Photographing Chinook Conformation
Capturing a dog’s structure through photographs is just one helpful piece of information. Here are a few tips and examples of photographs that capture dog’s structure. Digital photography gives us so much more flexibility. We can take more photos, crop them, and adjust lighting to help us get photos that are representative of our dog and their structure.
TIP #1: Practice these positions with your dogs from a young age and before you want to take the photos. Make it enjoyable for you and your dog – with treats and helpers for either holding the leash or taking the photo. There are more folks who are good with a camera. You might focus on helping your dog become comfortable in the standing position and enlist the help of a friend to help take some good photos.
TIP #2: When taking the photo, position your camera at the same relative level of what you are seeking to photograph, avoiding taking photos looking down or up at the subject. When you take a photo at the same level, you achieve a better display of the dog’s proportions. Photos from above, make dog legs look shorter in relation to their body, from below they look longer.
1. The Stack
These photographs that display a dog in 3 stack positions (side, front, and rear). We’ll describe what each of these are looking for, provide examples of both, and provide tips for capturing a good photo.
Side View
In the side view we are hoping to get a good view of the dog’s overall balance and substance, how level their topline is, if their front legs are solidly under their shoulder, if their stifle (thigh) is broad and with a proper curve, and if their rear feet fall directly below the end of the dog’s rear.
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Front View
In the front view of the dog standing, the dog is still standing in the stack position while you take the photo from the front. In these photos, you want to be seeing, how straight the front legs appear – are they parallel to one another? You do want to see that the dogs feet have a slight turnout. We hope to see strong legs, heavy bone, and with a nice breadth of chest when the dog is in this stance.
Rear View
In the view of the dog standing, you want them to be standing as described above. This time you are taking the photo from the rear. In these photos, you want to be seeing how straight the rear legs appear – are they parallel to one another? We hope to see strong legs, heavy bone, and moderate space between the legs when the dog is in this stance.
Tip #4: Dogs often don’t enjoy cameras. It helps to have someone help them into this stance and for the photographer or someone just beside or behind the photographer to be gently getting the dogs attention, perhaps a gentle squeaking sound that prompts curiosity and interest (not high alert!). This is for the front facing photo!
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Tip #5: Make sure that the light is behind the photographer, not the dog. Photos in the early or later part of the day usually provide better lighting. Bright, sunny days are not ideal, resulting in washed out photos or squinting dogs. Overcast, but not dark days are good for taking photos.
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You’ll note that in these examples you can see both structural strengths and areas for improvement in the dogs. You can also note that the side view and front view both provide a nice look at the dog’s head – in profile and head on. You can always provide head shots, as well.
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Head Shots
You can capture head shots when you are hanging out at home, when your dog is relaxed.
Head on Photo
It’s helpful to see the earset in its natural position, both eyes visible and open, and a view of the breadth of the head and muzzle.
Profile Photo
You want to see the earset in its natural position, one eye open, and a good look at the depth of muzzle, and the neck.
Other Photos
It’s helpful to see photos that give others a sense of the dog’s personality, conformation, and abilities. If you have photos of the dog hanging out with others (people, kids, animals) in a relaxed and friendly manner, that’s great. You might also have photos of your dog “working” or “playing” that gives a sense of energy, training, responsiveness, athleticism, strength. This could include dogsledding, skijoring, obedience, agility, running, hiking, and such.
