commercial pet photographer Archives - Fur and Fables

Why getting a portrait of yourself matters for your pet business

Kerry Jordan — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:18:22 +0000

Something happened at Crufts this year that which really stuck with me; I came across a brand with a huge, impressive stand – but I’d never heard of them, and being in the pet industry for so long I was curious so popped over for a a chat. I found out that this was their first full year of trading, which made it even more mindblowing, how do you launch a brand at that scale!?

But when I asked how the brand started, there wasn’t really an answer and when I looked them up later, there was nothing on their website either. No founder story, no insight into who was behind the business, no sense of why it existed in the first place, and for me, that felt like something was missing, it actually made me a bit suspicious. Maybe it’s just me, but as a dog owner who cares who I’m buying from, it’s important to know the reason for a brand existing and people don’t just buy products, they buy the people behind them. Or as Simon Sinek says “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it”.

Taylor – one of the founders of Fettle Pet Supplements

People buy from people

Most pet brands don’t start in a boardroom, they start with a dog, a problem and an idea which solves that problem. That story is often the reason the brand exists at all. When you can see the person and the story behind the brand, understand what they care about, and why they started, it creates an immediate connection – it builds trust and makes people be able to relate. Take that away and even the most beautifully packaged product can feel a anonymous.

Your story builds trust (before your product does)

When someone lands on your website or social media for the first time, they’re making a decision quickly – not just “do I like this product?” but “do I trust this brand? Founder imagery helps answer that question almost instantly – seeing a real person (you!), with their dog, in a genuine environment, tells your audience that your brand is personal and in a market that’s becoming more saturated, that kind of trust is incredibly valuable.

Sarah – Founder of Send a Dog a Bone postal treats

Founder photos create connection quickly

We’re all used to scrolling quickly which means your audience isn’t always going to read your full story straight away but they will connect with how something feels and a simple image of you with your pet or working within your business, can communicate far more than a paragraph of text ever could. It gives your audience a human connection, and that connection is often what makes someone pause, explore further, and ultimately choose you.

Rachel – Pet business coach & dog friendly holiday cottage owner.

Especially for small pet brands

If you’re a small or independent brand, this matters even more, you’re not competing on scale. or trying to outspend bigger companies – what you have is your story, your values, and your reason for doing what you do. And your story is what sells.

Thinking back to that brand at Crufts, it wasn’t the size of the stand that stood out to me, it was the absence of a story because without that human connection, it’s much harder to engage, no matter how good the product looks. Or is that just me??

If someone landed on your website today, would they know who you are, and why your brand exists? And if not, it might be time to start telling that story a little more clearly.

If you’d like a hand bringing that to life through imagery, feel free to get in touch, I’d love to hear about your brand.

Professional photographer working Worldwide with Pet Businesses

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TAGS: #pet business, #pet business photography, award winning, commercial dog photographer, commercial dog photography, commercial pet photographer, commercial pet photography, dog blogger, Dog Brand, dog Photographer

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Travelling with Dogs to Europe

Kerry Jordan — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 18:21:13 +0000

From the Fells to The Netherlands: My First European Pet Brand Shoot

A while ago, I set out some some long and short term business goals, one of them to do a European commercial shoot for a pet brand.

I had no clue as to how it would happen, but I am a firm believer in the power of writing down your wishes. Fast forward a to October 2025 and that dream became reality with a commercial shoot in The Netherlands for The Canine Menu.

This wasn’t just another photoshoot for me, it was a milestone. A mix of excitement, logistics, mild panic, and a lot of learning along the way!

Setting the Scene: Planning a Pet Brand Shoot Abroad

When The Canine Menu reached out about creating lifestyle imagery for their new campaign in the Netherlands, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to take Fur & Fables international.

But….I’d never driven abroad before… and I was bringing my two whippets, Bertie and Shadow. I’d taken dogs on the Eurotunnel years ago but that was before the B word changed everything and made travel with pets a bit more complicated.

So, I dove into organisation mode (a skill I honed working for CEO’s in my pre-photography life). Here’s what the planning looked like:

Researching ferry routes and pet-friendly cabins: The Canine Menu had just launched on P&O so the Hull–Rotterdam overnight crossing looked like a good option as they had pet friendly cabins.
Prepping the paperwork: Getting the dogs’ Animal Health Certificates, rabies jabs, and worming schedule in order.
Sorting gear and props: Everything needed to fit neatly into the car alongside two dogs, camera equipment, and enough coffee to fuel a small village.
Finding a vet in the Netherlands: This needed to be booked in advance for the worming treatment before our return (a requirement for re-entry to the UK).
Sourcing travel-safe dog food: Since raw meat products are restricted when crossing borders, I packed air-dried fish food from The Innocent Hound and insect treats from Pawcura both brands I know and trust.

Thanks to ChatGPT I had a great timeline and checklist so by the time I packed the car, everything was in order (or so I thought…).

The Ferry Fiasco

I boarded in Hull without a hitch, the dogs were scanned at passport control in the UK, paperwork checked – they asked me to put on hazard lights when driving onto the ferry so I could be directed to the pet parking section.

I was looking forward to wandering a dog-friendly deck, relaxing with a nice dinner boys lounging beside me…

But nope.

Dogs were only allowed in the cabin or a small metal “exercise area” with a bench and a splash of green paint.

Lesson: check which ferry routes actually have dog-friendly decks!

