Fur and Photography at the AWLA

UpCycle's first of many community Fur-Vor events took place at the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter this morning with photographer Greg Knott leading a participatory photography workshop with furry friends as the subject of our shots.  We will be using many of the images captured this morning to inspire future dog-inspired, creative reuse artwork in the community and back at our studio.

A shelter volunteer brought out three of the dogs for us to photograph: an adorable Bassett hound puppy, an old soul adult dog named Abe Lincoln and a spunky terrier mix named Peking.  It was hard to tell what we enjoyed more--photographing or petting the dogs! 

Greg provided a lot of insight into capturing great images, including filling your frame with your subject and using light to capture your subject aesthetically.  We discussed how the right background, camera angle, and even the use of props result in compelling pictures that lead to pet adoption.   

We went into the shelter's yard, where Greg showed us how to use a reflector screen to cast light on your subject, and he showed us how it could also create a shadow on your subject when you are taking pictures outside.  We also took pictures inside the shelter's educational room, using their white backdrop.  

As with any subject (human or canine), we learned that letting your subject warm-up to you, get comfortable and settle down was important.  We also saw how our group size impacted our ability to capture images of the dogs.  We were very distracting!  It worked much better when just two of us took pictures at a time.

A special thanks goes to Greg Knott for sharing his expertise as well as the Animal Welfare League staff and volunteers for supporting us and making this workshop possible!

Here are some of the images captured today: