My official promo video for my CreativeLIVE Pet Photography Workshop has been released! Check it out by clicking on the image below! Don’t know what CreativeLIVE is? Check out my March post with all the info on how I got involved with CreativeLIVE and what they’re all about. I’m heading to Seattle at the end of March and can’t wait to teach this workshop!.jpg "arica_duke_petographique")
The Animal Foundation contacted Pet’ographique a few months ago after a Uhaul style truck was donated to the non-profit animal shelter. This was just the type of vehicle The Animal Foundation was in need of to transport animals to and from adoption events. The request was to have Pet’ographique photograph shelter alums and use their portraits on the truck wrap being designed for the new adoption vehicle. There was a facebook contest to select a catchy name for the truck and ‘Fast & Furriest adoption mobile’ was the winner. We are so honored to be a part of this awesome project and it’s so cool to see our larger than life portraits when driving around town!
♥ Totally Awesome, Arica! What a fab looking truck! I would LOVE to see it cruisin’ the streets of Vegas!
Announcing Pet’ographique’s June Photography Workshops! See details below. Register for workshops at www.petographique.com/workshops.aspx.
Register for workshops at www.petographique.com/workshops.aspx.
As much as I wish to come to the workshop, I do not have the funds. Will there be any DVD’s made up to sell?
I’ve got five four legged babies that I love to photograph, three small dogs and two cats. The one thing I have problems with is keeping them in place long enough to take the shot. I still would love to learn more about pet photography.
This is the one thing I have a passion in, not sure how to make it happen. I’m disabled and cannot hold down a standing job due to nerve and back problems. But I still would like a chance to make a difference in my life by doing something I love. I have to do things different to compensate for my problems. Where I live there is a huge opening for pet photography. Thank You, Shari Vann
If I had to sum up my latest speaking experience in 1 sentence it would be this: “I just participated in a speaking event that was like American Idol but instead of finding the next big singing super star, the goal was to find the next big photography speaker/teacher”. When I say it was like American Idol, I’m not kidding. The event was being broadcast live on the internet, there was a panel of 4 judges giving us immediate feedback on our presentations, and at the end of the 7 hour event the host said “May I have the envelope please….. Our next creativeLIVE star is……”.
creativeLIVE is the world’s leading live broadcast educational platform created specifically for photographers. creativeLIVE connects ambitious learners to the most talented experts in the photography industry through interactive workshops which are broadcast live over the internet. On average 20,000 to 60,000 people tune in to watch each workshop.
In April 2013 I received an email from a friend who said “you should audition for this”. creativeLIVE was accepting video submissions and applications so they could select 6 photographers to take part in their first ever creativeLIVE Spotlight which was being held in Las Vegas the following month. I got an email about a week after submitting my audition video which informed me that I was 1 of 6 photographers selected to give a 30 minute presentation at creativeLIVE Spotlight event! Of course I was speaking on Pet Photography, but more specifically my presentation was titled ‘The Psychology of Pet Photography’. A lot of pet photographers are speaking about how to attract more pet clients, but I want people to walk away from my presentations and workshops with a better understanding of how to make their portraits sessions with pets more controlled and less chaotic. Here’s a few things I talked about:
* Human Psychology VS Animal Psychology
* Giving attention to a nervous animal will only make them more nervous!
* How to greet pets and when to ignore them
* My top 10 attention getting tricks to get animals perky for portraits
The beautiful and fabulous, Jasmine Star, was the host of the event.
