How Photographing Dogs Saved My Street Photography
I’m not a blindly confident person, I never have been. I was shy as a child and didn’t do well with public speaking. However, today I will walk around the city with my camera and chat with several strangers while taking street photos. It was not easy to come out of my shell when walking around the city, but I naturally found my way, thanks to dogs.
I can’t hide my excitement around dogs.
If you were lucky enough to have pets as a kid, you know how much love you feel for them. I had a couple of cats and three dogs, they were often my first subjects with my DSLR and my Minolta X-700, which I still use today.
Darcey, 2014. No idea what the film stock was.
Bonus: One of these pups is Darcey, in 2007. Shot on a Canon IXUS 70 🤘 #digicam
Rolo, 2012. The first day I owned a DSLR. (yes, I didn’t quite know how to focus)
I don’t have dogs anymore
As an adult, in my late twenties, I’m one of many who one day would like a dog but lifestyle and economics mean it’s impossible. So, I have been without my canine friends and photography subjects for quite some time.
Since moving to Manchester, I have been lucky that I bump into so many dogs on my day-to-day walks. None of them are quite as good as Darcey, Rolo or Pippa (not pictured) but still, they will do for now.
“I take a lot of pictures of dogs because I like dogs, because they don't object to being photographed, and because they don't ask for prints.” – Elliott Erwitt
My first proper efforts at street photography in Manchester were met with thoughts of self doubt, self consciousness and near-anxiety attacks. I could just about lift a camera to chest level, before I pretended to photograph something else, just so I could catch a profile shot of a random stranger.
I could feel the enormous gap between my current ability and the images I was drawn to, it felt like those who had practiced street photography successfully just had something I don’t. While getting close and photographing someone isn’t 100% of what makes a good street photograph, it’s probably 10%, it is imperative that you’re comfortable getting as close as needed to make a photo work.
This is a photo by someone who was scared of being noticed. This is a problem.
It was a year ago now, but I had the opportunity to feature on another YouTube creator’s channel, @undrxpsd, during the video I would be filmed capturing photos on the street, talking through my process. For some time I had wanted to make the push to photograph people with their dogs, being in my area where many people owned dogs it seemed perfectly possible as a small project.
In preparation, I took my trusty Minolta and grabbed this photo.
This image, although unplanned, did just enough for me mentally to know I could do this many more times. Yes, you may see this image and think it’s nothing special. I don’t care, it’s proof of concept to me on a deeper level that I’ve found my path into street photography. At the time, I couldn’t have predicted how this would impact my photography long term.
The shoot came around and I captured several dogs in Manchester throughout a roll of HP5.
Dogs are pure personality without self awareness
There was something in some of the dogs I shot that day, like I was finding the parts of people that I hoped to photograph. That in-the-moment presence that only a dog can have, no worries, no fears and no bills to pay. For me, this practice helped me feel more comfortable within the same space as the dogs and also, more importantly, their owners.
Of course I don’t plan for dogs to be my sole subjects in street photography, but they will be welcome guests on any photo walk. They have been a vehicle for me through this project and subsequent outings, whenever I feel a bit stiff and out of sync, I ask for a quick dog photo to get out of my shell again.
This confidence to get closer to subjects has since materialised in my candid photography as well, as well as asking for occasional portraits on the street as well.
Although I still don’t see anything overwhelmingly interesting in my images, my ability to get closer and more confidently has been refreshing. The nerves are still there but I am more confident to have my lens in someone’s face before taking a photo. That isn’t to say all photos must be up close candids, but having the ability to get closer will no doubt assist in further filling the frame and capturing moments at any distance.