Thankfully, I’d given the boys some PAWD drink and used Pet Remedy spray on their bedding, so they were perfectly content and once they settled, I dashed to Costa (where I was very happy to see they served pizza and prosecco – result!), watched a film, and turned in for the night.

The cabin had two single beds, which worked out perfectly as the boys claimed one, and I took the other. Bertie needed a bit of encouragement to toilet somewhere that wasn’t grass, but otherwise, they were brilliant travellers.

Vet Visits & Rotterdam Rush Hour

Because worming must be done by an EU vet 24–120 hours before returning to the UK, and I was coming back within that time, I decided to sort it on arrival.

I found a great clinic near the ferry, but what I didn’t check was that it was in central Rotterdam.

Cue: navigating rush-hour traffic, on-road parking, two whippets, and one photographer with no sense of direction doing a good impression of staying calm.

It all worked out fine; the visit cost €130 for the pills and updated Animal Health Certificate but it was good reminder that “near” doesn’t always mean “convenient.”

Tip: Plan your EU vet visit route in advance. City centres are beautiful, but not ideal when you’re juggling paperwork, parking, pets and a faulty internal compass!

Driving Abroad

Once I got going, driving on the right was surprisingly easy, I stayed behind the lorries in the slow lane and took my time.

Roundabouts were straightforward, and the only real eek moments for me was learning to cross two lanes to turn left.

By the time I reached the gorgeous venue, the anxiety had gone and I felt pretty good about the experience.

Feeding the Boys: What are the Restrictions

Because meat and raw food are restricted when entering the EU, I stuck to air-dried and insect-based options for the dogs on the ferry. I called P&O ahead of time to double check and they were great, confirming that these were okay to bring.

It was also because I wasn’t sure how confident I would be about driving so wanted to make sure I had a backup, but when I was there I was able to stock on meat up in good old Lidl.

Some followers told me they’d brought raw food abroad in chillers before, but I didn’t fancy explaining a suitcase of frozen mince to customs officers!

Tips for travelling abroad with dogs on the ferry

A few things I’d pass on to anyone planning a similar trip:

Dogs:

Start paperwork early – Animal Health Certificates must be signed within 10 days of travel. There’s a lot of paperwork so I’d recommend contacting your vets at least 2 months before you travel just in case any issues come up. You can get your AHC online which works out cheaper but it still requires a vet visit to scan the chips and get the rabies jab
Check what jabs the actually need vs what the vets tell you – I was horrified at the huge list of jabs and pills the vets listed out, but when I queried them, they were ‘suggested’ but not actually ‘have to have’.
Book pet-friendly cabins early – not all ferry routes have them, and they sell out quickly.
Plan your abroad vet visit in advance – pick somewhere accessible (maybe not a city centre if you haven’t driven abroad before!).
Double-check import restrictions – especially around pet food and supplements.
Bring familiar comforts for your dogs – I know it sounds simple, but having their bedding, toys etc can make all the difference.
Keep your dog calm – even if your dogs are normally confident in new situations like my boys are, if they haven’t travelled before it’s worth starting to use some natural calming products ahead of time just in case
Find out the check in details – On the way there, the boys were scanned in the car at passport control so I thought it would be the same on the way back but I had to head to the main office to get their documents and chips checked. Thankfully I’d arrived early.

Car & Travel:

Check what you need to have on & in your car – travelling to Rotterdam I made sure I had a triangle & fluorescent jacket in case of break down, head torch, stick on adapters for my lights, a UK sticker.

The ‘just in case’ things – check your insurances (car, pet etc) to see if you have cover abroad. I added on a breakdown cover for the days I was there at a small cost, but peace of mind.

Print out copies of all your documents – if you need access for any reason, it’s easier to have them all in an envelope rather than trying to search through your phone or email.

Clean your car – I saw this last minute but I’m glad I did. For Rotterdam at least they ask that your car be pretty clean, they don’t want contaminated mud or bird poop coming into the country and it’s possible you would get refused if they think it’s a risk.

Beyond the Logistics: What This Shoot Meant

The shoot itself went brilliantly, we created lifestyle imagery that celebrated dogs and places which welcome dogs with open arms.

But what made this trip truly memorable was what it represented: proof that the dream I’d written down years ago was completely achievable.

I left The Netherlands with more than photos, I left with renewed confidence, and a vision to continue offering pet brand photography across the UK and Europe.

If you’re a pet or lifestyle brand looking for photography that captures your story, wherever you are, I’d love to chat.

Let’s make your brand look like a big player, one photoshoot at a time.
Email me at kerry@furandfables.com or visit www.furandfables.com

UK Commercial Pet Photographer working Worldwide with Pet Brands

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TAGS: award winning, commercial dog photographer, commercial dog photography, commercial pet photographer, commercial pet photography, dog blogger, Dogs abroad, European Pet Brand, Ferry Travel Dogs, pet brand photographer, pet brand photography, Travelling Abroad with Dogs

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What’s the difference between a product photoshoot and a commercial photoshoot?

Kerry Jordan — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:36:02 +0000

I recently had a shoot with a client who had a lot of great business experience but had never worked with a professional photographer before.

After the shoot, they made a comment that made me realise something I’d overlooked, something I assumed that I probably shouldn’t have.

