Customer Reviews

Professional Techniques for Pet and Animal Photography

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I rarely bother with negative reviews, yet I was quite disappointed by this book. I guess I read the positive reviews too quickly and didn't spot the little clues that this book would not meet my needs.

What are my objections?

1) This is a skimpy book. I know that probably sounds like the patron who sends back his soup in the restaurant and says "This soup tastes like bacon grease mixed with rotten tomatoes . . . and the serving was WAY too small!" But there simply isn't much here.

2) Muska offers almost no technical advice, and what she does offer is curiously dated. She apparently shoots with a terribly expensive film camera in the medium format. That, I guarantee, is not the equipment that will be used by 90% of her readers. We are in the digital age now, for Pete's sake.

3) Muska has one basic way of photographing most pets, which is (to me) a dated and limited way. That is, she shoots those artificial portraits with the pet posed against an artificial backdrop of some sort. It is important to know how to do this classic "studio" portrait, but there are many other ways of shooting great pet portraits, including photographing the animal in the field in motion. Muska is so limited that her big decision about a portrait seem to be whether or not to include some sentimental prop.

4) Finally, Muska is an endless fountain of hollow suggestions, such as the advice that the photographer should study the personality of each pet and try to see the best way to work with that animal. Gee, I knew that before I bought the book, but when I was done with it I didn't know any more about HOW to work with fidgety, neurotic, aggressive or phlegmatic pets. She runs out of words just when she might be getting specific enough to be interesting.

If you get much from this book, God bless you. You REALLY needed a basic book.

I bought this book from pet photographer Barbara Rice at the WPPI Convention. She presented a very informative program on this subject and SHE recommended this book, which she offered for sale after the program.

I figured the book had to be pretty good if the speaker was recommending it and she didn't even write it. I was not disappointed! There were lots of great photos and ideas throughout the book. The marketing was also well presented.

This is a must if you want to photograph dogs, cats or horses.

There are a lot of good practical tips that I liked in this book such as using fabric backdrops instead of paper incase of 'accidents'
and how using natural brown tones enhances fur. Also how it's a good idea to use a low table for the animal to stand on, not too low that they jump off but not too high that they think they are at the vets. I would say this book is aimed more at established studio photographers wanting to branch into pet photography rather than novices wanting to learn how to photograph animals.I would've liked a little bit more information for someone starting out but it is full of very good tips.

I can't say I didn't learn anything from this book. It provides a few good tips on how to understand and deal with animals behaviours. I found the book is more focused on traditional studio photography rather than candid and outdoor photos.

The auther covers everything you would ever need to know about animal photography. The photos in this book are beautiful! The book's main focus is studio photos, but there is on location information for photographing horses. I love this book and would buy it again in a heart beat.

The title of the book is self-explanatory as it defines the contents well.

This is a well written and illustrated book for any photographer who is interested in specializing in pet photography as a profession. As expected, the book assumes that the reader already understands photography. It is not for the casual photographer.

This is the best pet and animal photography book available. The author really knows what she is doing as evidenced in the photographs. Her shooting and business ideas are very helpful.

The authors passion and experience with both animals and photography are conveyed in this easy to read manual.Its content is deverse enough for the hobbist aspiring to improve their technique.All the recommendations on lighting,studio setup,and composition are thoroughly explained. Overall, alot of great information!!

I admit, I bought this book mostly for the photographs. I am an advanced photographer and already knew most of the advice in the book. The photographs are gorgeous and made me want to grab my camera and try to take better pictures of my pets.

I must say it is an involved process. It is not just a lucky snap shot of your dog or cat in the act of doing something spontaaneous. It is more in depth about behavior and everything.