Puppyhood is an awe-inducing showcase of 25 breeds of dogs all photographed at six weeks of age. Professional animal photographer J.Nichole Smith of Little Large shot 25 different litters over a hectic 30 day period. We caught up with Smith who was kind enough to give us some background info on the project:
In order to avoid stress to the puppies we insisted on traveling to the home of each litter individually (instead of having them come to the studio). This meant setting up and tearing down an entire studio set up at each home (in kitchens, living rooms, on dining room tables, in garages or anywhere we could squeeze us in!) Sometimes we did this up to 3 or 4 times a day!
Between shoots we changed our clothes, disinfected our equipment, stepped in bleach, sanitized our hands and other exposed skin, and used disposable paper backdrops. We took every precaution to ensure the health and well-being of the puppies during the shoots. All the puppies in the book were photographed at six weeks of age – this stipulation allowed us to use life-size images of each pup, we wanted all of the puppies to be the same age. This way, the drastic differences in size from breed to breed would be emphasized. I have been a professional pet photographer for nearly a decade and this may have been the single best assignment I’ve ever had!
The 128-page hardcover book is available on Amazon. Smith, who has specialized in animal portrait photography for nearly a decade, recently opened Little Large, a pet boutique in Twickenham (about 16 km southewst of the centre of London) offering pet photography, design-led gifts and daily pet essentials.
For more information visit their official website. You can also find them on Facebook.