Most of my clients and I work closely together before the shoot, so they understand my style and how I can help them. But this particular client came to me a bit more ‘cold,’ and I hadn’t explained the key differences between a product shoot and a commercial shoot.

So, what is the difference between a commercial photoshoot and a product one?

Well, here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your thoughts too!

A product shoot focuses entirely on showcasing the product itself. The backgrounds are simple and clean, the colours need to be accurate, and the details are shot from multiple angles so potential buyers can see exactly what they’re getting with no surprises. The ‘white background’ setup can work really well here. This is not something I offer as it’s a very specific skill set and needs to be done well – I know a few photographers who do a brilliant job of it who I have referred clients to so I don’t feel the need to branch out.

A commercial shoot, on the other hand, is where the storytelling and lifestyle element come into play. While the product is still featured with different angles and close-ups, it’s shown in more real-life scenarios. The product doesn’t have to be the main focus but instead contributes to an emotional or aspirational story. It’s about creating an image that allows people to imagine themselves using the product in their own lives.

It’s funny how something so simple as explaining the difference between a product and commercial shoot can make such a difference in client expectations. It’s a good reminder that clear communication is key, especially when working with new clients who haven’t had a professional photoshoot experience before.

Which style of photoshoot should you choose for your pet brand?

Ideally, both! Each has its own unique purpose, and they complement each other well. However, if you need to choose just one, I recommend looking at what’s most important for your brand right now. Whether you’re focused on showcasing the details of your product or telling a deeper story about your brand, that should help you with your decision.

If you have any questions about how a commercial shoot for your pet brand can help you, feel free to drop me an email to Kerry@furandfables.com – I’d love to hear from you!

UK Commercial Pet Photographer working Worldwide with Pet Brands

kerry@furandfables.com
07810 541685

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kerry@furandfables.com
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Lake District Dog Photographer

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The fundamentals of great commercial photography for your pet brand

Kerry Jordan — Sat, 04 May 2024 13:12:16 +0000

Commercial photography isn’t just taking a pretty picture for your pet brand, there are quite a few elements that you will need to think about to make sure you are making the most impact.

The things I cover in this blog are based around how you would need to think about a commercial photoshoot for your pet brand, but it can also be really useful for you when you are just out and about making content for your social media!

Commercial pet photography which doesn’t just sell, but tells a story

If you want to have a bank of images for your pet brand then I’m going to walk through the fundamentals of what creates an image which doesn’t just sell, but tells a story – hopefully this will start building an idea in your head of the kind of images you want to achieve when you book a professional commercial pet photographer.

Being able to achieve a personal connection to your product or service with storytelling means not only will your audience want to buy with you, but because they have been able to insert themself into your story, they are more likely to stay with you.

(I mainly talk about dogs in the blog, but all the elements apply to any kind of commercial pet photography)

Telling the right story in an image will help your audience understand your brand in a second. Who doesn’t want their dog to be treated like this in a pub or cafe?

What story do you want to your clients to see?

I’m not a big fan of the ‘client avatar’, but by understanding your audience, their likes and dislikes, your photographer can help you create images which will allow your audience to imagine themselves wanting your product or service, to insert themselves into that picture. If you are dog walking company in the UK, then having images of people walking along a white sandy beach in the Seychelles is not going to work (although if you want to book me for that shoot, I’m absolutely up for it! 😉)

Reg & Bob specialise in colourful, practical dog accessories for outdoor adventure dogs so pristine dog & human just wouldn’t have attracted the right client.

Location of your pet brand photography

Which leads me nicely into location, location, location. If you are making a biothane dog collar for active, adventure dogs and their humans then you would want to organise a photoshoot which shows the aspirational side of your product – happy, health dogs exploring the great outdoors with a majestic landscape – photographing a dog snuggled up next to a roaring fire will only confuse your target audience.

And if you are creating high end dog coats, you will need to show a location or a scene which speaks directly to where your audience will be walking their dog, which leads nicely into the next two sections….

Combining not only the right type of dog, but also the right location means that your ideal client will know that what you offer is exactly what they need!

Show who your pet product or service is for

Going back to the people you really want to attract, what is the reality of their life? What is it about your product or service makes it easier for the human to aspire to want it?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a commercial photograph for a bejewelled collar where the dog model is a spaniel (I’m sure spaniel owners wont mind me saying this) – that’s because a spaniels favourite pastime is crashing round in the undergrowth and throwing themselves gleefully into every body of water, no matter how small or muddy! It’s just not something a spaniel owner would be able to imagine as it’s so far removed from what they would buy! Pop that bejewelled collar on an Afghan hound lounging on a sofa, or the Spaniel doing scent work, then the images will more likely match the reality.

Choosing the right dog model for your commercial photoshoot

Lets talk fur – any kind of collar or harness is going to be quite difficult to photograph on a really hairy dog! Similarly you make any kind of dog bowl or food and want to have a shot of a dog enjoying their dinner, having a dog with really long ears means you have the issue of the ears constantly getting in the bowl, or covering the bowl (sorry spaniels, I’m looking at you again here!) Shorter ears & even shorter fur too means that you will be able to get a clear shot of the dogs face and the product.

Similarly, if you are a canicross teacher, a chihuahua might make a great running buddy but wont be the right dog to appeal to your wider audience.

Making sure you have the right dog for your product or service will help your ideal client be able to imagine their dog in that scene.

