Photography Props – Animals

Of course animals make good photography props. Posing with any size animal can try the patience of any photographer. Posing a two-year old child with a cat may just be the ultimate challenge! Posing with large animals such as horses, cows, etc. can be very complicated. These animals are usually not as trained as a smaller animal such as a dog and it isn’t as easy to gain their attention. Again, it is a matter of posing the animal and then adding the model. Posing the animal will vary from one to another. It is worthwhile to research the proper positioning of animals especially when the animal is owned for competition and/or breeding. The search for the best way to get a horse’s ears up and forward in a por trait is never ending. Practice, planning, experience, and flexibility are priceless. It is also helpful to have photographed the model previously without the animal so that the model has some posing experience and is familiar with your style and directions. Posing the subject with an animal is very similar to posing with a vehicle, except that you must be quick to pose the subject once the animal is positioned. Rarely will the animal hold a pose for more than a few seconds unless it is specially trained for shows.