Elke Vogelsang explains how experimentation and perseverance are key to the success of her pet photography
Elke Vogelsang is a commercial and editorial photographer based in Germany who specialises in pet portraiture. Known for her characterful images of dogs and cats, she works with a large database of animal models and has a vast catalogue of photos available for licensing.
Her work has appeared on US and German television as well as in books, magazines and newspapers globally. Elke has also exhibited her photos in a number of countries and is a regular speaker at photography events.
Photography as an escape
“I’ve specialised in pet photography for a while now and worked as a professional photographer for 14 years,” begins Elke. “Before that, I worked as a translator. That was an uncreative job since it was technical translations, but I never dared try a creative job because I thought I needed something more secure.
“Photography, in the beginning, was my hobby,” she explains. “But due to some very stressful times, I turned to it more and more as a creative outlet.”
On Christmas Day of 2009, Elke’s husband suffered a severe brain haemorrhage. In the following months, Elke distracted herself from the pressure of caring for him – and the uncertainty of his recovery – through photography. She took on a picture-a-day project to focus her mind and produce a photo diary for her husband, who was experiencing short-term memory loss.
After three months, Elke’s husband began remembering things again. In that time, her photography went from strength to strength. Devouring every book on photographic technique she could find, Elke continued the daily photo project, still using it as a welcome distraction from the stresses of everyday life.
Photographing whatever was at hand, the couple’s dogs often became the subjects. These photos caught the attention of friends, who soon asked her to make portraits of their pets – and it didn’t take long for interest in Elke’s pet photography to snowball.
Entering the studio
“I used to think studio images of pets were dull,” recalls Elke. “I thought dogs would get bored in the studio, and I preferred being outdoors in nature anyway.”
In spite of this, Elke’s commitment to her daily photo project soon found her with limited options for outdoor photography. “In the winter when it was grey and rainy outside, I thought, ‘OK, let’s try studio photography.’ I tried to come up with something I found interesting, and that was these funny faces. That’s what would go viral – and suddenly I was known as a studio photographer.”
Elke’s home studio is designed specifically to accommodate her subjects. “I have a simple strobe light on a power setting that doesn’t make too loud a noise. The dogs and cats feeling comfortable in front of my camera is more important to me than any fancy technique the strobe could do.
“My workhorse is the FUJIFILM X-H2S. I use that most of the time in the studio. I also have a FUJIFILM X-E5 for more personal photography outside the studio, and I enjoy that tremendously.
“My studio lens is the FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR 95% of the time. At 16mm I can do funny close-ups and wide-angle portraits, while 55mm gives more elegant images, so I only need that one lens for the studio.
“Outdoors, it’s different. I love prime lenses outdoors. I like using the FUJINON XF23mmF2.8 R WR with the X-E5. But my absolute favourite lens for outdoor portraits – of both elegant images and dogs in action – is the FUJINON XF90mmF2 R LM WR. When I want a slightly smaller lens – on holidays, for example – I use the FUJINON XF56mmF1.2 R WR.”
Working with animals
“I can tell when somebody who doesn’t really like dogs makes pictures of dogs,” suggests Elke. “You should like dogs and cats if you want to photograph them, I’m quite sure of that.”
For people who want to make better images of their own animals, Elke recommends starting with the fundamentals of photography. “At a basic level, you should know how to handle your camera – don’t bore your pet dialling in settings all the time,” she notes. “But knowing how to handle the pet is also super important.
“Every once in a while I get a dog that’s more difficult to work with, but with every dog or cat I meet, I learn a new trick to help them enjoy the session.
“If you want to specialise in pet portraiture, make the effort to meet lots of individual dogs and cats. Ask your friends, ask a dog school. That’s how I started: I took my camera to a dog school and photographed every one of my friends’ dogs, to learn how to motivate them.
“Most dogs enjoy treats, but I always start with something low priority because dogs get overexcited. The same goes for toys – sometimes the dog gets this mad look on its face. I always start with something less exciting, then see if I need to push it up.”
A commercial view
After producing images for a variety of clients, Elke has learnt to recognise what makes a pet photo commercially viable and how that may differ from what an owner wants.
“It’s different with every dog,” she explains. “Sometimes you’ve got the most beautiful dog, a happy character, but when you get them in front of the camera they look sad in every photo. Now, I know that the dog was perfectly happy, but it’s just our humanising way of looking at them – the shape of their eyebrows and the way they look eagerly towards a treat can lead to a sad expression.
“I love images like that, but people interpret them as the dog actually being sad. I don’t want people to think they’re upset, so lots of work goes into choosing the right images to show.”
Through this lens, Elke has built a popular catalogue of commercially licensable images. “It all depends on who you’re making the photo for,” she remarks. “My images for the owner of a dog might look different from the images I make for commercial clients.
“We tend to humanise pets, so people interpret the expressions in a human way. But a happy-looking dog with its tongue slightly out and its lips up isn’t necessarily happy. They could be stressed.
“You have to find these faces where the dog looks happy – of course, without stressing the dog. And direct eye contact is always important.”
Above all, Elke stresses the importance of hard work in any form of photography. She doesn’t consider her aptitude a gift bestowed upon her, but a skill earned through research, experimentation, perseverance and, above all, passion.
“I didn’t pick up a camera and suddenly get good at photography,” she points out. “It took time. I never thought I had the talent, but nowadays I don’t believe in talent. I believe in actually making pictures.
“I don’t think I’m a technically great photographer, I just have a subject I enjoy very much.”