Making sure you have happy dogs in your commercial shots

The great thing about working with a commercial pet photographer is that you know that they will have had lots of experience working with animals. They will know the limitations, that regular breaks are needed, and how to pivot when even when the most well trained animal decides that trick they do just isn’t going to happen today. The reason this is so important is huge – the happiness and comfort of an animal should be the absolute top priority, and knowing the signals that they are worried means the difference between a shot which will sell, and a shot which will make your audience uncomfortable – even if they can’t put their finger on the exact thing, believe me, they will know.

Making sure the colours compliment and don’t clash

Look for colours for your shoot which will either compliment, or contrast in the scene. If you have a pink harness or product packaging, that would really pop against a green background of woods or trees if you are a more rural brand, but equally would look amazing in an urban scene. Subtle little nods of the same colours will help pull the image together too.

Think about how the colours will not only look in the image, but also on your website and social media as a whole.

Think about how your colours can be highlighted by either contrasting or complimenting the location will help draw the eyes in to what you want to highlight.

Making sure you have lots of clean space

You will want to use your commercial shots for a whole heap of things! Marketing materials (flyers, adverts, roller banners), social media, website, business cards. Commercial images need two things to help you be able to use them to their best advantage:

A ‘clean’ background – you will need an uncluttered background, and one that doesn’t have too much contrast (too many light and dark elements together).
Lots of negative space – space where there aren’t any important elements in.

Why? Lots of reasons! Text overlay is a prime example, if you or your graphic designer want to have some impactful words over the top of your image, then you will need that clean space so that the words can be clearly seen.

Another thing is, cropping for banner bars, Instagram and a whole heap of other things. Having lots of clean space means that cropping wont look odd or cut bits out of the image.

Graphic Designer Kate Hendry from Finbo Studios says “Commercial photographers give consideration to the brand style, space around the subject of the image and also the usage of the image itself. For designers this makes the job much easier and the overall design more aesthetically appealing to the intended audience. This could be the difference between your marketing materials capturing attention or not!”

Kate Hendry from Finbo Studios was able to easily overlay text on the My Anxious Dog photographs

Lighting for your commercial images

This is the one of the most important things you will need to consider because it will change the whole look and feel of the images you want your photographer to create.

External source lighting

This usually means either flash or continuous lighting. You can get really creative with external source lighting, it means you will never have to worry about where the light is coming from and you can create a setup where your images can be really evenly lit.

Both have their pros and cons. Flash can be very portable and easy to move around and you can be very creative with it, but it’s also very easy to go wrong if you don’t have someone who specialises in it. Continuous lighting is easier to use as you set it up and that’s it, but it can be bulky and you will need some kind of power source with you.
The downside is that it’s an extra element on shoots which you need to control.

Natural light

This is my favoured source and I’ve worked for over a decade learning how to use it to its best advantage, both inside and out. Again, there are pros and cons.

The pros are that there is not an extra thing to carry and move round on shoots, which can be a pain, especially when working with dogs and other animals when not in a studio. It also means you are super flexible, you can move with the dogs in seconds without having to worry about changing settings on the flash or moving the continuous light source.

Cons are that whether inside or out, you are relying on where the light is coming from, but a good photographer will understand that and know where to position the dogs, the products etc and themselves to make the most out of it.

I specialise in natural light commercial photography, although I know how to use it external source, I’m much more comfortable with natural light and the style of my photography reflects that. Please do check out Rowan at Pooch & Pineapple if you think your pet brand story would benefit more from externally lit images, she knows her stuff!

I hope you has helped you build an idea in your head about how you want to tell the story of your brand through visual storytelling. Any questions, please do drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com or a WhatsApp to 07810541685

Kerry x

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Making Meaningful Connections in the Pet Industry

Kerry Jordan — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:44:34 +0000

I think the first thing to mention, the rule which I stand by, is to go into this kind of event expecting nothing in return. Even before I decided to focus all my attention on commercial pet photography, I was already building relationships within the pet industry. I genuinely loved hearing about the people behind the brands and how they started.

As an example, I got to know The Innocent Pet Company many years ago because their treats were a revelation to me – high end, luxury, high meat content – a quality product which I wanted to gift to my pet portrait clients. I championed the company when I could, and when I decided to go down the pet brand photography path, they were the first people I approached. We’ve now had several shoots together, and more in the pipeline!

Networking has got a bit of a bad rep over the last few years. When I googled ‘what do people think about networking’ the top result was a page by St Olafs collage entitled ‘Why are people often uncomfortable with the word Networking’ The first paragraph reads: “Many people are uncomfortable with the word “networking.” When they think of networking, they imagine a pushy, aggressive person who connects with people to achieve selfish goals and gives nothing back. In other words, when many people think of networking, they think of “using” people.”

I was probably one of those people who shuddered at the thought of networking but I’ve realised recently that I have a super power, and that power is called Relationship Building.

I hadn’t really thought about it as a super power, but after speaking to a few people who were impressed that I had clients I’ve been working with for 8+ years, I started looking at what I was doing and why it was working, and after booking a call with FOMO creator May King Tsang on how I can use this to my advantage, we came up with a strategy (another word which usually makes me shudder) on how, as someone who feels a bit awkward about approaching people, I was going to create a buzz around Crufts.

