It takes 3

I took the main puppy photo yesterday, indoors, with the camera on my phone. The little inset photo was taken by the photographer I volunteer with. For the shelter dog photography we use a team of 3: one photographer and 2 handlers/wranglers.

One handler leashes the dog up and brings it outside. Their main job is to get the dog sitting or standing and at the end of the leash (far enough away from the handler so that the handler is not in the photo). This handler is the wrangler: most of these dogs are untrained and a good number whip around on the end of the leash like wild mustangs! Because this job is physically demanding the handlers take turns.

The second handler's job is to help the wrangler get the dog in a good position for the photographs and to get the dog looking toward the camera. We use a combination of sight, sound, and smell to get the dog's attention. It's a case of trial and error. Some dogs respond to treats; we try animal noises (we yip, bark, growl, mew, etc); and we have a squeaky toy that works with some. Sometimes we wave our arms around, or jump up and down. Some dogs just "get it" and others are a chore.

Each adult dog needs 3 photos: a face shot; a side shot (showing the whole body and tail with the dog standing); and a third shot (anything that works/looks good). Puppies only get one shot: a face shot. We take all of the shots outside, whether it be below freezing, or super-hot out. Puppies under 5 months must be carried (they only put their feet down on designated puppy areas inside the shelter). Sometimes puppies are pretty big!

For the handlers, our work is over when the photographs have been taken. The photographer gets to Photoshop out the leash on every adult dog photo and then load the photos to the website. There are several photographers, and they don't all follow the same process. You can see all of the current dogs here Wayside Waifs adoptable dogs. Maybe your local shelter could use your photography skills :)