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| Kerry and her inspiration, Keiko: "The relationship between a dog and his human is a precious thing and there's no denying that some people treat their dogs as their children." [Nice job BTW - all white and all black pets are pretty hard to photograph well]. |
Mother’s day is fast
approaching. A lot of our readers aren’t mothers in the strictly biologically
reproductive sense, but one expression that seems to have crept into the
vernacular is “fur-kid”. (Although in truth, kid was once reserved for baby
goats, it crept into the vernacular as a means of referring to human offspring.
One mightn’t mind a herd of kids, but one might not be ready for a herd of
kids). Different folks use different terms (I came across the term “grey-baby”
for a pet greyhound), but essentially this gives us some insight into the type
of relationship some of us have with pets.
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| Sandy and Sammy. |
Another trend SAT has
noticed is the appearance of fur-kids in family portraits (one of our favourite
sites is www.awkwardfamilypetphotos.com). Ask someone if they have a pet and they'll usually draw their smartphone and show you a stream of cute animal portraits. Even the Royal Family is getting in on the action.
For some of us this has never been new, but there’s been a huge growth in the
number of pet photographers offering their professional skills to capture a
multi-species family portrait.
SAT spoke to Kerry Martin of Akemi Photography
about her job and the pros and cons of treating pets as family.
What do you do for a living?
I'm a photographer and I
work with pets and their people. I have the most awesome job of creating
incredible experiences and capturing the amazing bond that pet lovers have with
their pet.
How did you get into dog photography
(phoDOGraphy?)?
It really started when
we welcomed our own gorgeous fur child into the family. Keiko is the most
adorable dog and as a puppy he looked like a baby polar bear. That much
cuteness just had to be captured and cherished and this is something that
continues today! His arrival opened up this new world for me.
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| Modern family: Sam, Kerry and Keiko. Note Keiko's resemblance to a polar bear. Fortunately he's somewhat less predatory - a fact which no doubt enhances the human-animal bond. |
I
chased him about, capturing his every cheekiness, cuteness and new discovery in
his puppy world. I took nearly a gazillion photos of Keiko and was
sharing them online. I then had some of the families I photographed ask
to include their pets in their photography sessions. Of course, I thought
this was a fabulous idea and it turned out that these were the most relaxed and
fun sessions. It then grew from there. Today I photograph pets
individually and with their families. It’s the most amazing fun and it’s
so beautiful to capture and share the love people have for their pets.
It seems there has been a huge increase in pet
photography in the last decade. Why do you think this is?
Because our pets are
adorable, fun and an important part of our lives. They are beautiful.
In an individual portrait they can be stunning and a stylish piece of
photo wall art. Included in a family session, they capture another love
that exists in family. Our pets when included with the family also have
an uncanny nature to make people relax and this makes for amazing photos.
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| Be ready for anything: Sonny and Commander Spock. |
What are the challenges in taking photos of animals
and how can you overcome these?
There are quite a few
challenges (and lots if you're not naturally an animal person!). Like
humans, every animal will have their own personality - what they respond to,
what they enjoy and don't enjoy. Understanding how to relate to animals
while letting them be animals is essential to working with them. Being
calm and patient is equally important. I don't have expectations of an
animal doing what it is I want them to but to let them be themselves and figure
out how to work with that to deliver what their people want.
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| Sunny and foster dog Ronnie. |
Can you describe your typical client?
The typical thing about
my clients is that they are all pet lovers and absolutely consider their pets
part of the family. They arrange playdates for them, they include them in
whatever activities they can, the pets sleep on the bed and are just truly
loved.
Have you had any unusual requests?
More often now, I'm
being asked to photograph bigger groups of pets. People want to include
all the pets in the family that are important, so that might be siblings and
their pets. Pets in an extended family often spend much time together so
capturing them all together is meaningful to their people. I'm frequently
photographing groups of 5, 6 and 7 pets. It's crazy fun with those sorts
of numbers of animals!
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| Karen, Dan and Tux. |
I've also photographed
with Wildlife Victoria - bats, possums, wombats and a very cheeky joey.
It was an incredible opportunity to photograph Australian wildlife.
It has been said that for some people, animals are
equivalent to children. Is that your experience and why do you think we do
this?
Absolutely. It's
true for me, as well as for many of those I photograph. I don't firsthand
know the bond that a mother has for her children, but I certainly believe the
love I have for my fur-kids is as meaningful. I know many people with
both human and fur children and they express the same sentiment - that they
consider their pets to be part of the family.
I work from home and one
of the things I love most is that they are around me all day (I love to have a
break for a 'puppy cuddle'), we plan outings and holidays around including
them. We will talk about their day and the little things that they got up
to. There's a reason why we so commonly refer to them as our best friends
- they embody the best qualities we all seek in our lives - loyalty,
companionship, they teach us, they grow with us, they make us feel joy and
happiness, and all without conditions.
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| Fiona and her fur-kids Monty and Mandy: "My dogs rule my house. They sleep in the bed with me, they each have their own routines, we organise play dates with my mum's dogs, and they're spoilt every day and get whatever they want. I have two ballgowns for Mandy and a tuxedo for Monty I'm saving for a special occasion." |
Do you think there is a down-side to this bonding?
It is absolutely
heartbreaking when they leave us. And the problem with pets, is that
that's always too soon. This can be made more difficult by the fact that
others don't necessarily understand the deep connection pet lovers have with
their pet. Non-pet people will say 'it's only a dog' believing that it
will help us to find "perspective" and adjust quicker. In fact
that minimises what's being felt and can make us feel isolated. Our pets
are such a constant part of our lives and we often associate them with other
great memories throughout our lives, it leaves such a gap when they depart.
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| Kim and Daisy, who she rescued off the streets of Budapest 17 years ago. "I have a one-on-one relationship with Daisy and we know each other's moves and I can predict her needs. I adore every hair on her body." |
Do you have any non-humans in your life? Can you
tell us a bit about them?
I've already mentioned our
top dog, Keiko. He's a 3 year old Japanese Spitz. He's also the
world's cutest dog ;) We also have our cat Kimba (who is in fact, top
'dog' in our house putting Keiko in his place when the need arises). He's
7 years old and a being a Ragdoll cross Maine Coon (from what we can tell), a
big boy. Snuggles on the couch are one of our favourite things in this
house.
Do you ever get sick of taking pics of animals?
To my husband's
sometimes displeasure - no! I love being around animals and when they are
doing something adorable I can't help but feel the need to capture it. I
take some sort of camera (if not my SLR) with me everywhere I go. Keiko I
photograph pretty much every day still. I will see or meet a dog while
out walking and want to photograph them because they are so
adorable/playful/unique/etc. I have ideas about a way that I'd like to
photograph a particular breed or I'll purchase a new prop or lens which opens
another creative photography avenue. Or I'll discover a new amazing location,
like taking dogs to the snow, which inspires more photography.
Photographing animals and pets is the perfect mix of my passions - I
can't get enough of it. And I say to hubby’s displeasure because he's often the
one I rope in to 'assist' me!
Thanks Kerry. I must confess I have one or two [potentially 65,000] photos of my multi-species family around the place here and there. Readers, do you include your pet in family portraits? SAT would love to see them. Are your portraits strictly mono-species? Tell us why. Do you consider yourself a "pet parent" of "fur kids" (and will you celebrate mother's day with your pet) or disagree with use of this terminology?
