Customer Reviews

Phodography: How to get Great Pictures of your Dog

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Never ever have I gotten a new photography book and had every person in my family pick it up and thumb through it from cover to cover, but the new book "PhoDOGraphy - how to get great pictures of your dog" by Kim Levin changed that.

Why?

Every other page has a full size dog portrait on it while the opposing page not only has the chapter content, but often has 1-3 more thumbnail images. And these images aren't there as "window dressing", every single image is an example of what that chapter is covering with a full explanation of the "how's & why's" behind each of the sample images.

The first thing that came through was that Kim is a real dog lover, and of course this hit home with me as I am the proud dad of two miniature schnauzers, one of the ways this was apparent is Kim's emphasis on the safety of the dog when shooting outside of the confines of the dogs home.

While the book covers every topic you can imagine regarding photographing dogs, it's a quick read, I read it from cover to cover (each time) in just a couple hours (which means normal people could read it even faster).

Kim covers it all, from photographing dogs indoors, outdoors, dogs in motion, how to make use of different weather and seasons, photographing single dogs, multiple dogs, puppies... and more.

Ever see a picture of a dog and they're looking into the camera with its head cocked to one side? Kim walks you through how to capture that exact image.

One of my dogs is black and I can never seem to get a good picture of her, well Kim devotes and entire chapter, "The Black Dog", to this problem.

If you haven't picked up on it yet, I loved this book. It is well written, extremely informative and stuffed with outstanding images from cover to cover.

If you put a copy on your coffee table I guarantee that not only will every person who walks in your house pick it up, you will here things like "oooooh" and "aaaaah".

And you'll learn a heck of a lot about photographing dogs too.

Scott
www.WeeklyPhotoTips.com

I bought this book looking for advice on photographing my dog. Black dogs are notorious for being difficult to photograph, and this had a chapter specifically on black dogs. But there was very little useful advice.

The author comes across as sweet and kind and loving dogs, and she has some interesting photos. But the info is typically, "I used this film at this speed on this photo" (over and over and over...), and "lighting is important" and "dogs alone are cute", "dogs in groups are cute", "dogs with their owners are cute", "zoom in on dog parts is cute", "dogs inside are cute", "dogs outside are cute", "dogs on the beach are cute", and on and on.

I read it in spare moments over the course of three days, then gave it away on our towns "freecycle" list.

A great book with great ideas and great tips but a little outdated for the digital age. And the photos were clearly cropped and not the true final product of what the photographer I'm sure presented to a client. The crops were in areas that I'm sure a client would not want their dog's leg or arm or ear or head cut off at. But, her art is wonderful, her spirit and heart is pure. And for that, the book is a keeper, just for that. The ideas of how she gets a pet to be drawn into the camera are great and I am going to try them.

Levin's book contains plenty of cute dog pictures for the canine connoisseur. Many of the photo tips within, however, are of a general nature. Buy a good camera like the author's Nikon D200, use black and white for effect on occasion, and get on the level with your dog subjects.

For most photos we're told the camera used (mostly the Nikon), the "film" speed used, the location, and the breed of dog. I was hoping for more specifics about the camera settings, and specifically for suggestions on how to successfully photograph a white dog. There are a few pages about problems inherent in photographing black dogs though.

I certainly enjoyed reading this book but for me it is a one time read, and not a book to which I'll return for review or specifics.

The book ends abruptly with no parting words of wisdom, no summation, no good byes.

The pictures are great and the camera settings are explained. It is well written for the amateur (me) and a more experienced photographer (both digital and film).

We bought several copies of this book. We think it is one of Kim Levin's finest. The pictures are amazing and the advice is very helpful. I am going to buy a few more for holiday gifts.

I photograph pets for owners, shelter/rescue and photo assignments. I'm always on the lookout for a useful source of information regarding technique and ideas. Over one-third of this book talks about camera types, lens focus limits, film speed, lens selection, point and shoot cameras, basic lighting. The title is spot-on, 'How to Photography Your Dog with Any Camera'. This is for a family who just got a dog or just got a camera. The description is misleading. There are more useful books available.

This was a wonderful little book that I enjoyed very much. It includes just very basic ideas and concepts about photography but is great for the budding photographer where the concept of exposure is not entirely comfortable yet. The book was a very easy read and a delight as each picture would bring another smile to my face. I am a dog lover and totally "get" the concept and passion the author talks about in this book. I am going to hang on to this book to re-read in the future for reference as well as enjoyment.

This book is simply one of my favorites!! It is brimming with fantastic photos and lots of information that any Pet Photographer should know! The book is well organized, with sections ranging from Outdoor Portraits to Photographing Dogs in motion to Photographing multiple Dogs all at once. The book looks amazing and is a Great read for any Pet Photographer who wants to add some extra "oomph" to their Photos.
Kim Levin has done a FANTASTIC job! I would recommend this book to ANY pet photographer from beginners to veterans!