Art has “rules.”
More than anything, those “rules” are guidelines for what the viewer of your art will find pleasing. Probably, the most popular guideline in photography is the “rule of thirds.”
To understand and use the rule of thirds, simply break up an image into thirds both horizontally and vertically, as seen here. The four intersection points of these lines, and the four lines themselves, are where subjects, or strong compositional lines of a photograph, can be placed to create a strong, balanced image.
~ SLR Lounge
The rule of thirds, says an Adobe blogpost, “places your subject in the left or right third of an image, leaving the other two thirds more open.”
The concept is the topic for this week’s worldwide pet photographers’ blog circle.
But I’m not going to write about this old composition. Instead, I’m going to tell you about my rule of thirds when it comes to the dog-human bond and portrait sessions in Spokane and North Idaho.
My rule of thirds
Your first step is to call, text or email me and say, “I need you. You are the dog photographer for me.”
Next, we’re going to chat about you, your dog, the things you love to do together, the way your dog makes your life better. We’ll find out if you have any cool spots to hang out, walk and play. If not, we’ll go over some of my favorite locations.
Then we’ll book our date and the plan will be set in motion.
In my head, though, I have three goals for the images I’ll show you in your gallery.
They are:
- Great images of your dog alone
- Amazing shots of the two of you together in fun, casual poses I will guide you through
- Those in-between moments that you don’t even know I’m getting, the ones where we see the dog-human bond
That’s my rule of thirds.
A piece of her heart
I first met Jamie in Fall 2018 at Cannon Hill Park, a great little greenspace with a pond and these super cool stone bridges, where Erika and Joey had their session with Edgrr the Basset Hound.
I remember it so clearly. Jamie, there with her son for some fresh fall air, saw Edgrr’s session and exclaimed to Erika and Joey, “You’re doing a photo session with your dog! That’s so cool!”
She turned to me, packing up my camera, and said hello.
She told me about her pack of beagles, her crazy pack of crazy beagles, and how she’d just lost two.
We cried. We hugged.
I gave her my business card and went on my way.
It was almost another year before I heard from Jamie again, but now she was ready to book a session. And it was a busy, crazy, exhausting two-hour session in her backyard with five beagles. FIVE!
All five of them are rescues from the Washington and Area Basset Rescue group here in Spokane.
Including one little impish beagle who took the treat bag right off my waistbelt and enjoyed all the little niblets it contained … then destroyed the treat bag.
When I showed Jamie her gallery, she booked another session right away. She wanted one dedicated to her and her Sophie, a beagle mix with fewer days ahead of her than behind.
Sophie, you see, has nose cancer.
The most recent addition to the pack, she has completely stolen Jamie’s heart.
“She came into my life at a time when I needed her and she needed me,” says Jamie, who has a deep understanding of the dog-human bond. “She needed me to fight for (and fund) her health so she could live out the end of her life in a better way than it began. And I needed her to bring the joy back after losing Nick and Brando so close together.
“In our own broken way, we fixed each other. And nothing could ever make me regret her.”
And so, we met this past fall for Sophie’s own special session.
The gold and orange leaves had fallen from their branches and carpeted the park at the west end of the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex in Spokane Valley.
It was still warm but we could feel the crisp, cool air of autumn starting to descend upon us.
I set my rule of thirds in motion.
Just Sophie
Sophie turns 14 in April. She’s still truckin’ along, although she’s getting regular nosebleeds.
Jamie says she has slowed down in the last few months.
That’s difficult to imagine with the high level of energy she had for me.
“Oh, she’s still the same ball of fire,” Jamie says with a laugh.