Unleash the Power of Networking: A Mindful Approach to Making Meaningful Connections with Busy Stallholders at Crufts

Pre Networking

About 2 weeks before Crufts, I started searching the hashtag on socials, including LinkedIn and enthusiastically engaging with brands and people whose values seemed to align with my own. I could have just engaged with as many as possible which would have been less time consuming, but there was a point to doing a bit of high end research at the start, which will be revealed later!

I didn’t just ‘like’, and I tried not to leave one word comments because I wanted to start conversations. Again, a bit more time consuming, but if you want to build longer term relationships, people need to remember you, and just putting ‘great!’ as a comment isn’t something they will remember you by.

Make it about them, not you

On the call with May King, I started thinking about how I could actually give some value to the people I wanted to speak to, and so came about a free Crufts content offer.

I know how busy it can get on stalls at this kind of event, and I know that content can go out of the window so I published an offer that I would come and take photos and videos, for free, of the stall, the dogs coming to the stall and interactions with customers – I quickly got my target filled and had to close the offer! This meant that people not only knew who I was, but were expecting me! As an introvert, this was a dream come true.

So think about how you can help those people you want to meet. Remember they are people and not a pay cheque. Can you take a box of sweets or biscuits to keep up their energy? Is there something you, as an expert can, do to help during, pre or post Crufts?

Be recognisable in advance

I got lucky with this one. I attended the Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday event a week earlier, and before the event someone posted a brilliant glowing lanyard with their logo and QR code from Surefyre Designs. I missed seeing them at the event, but as soon as I got back I ordered one. I’m a bit of a nerd and got far too excited about when it arrived and started posting it on Social – because it was something a bit different it became a real talking point.

The lovely Helena from Poochie Park posted that she had freshly dyed purple hair, and guess what, I spotted her in the vast expanse of Crufts!

Obviously you don’t need to be that extreme, branded clothing can work too, but remember there will be a lot of people with branded items, so can you make it stand out a little? What ever you do, show it on social media before and, talk about it, so you are almost priming people to recognise you.

On the Day

Go early

I got to Crufts as early as I could, it would have been earlier if it wasn’t for traffic! It’s less likely to be busy at the start, I also went on the Thursday to network as that’s a slower day.

Make it about them, not you

I know I have said this before, but it needs saying again. People pay a lot of money for stalls, and the last thing they want is someone selling to them when the reason they came is to engage with new and existing customers and spread the word about their amazing product or service.

Know their business.

If you really want to build a connection, know their business and be genuinely interested – you can’t fake this stuff. Every brand I went to at Crufts, there was something I admired about their product. As an example, I’ve known about The Golden Paste Company for a while and I am blown away by the quality of their ingredients and how they talk about how they source the Tumeric on their website, or the that SnifSnax were being sustainable years before it became more mainstream.

Don’t give out your business card

I know this might seem counter intuitive, but unless someone asked, or showed a genuine interest, I didn’t give out a card. I want to work with people and brands who want to work with me and are at the right place at the right time, and so when I did give out my flyer, I knew it was because they wanted it.

Don’t take up too much time

However you decide to approach and network with brands at Crufts, don’t assume just because the stall is quiet that they don’t have other things to do. Be mindful of the time you are taking up.

Be aware of customers

I was very conscious of customers coming to the stand, and if I was chatting to the people on the stall – I’d excuse myself and say I’d come back later, the customers are much more important than me! Or if they are talking to customers already, I’d chat to other customers who were waiting, talking about the brand (because you have done the pre-networking research!), what we love about them – it helps create an experience for the customers while they are waiting, and also helps keep them on the stand for the stall holders!

Buy from them

If you are able, buy from the brand while you are there. It shows that you really do love what they do, and are willing to spend money on it. It also shows that it’s not about you, it’s about them.

Can you make introductions?

I made several introductions between brands while I was at Crufts, people who I thought might be able to help each other out, have a collaboration or somehow work together.

Create a buzz by meeting with other pet industry proffesionals.

I was lucky enough to be part of a SBS winners WhatsApp group set up by Rachel Spencer who has the brilliant Pets Get Visible membership – so those of us who were going to Crufts decided to meet up, and we invited a few other pet businesses brands too. It was nice and informal, but if you are in the pet industry, you know how rare it is to get to meet other pet professionals face to face and it’s a real treat!

Get people talking about it before hand, the more the merrier, and remember to tag and share a group photo so that you spread the love.

What would I do differently next time?

I’d start the pre networking earlier, gentle touch points before starting the conversations about 3 weeks before.

When it comes to the my actual offering, I’m going to approach more brands who I really want to work to see if they would like to use the offer before opening up it up to others. I will be more specific with the photography shots I take as I know what is more useful to the brands. I’d also print of a map of the halls because I think I spent just as much time wandering round lost as I did talking to people!

Final thoughts

My main reason for networking in this way is that I have never really felt comfortable about just going up to someone and introducing myself to people I’d like to work with to talk about how I can help them. Believe me, I’ve attempted many different ‘tried and tested’ techniques, which I’m sure work for some people, but just made me feel cringy and awkward.

I really believe that although this face to face contact can be so impactful if done in the right way.

5 reasons why your pet brand needs a photoshoot ASAP.

Kerry Jordan — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 12:44:10 +0000

Photography is sometimes the last thing on the action list for pet brands, particularly if you are a start up, but in actual fact, putting a professional photoshoot as a priority means that everything else falls into place. In this blog post I’ll talk about how a professional pet brand shoot can transform your business, not just a little bit, but a lot!