Even though my presentation was only 30 minutes, I thought it was important to live shoot to give people a better understanding of what I was teaching. George Varanakis (previously the Executive VP/Group Publisher at Rangefinder Publishing, the leading magazine for professional photographers and WPPI, the largest trade show and convention in the photo industry) was the first judge to critique my presentation and he said “I thought that was an extremely gutsy move to live shoot with a dog in a 30 minute presentation that’s being broadcast live all over the world, but you nailed it!”. The image below of the judges and small studio audience shows the view I had while speaking:
The event ran from 9am – 4pm. After all of the speakers presented and received feedback from the judges, all 6 speakers were called back to the stage for the announcement of the creativeLIVE Spotlight winner. The winner of the event would have the opportunity to teach their own full creativeLIVE workshop later in the year. So seriously just like American Idol, the host said “May I have the envelope please”………. “and the winner of creativeLIVE Spotlight and creativeLIVE’s next big star is……… Arica Dorff!”. Cool stuff right!? We were all so excited when they surprised us with a second winner that the internet audience couldn’t live without, Rachel Brenke! Congrats Rachel! Thank you to the entire creativeLIVE team and a huge thank you to my live shooting models, Patty & Chloe! You guys rocked! If you’d like to watch my 30 minute creativeLIVE Spotlight presentation, here’s the link (scroll down to my 1:30pm time slot): http://www.creativelive.com/courses/cl-spotlight. My full creativeLIVE workshop is scheduled for May 23 & 24th! – Arica
Update April 30, 2013: My promo video for my May 2013 CreativeLIVE Pet Photography has been released! Check it out: http://www.creativelive.com/courses/pet-photography-arica-dorff
P.S. For those of you who want to learn hands-on in person, we just announced our upcoming Photography Workshops taking place at Pet’ographique on June 29th & 30th!
CONGRATULATIONS, ARICA!!! Soooo proud of you! What a FUN & challenging event! Chloe & Patty were Great, too! Looking forward to the video! arf! arf!
Hi Arica, looking forward to seeing you on Creative Live in May. I’m not a photographer but I do want to take better pics of my pup.
Hi Monique! Thanks for the comment. I’m looking forward to putting on my 2 day workshop on CL next month! Hope you pick up lots of great pet photography tips! -Arica
WOOF! Congrats!!! Look forward to seeing you Live! 
We’re so excited to announce 2 new portrait products that we just added to our Photo Handbag line… a fabric Wristlet with leather trim & a leather Wallet!
Pet’ographique’s fabric Wristlet with leather trim is a secure accessory designed for people on the move. Includes zippered closure on top and a blank mini wallet with an ID window and two credit card slots. The Wristlet also features a back zippered pocket for additional storage. Extraordinary image clarity on durable fabric. Fully lined, water and stain resistant fabric interior. Dimensions: 4 1/8″W x 5 5/8″H x 1/2″D
Carry cash and credit cards fashionably with Pet’ographique’s compact leather wallet. The front features your favorite Pet’ographique image printed directly on leather, as well as a single slot for ID or credit cards. The back has two credit card slots plus two additional pockets for cash and receipts. Dimensions: 3″H x 4 1/8″W x 1/8″D
Visit our website to order your Photo Wristlet or Photo Wallet or stop by Pet’ographique to see the new products in person!
Greetings. I just saw the trailer for your upcoming workshop on CreativeLive. What camera model and lens are you shooting with? Do you recommend a certain set of lenses that a photographer should own before starting pet photography?
Hi Eric! I shoot with a Nikon D800 body and 24-70 2.8 lens in studio and 70-200 2.8 lens outdoors. Of course the better your equipment the sharper your images, less noise, etc. BUT I don’t think it’s a necessity to own top of the line equipment to run a successful photography studio. There are some pet photographers who shoot with wide angle lenses who may consider a fish eye lens important. I don’t even own a lens below 24mm, so it really just depends on your style of photography. So my short answer is – no I don’t recommend certain lenses specifically for pet photography. I simply like the 24-70 in the studio so I can be closer to animals and interact with them while I’m shooting and outdoors dogs are usually running around so I like the longer 70-200 so I can zoom in if they get are a good distance away from me. =)
The world is a better place with you in it Arica!!! Thank you so much for sharing and caring. You did an awesome job with the animals and your portraits are something that every pet owner will cherish for a lifetime.
Hugs from Texas.
Sincerely,
Ron Barbosa
Barbosa Studios