects and see where I could take it from there.

A while back I discovered Grace Chon, a pet photographer in the L.A. area.  Grace is known for working with available light, and she has quite a unique style.  Her work is known for bright and cheerful imagery and, when not including the pet's owner, typically uses very short depth of field to create interestingly blurred backgrounds. 

Getting that bright and airy feel has been alluding me, but I think I'm beginning to get closer.  Here's a couple shots of one of my most favorite subjects, and one of a neighbor with an interesting reaction to passing dogs...

You know I don't make eye contact when you point that thing at me.

 

 

Silly man, I'm looking at that rabbit hiding in the grass behind you!

I was thinking about Grace's work as we came upon this small patch of grass with good, open shade.  I thought we'd try letting the background blow out a little more than I usually do.  These images are basically straight out of the camera, except for some small tweaks in post for cropping, vibrance and saturation.  Oh, and a small tweak to improve contrast.

Not quite there yet, but I'm getting closer.  In the same vein, this next one is a shot of a neighbor's Airedale Terrier in full sunshine.  This guy gets excited when other dogs pass his yard, and his owner taught him to grab these stuffed balls and shake them rather than run along the fence and bark.  It doesn't always work, but when it does he puts on quite a show!

Shake that ball thing, shake that ball, oh yeah!!!

As with the flash shooters, it's not my intention to adopt Grace's style as my own. Rather, to understand it to the extend I can blend it with my own, which tends to go darker.  Some good examples are a couple images from a series I've started called "Behind The Fence":

Chomp "Bark!" chomp, slobber, chew, "Bark Bark!!"

Another neighbor's dog has a berm just behind the fence, running the length of it.  This morning, he happened to be chewing what looks like a rawhide bone.  He ran back and forth on the berm barking and staring at us, and at no time did he drop that thing!  It was really fun to watch!

Nothing to see here, move along fella!

This guy starts barking when you approach, but if you and your dogs stay calm and quiet (as my WONDERFULLY FANTASTIC puddies do!!!!) she settles down quickly and just watches you walk on.



Studying the style of shooters I admire isn't about mimicking their work so I can create images that look like theirs.  It's about expanding my toolbox of choices by taking components from what I learn and incorporating them into my own evolving style. I do that best by practicing their style till I've got it down, then I can determine which components best aid me in creating the kind of work I want to do.

Thanks Grace, for your inspiration...


Hope you enjoyed...