What Photographing My Dogs Has Taught Me

Entry No. 44

Picture perfect. It had to be just that, perfect. In the day, starting to get into photography, my sweet boys, Riley & Bentley, each a year apart {Riley the eldest} were my {almost always} willing subjects.

While they are just about perfect, I always wanted images to be like that. As my photography journey has evolved over the past seven years, aging with my boys, so has the quest {or rather not quest} for the 'perfect' pet photo.

Photographing my dogs over the years has taught me so much. For one, it has taught me about the basics of photography {exposure, shutter speed, aperture, & ISO}. Photographing them has evolved my editing style over the years. From the starting days of too warm & over-edited images to today, documentary, easy-breezy, & true to life edits.

Toward the end, the end of Bentley's life, my current style of photography is settling, the perfect photos weren't the ones where they're looking right at the camera, head-cocked, & dreamy expression captured. The perfect moments are the everyday moments. The little wiggles under the table or the light-heart seconds on an autumn front porch.

Time & patience are other takeaways from documenting my dogs' lives. I hope they don't take offense all the times I pointed a lens at them. My regret right now, sitting here thinking about Bentley is that I didn't do it more.

My pets have taught me so much, so much about it's not about me, something I am still coming to terms with right now. They taught me that perfect is found in the imperfect. My boys taught me that I could never take enough photos of them.

By doing so, I am/was doing two things that I loved, photography & being with Riley & Bentley. Art & life all in one.

This post is dedicated to Bentley Oliver Valentino Chef, 2014-2022.

In loving memory. He was truly picture-perfect.