I know I’ll probably sound biased when I say this, and I’ll understand if you think that, but please do hear me out – your pet brands needs a professional photoshoot – ideally with someone who has experience working with eg dogs, cats etc. Let me explain….

Tell me that this face wouldn’t stop you scrolling!?

It will give your website viewers confidence in your brand.

I am old enough to remember when the internet first started, and seeing a company just having a website was pretty impressive because it was so hard to set up, usually by coding in the background. Nowadays it’s pretty easy for people to set up their own website, but if you hit a website and the photographs of the product or service are badly lit, blurry, and don’t show off the product or service to the best advantage, rightly or wrongly, an instant judgement is made; this isn’t a professional brand. On the flip side, you can have the most simple website, but having high end images (which are clearly for your brand and not stock images), can send a very clear message – this brand means business!

“Kerry has worked with us to create an incredible collection of images that are crucial in portraying our brand’s identity.” Chloe – The Innocent Pet Company

It will help your brand be more visible.

Try and get your head round this number…there are approximately 3.2 billion images shared daily…DAILY! Mind Blown. Dog and pet Instagram accounts have become the norm, big, non pet, brands have caught on to the fact that animals can create a connection to an audience – all you have to do is check out pet casting agency Urban Paws Instagram Account to see dogs being cast in adverts by Next, Lexus, Zara Home and more.

We are in a brilliant position in the pet industry that we have a valid reason to have animals in our advertising and social media – hoorah! But in all that visual noise, it’s vital that you stand out with stand out images, images which tell the story of your brand, your product and your values in the split second it will take to make an impression on your ideal client.

“The subsequent use of the images on our social media channels and the website have left me in absolutely no doubt that we really should have done this ages ago and her suggestion that our brand would be enhanced by the photos was absolutely spot on.” Sue – East Ruston Cottages

Telling a story without words – Redhound for Dogs is on a mission to keep the whippets of the world warm, dry and happy!

It will give your brand consistency.

Don’t get me wrong, I think having user generated content, or your own day to day imagery, has a really important place in a your social media strategy – but I don’t think it has a place in marketing, advertising, or the website of your brand.

There are some amazing hobbyist photographers out there, with a lot of talent, however if you have different people sending you photographs, what you will find is a lack of consistency in how your brand comes across. After all, every photographer has their own style. Booking a shoot with a professional pet photographer who’s style you love means that when a potential client sees your business card, facebook ad, website, instagram account or flyer, there will be a consistency which will start to build a story of your brand in their head.

“I could not run my business without Kerry and would have no hesitation in recommending her services.” Natalie – The Lounging Hound

It will showcase your product or service in the best possible light.

I mean this both literally and figuratively. Most professional photographers will understand the importance of light in photography, but learning how to showcase a product or service so that it is shown off in a way, so that people instantly understand what it is you are selling, is so important. This doesn’t necessarily mean a static image either – you can still have movement in photography so that you can show your product ‘in action’.

“I had a vision for photos aligned with my brand for Bella, and Kerry not only understood but exceeded expectations, blending creativity seamlessly with our surroundings.” Sarah – My Anxious Dog

Product photography doesn’t have to be static!

It will help with your PR Success.

I’ve been incredibly lucky that my images, some taken for my clients, have been featured in The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Country Life and more. Having a media presence can really help you elevate your brand, give you bragging rights, and get you in front of a whole new audience. What’s the one thing that journalists and newspapers need though? A good, high quality image. I’ve seen brands disappointed when they pitch to a paper or magazine but aren’t featured because of the lack of images they can use. (By the way, if you are interested in getting more visibility for your brand, I highly recommend checking out my friend Rachel Spencer’s membership Pets Get Visible – she’s an pet journalist and pet business coach and teaches a lot about getting PR as well as other ways to get your brand visible).

Need more convincing?

Rachel, mentioned above, also owns Sunnyside Cottage – a gorgeous dog friendly self catering cottage in the heart of the historical Robin Hood’s Bay. As a journalist and business owner, Rachel understood the importance of having professional images (and also loved my current mission for making sure dog friendly places actually have photographs of dogs on their website and socials!). After our shoot, Rachel used the images to help potential clients understand just how dog friendly her property is – which resulted in bookings! Not only that, she was featured in The Guardian as one of the top 20 best dog friendly places to stay in the UK, and had her image as the main showcase image in the print version.

I hope that has given you some food for thought, and if you’d like me to send you my pricing menu, please do drop me an email to kerry@furandfables and I’ll send it across to you. I’m not in the business of hard sell, if I’m the right fit for you and your brand right now, then that’s awesome!

And if you are curious about how a shoot works, you can check out my blog post about the process I went through with Dicky Bag > Dicky Bag Shoot

Kerry x

The post 5 reasons why your pet brand needs a photoshoot ASAP. appeared first on Fur and Fables.

Behind the scenes of pet product photoshoot

Kerry Jordan — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 19:32:20 +0000

When I work on a photoshoot or a commercial dog brand or company, the shoot is actually pretty close to the end of the whole process! I thought it would be nice to give you a little insight to one of my recent brand shoots for the fantastic Dicky Bag

A well established relationship

Now I’ve known about Dicky Bag for years – I can’t actually remember but maybe around 8 or so years ago. If you haven’t come across them already then you are in for a treat! Their original product is a neoprene holder for used poo bags. It’s sealed so it doesn’t smell, comes in lots of designs and can clip on to your bag / belt / dog lead so that you don’t have to walk around with a poo bag in your hand, or worse, try and remember to pick that one up that you left for your route back. I love Dicky Bags so much that I actually had a load of branded ones made up which sold out! So you could say I was a fan.

