Luke - Studio Session

Luke is a big ol' puppy with paws as large as my hands. I'm guessing he'll be a 90-pounder or so? When he came into the studio, I had to document all of his puppy goodness. I figured I'd give it a go with some video! As most of you know, I've really been playing around with video and trying to learn everything I can. This was a new experience in and of itself. Shot inside with only available lighting, I quickly realized I'll need to invest in some continuous video lighting if I want to replicate the look of the still images in the studio. Either way, we had a ton of fun and we ended up with a super-cute promo video. I especially love the end...

Pet Portrait Studio from Sarah McGraw on Vimeo.

And I'm sure you'd like to see a closer look of Luke's still images. I adore this big baby!

Thanks so much for coming along on this fun session!

Becks, Ellie & Sienna

I've very excited to share my latest Moving Pet Portrait of Becks, Ellie, and Sienna... This footage was shot back at the end of September for a fabulous pet photographer from Atlanta, Leesia Teh. She, her husband, and her three pups made the 4-hour trip up to Cornelius (where I was living at the time) just so I could shoot this video. I was very nervous as Leesia was one of the first photographers I learned of after I started my pet photography business. I really wanted to impress - even though I was still very much a newbie at the whole video thing. With all the pressure I put on myself, I was so embarrassed when they had to come to our apartment! We had sold our house, was waiting for an updated closing date on our new place and we were living among stacks of boxes. So much for first impressions! Ha!

That aside, we lucked out with an absolutely gorgeous sunny afternoon to shoot with. We hopped over to a huge abandoned field where the dogs could safely be off-leash (there's no Photoshopping out leashes in video!). I had a shoot-list written down that I generally went by. However, these dogs were so good and had so many tricks up their paws that I kinda threw the shoot-list out. Becks, Ellie and Sienna totally blew me away! They were seriously a dream!

Just over 3 months later, I finally have Leesia's video complete. Yes, she knew it would take a while - I had to move my house, my studio, and get through the Fall/Christmas season. I certainly hope the wait was worth it!!! I think this Moving Pet Portrait capture these dogs (and parents) in a way stills can't.

I hope you enjoy!!!

Becks, Ellie & Sienna - Moving Pet Portrait from Sarah McGraw on Vimeo.

Technical info: Shot with a Canon 5D Mark III, 35mm f/1.2, 50mm f/1.4. Supports: Handheld, tripod, and Fig-Rig. Editing: iMovie (although I hope to upgrade to Final Cut before the next one). Song: Little Red Bike by Mindy Gledhill licensed through Triple Scoop Music.