Making Contact

When I was looking at brands to approach to help them with their commercial dog photography, Dicky Bag was high on my list, not only because I already loved their product, but because it solves a solution for not only dog owners, but the environment – no more leaving poo bags at the side of the path, or, as some people seem weirdly fond of, hanging from a tree…

I already had been in contact with Mandy, the owner, so this felt like a natural progression. It’s not always that way though, it can be difficult sometimes when you really want to work with a brand and help them but don’t get a response!

Thankfully, when I dropped a message to Mandy it was perfect timing. She and her partner had literally just been sat down talking about the fact that they needed new marketing images – they actually wondered if I had their house bugged it was so uncanny!

The Plan

Once the date was all agreed we chatted about the kind of images they would need and like; showing the products in use, lifestyle images where the product isn’t too obvious to show the versatility and product shots on their own. As Dicky Bags are based in Cornwall, we decided that it would be lovely to do the shoot there and have a mixture of woodland and beach images. One of the things we had to take into consideration was it would be the height of summer when the shoot was taking place, so we needed to make sure the dogs were comfortable and booked in early times for both the woods and the beach which we had researched and decided on.

Top Dog Models

After the plan was agreed, then came one of the fun parts – dog models! As Cornwall wasn’t one of the places on my dog model database, I did a casting call – Dicky Bag were pretty flexible about the types of dog, not needing anything breed specific, the thing we were more looking for was different sized dogs to compliment the different sizes of their poo bag holders and other products. As always, we had lots and lots of dogs wanting their moment in the limelight, all had to match the criteria of being able to do a sit and wait, be good with other dogs, and no resource guarding. Organising dog models is probably one of the most time consuming jobs, after lots of emailing back and forth with the owners, the final few were chosen – more than I needed actually but a couple really really wanted to take part and I basically couldn’t say no!

I’m very grateful to Cornwall Search Dogs (who are also fans of Dicky Bags) for supplying the dogs for the forest shoot!

Showing the versatility of a Dicky Bag

Choosing the right products

So off I popped on the 430 mile trip from Cumbria to Cornwall! I gave myself time in between arriving and the shoot to recover from what was an 8 hour drive. The day before the shoots I went to Dicky Bag HQ to plan which products would work with location. Dark products wouldn’t work too well with the forest location which was going to be all about showing how a Dicky Bag worked, so we chose products which were brighter and lighter. The beach shoot was much easier to style for. We had decided to do the shoot over 2 mornings for a few reasons, the main ones being that it was Summertime and I was conscious of the fact that it could get warm after a certain time, also there were two locations and LOTS of dogs so it could have ended up being a very long day!

The days of the shoots

Day 1: What happened to summer? Our initial location was going to be a lovely quiet path on the Camel Valley trail, however the weather had other ideas, it seemed like I’d brought the Cumbrian forecast with me! Instead we huddled up in my friends house until there was a break in the rain, and then venturing out to the field behind their house where we could quickly retreat again if needed. It still worked well, part of the job is being flexible as you never know what’s going to happen on a shoot! The Cornwall Search Dogs were absolutely brilliant though (thankfully no whippets in the shoot, there are some things I wouldn’t be able to do, and making a whippet look happy in the rain is one!), as were the humans – they must have worked in much harsher weather so were very stoic about the whole situation!

Day 2: Beach day! The day was fairly gusty but we found a lovely little secluded cove at Daymer Bay which shielded us and it was pretty quiet. Thankfully the temperature wasn’t too high, so we had a brilliant but intense morning with the rest of the dog models. One got stuck behind a tractor on route (if you have never been to Cornwall, the lanes are very narrow so no way of overtaking), but as luck would have it, while we were waiting, Mandy and her eagle eyes spotted a lady on the beach with a Dicky Bag! Never one to miss an opportunity, I ran over and accosted said lady and she very graciously agreed to do some action shots with her gorgeous dog! Never a dull moment, and sometimes the unplanned moments in photography are the ones which create the most memorable images.

After the shoot

Part of my job as a commercial pet photographer is to make sure I understand the needs of my clients – the real people behind the brand. As well making sure that the product is represented well, and I’m fulfilling their brief, some of the things I have to think about is : making sure that the background isn’t too cluttered so that text can be overlayed for marketing, also shooting slightly wider than I would on a private client shoot to make sure they can be cropped for social media and website banner bars.

Then comes the editing and making sure the colours are as true as possible. On private client shoots I can have a bit of creative licence with colours, but on a commercial shoot, particularly with a physical product, I need to make sure the colours are ‘true’. I try to get as much as I can right in camera, but if, for example, I have a black and white dog, I shoot slightly darker to make sure I get the details of the whites – it makes editing so much easier!

And then it’s almost a wrap – I edit the images which can take a few days depending on how many shots we took, back them up, and upload them to a gallery to deliver to the client so they choose their images!

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TAGS: commercial dog photographer, commercial dog photography, commercial pet photographer, commercial pet photography, Cornwall, Lake District, professional dog photographer, professional dog photography, UK Commercial pet photographer

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kerry@furandfables.com
07810 541685

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kerry@furandfables.com
07810 541685
Lake District Dog Photographer

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Brand Spotlight – Collar Club Subscription Box for Dogs

Kerry Jordan — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 17:01:03 +0000

You want to spoil your dog and a subscription box is a great way of doing it – delivered to your door each month, you don’t have to even think about buying new toys and finding new and interesting treats for your dog!

Is this the best subscription box for dogs?

As you know, I love to shine a spotlight on brands I know who are brilliant at what they do, it’s my way of helping support small businesses (as well as buying when I can!) Today I’d like to introduce you to Collar Club Subscription Box who I have been a customer of for many years and have subsequently done photography for too! But why did I choose Collar Club?

Putting the planet first

When I first started getting Collar Club boxes, there weren’t very many brands doing the same thing, and I hadn’t been inspired to get one. The reason this one is different, and why it appealed to me was the environmentally friendly aspect – the Mission Statement says it all really!

“We take ethical sourcing and sustainability very seriously, and try to ensure that the actions of ourselves and our suppliers have people, pets and the planet in their best interests.”

Need a little more convincing?

If you needed any more reasons, here are a few more – it’s not an extensive list, there are heaps more reasons, but these ones are important to me:

Jo, who owns the brand, has a background in sustainability and ethical workplaces so she researches both her treat and toy suppliers to make sure that both of those boxes are ticked.

Each month there’s a different theme for the treats and toys – I’m not sure if the boys see the difference, but it makes it a joy for me to open!

Jo tries to include small artesian brands as well as some of the more well known ones, but all have sustainability at their heart.

All the dog treats are 100% natural

Any dog toys in the boxes are assured to be non toxic and free from harmful chemical

The boxes can be tailored – so my boys prefer soft toys to hard toys, and you can also get different products if your dog has allergies

But very importantly – the absolute joy that Shadow and Bertie show on delivery day makes me very very happy!

I think the thing which shines through about Collar Club is the real attention to detail, and the variety, which means that it’s kept interesting for both hound and human!

Jo has very kindly set me up with a 30% off discount code on your first box – this isn’t an affiliate, I don’t get paid, it’s just a fantastic service! Just enter FURANDFABLES at the checkout and wait impatiently for your first box! Head over to www.colllarclub.co.uk now!

If you are a dog brand and you’d really want to elevate your images and reach your ideal clients with commercial pet photography, drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com – I’d love to hear from you!

Kerry x

(ps I’m always looking for dog models for brand shoots, so if your dog can, at a very minimum, do an excellent sit/stand & wait, is well socialised and good with other dogs, has solid recall and doesn’t resource guard, feel free to pop me an email at kerry@furandfables.com – I’m based in the Lake District but I travel all round the UK for client shoots!)

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TAGS: commercial dog photographer, commercial pet photographer, Dog subscription box, Dog treat box, Lake District Dog Photographer, lake district dog photography, professional dog photographer, Subscription box for dogs

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kerry@furandfables.com
07810 541685

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kerry@furandfables.com
07810 541685
Lake District Dog Photographer

The post Brand Spotlight – Collar Club Subscription Box for Dogs appeared first on Fur and Fables.

The Difference between Commercial Dog Photography & Portrait photography

Kerry Jordan — Tue, 30 May 2023 14:18:37 +0000

Commercial Dog Photography vs. Portrait Dog Photography

My journey into dog photography started back in 2014 (eeeek, over a decade ago!!) after getting my first whippet – at the time I’d been photographing weddings and families.

My now good friend Debbie, from Redhound for Dogs, had seen my ‘Whippet Snippets’ page and reached out to me about doing some product photography for her brand of dog attire, of course I said yes! Little did I know at the time how much of a difference there was between private client shoots and commercial or brand photography, which is usually used for marketing, PR, websites, and of course social media

A Tail of Commercial Dog Photography

The main difference, and it’s quite a big one, is that in commercial dog photography, the focus isn’t always the dog (the shock of it!) With private clients, it’s all about capturing the personality and essence of your dog in beautiful surroundings and the images are mainly just for you to love; with commercial dog photography you have to add in the product or service, the brand ethos and how they want to make a potential client feel, how the location and props work with the brand colours, as well as the little details that can help sell the product or service.

All this then needs to translate to thousands of people who need to know quickly what the image is telling them when they first see it.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Another thing which is difference is scene setting. When you are doing a commercial dog photoshoot, it’s not always about positioning the dog in a nice environment and taking the shot, you will often need to create a bit of movement. Now of course who doesn’t love an action shot! But rather than having a dog flying full on to the camera (which is sometimes the right image to have!), commercial photography needs something a little bit more subtle, like a hand which is obviously going to a treat bag, or a shot of a dog mid-way being put in a drying robe.

Even though photography is static, you can still give a sense of movement, and that’s something which takes practice, and patience with dogs (and humans!) as it may need to be repeated several times.

I need some space!

It’s okay – we aren’t breaking up! One of the fundamental things differences when composing an image for a commercial shoot vs a private client shoot is make sure there is a lot of space around the dog or scene. Why? Text & cropping – images for brands are at some point going to be used for marketing or advertising, or they might need to be cropped for social media or website banner bars.

So where on a portrait shoot, I would compose the images thinking of how this will look in a frame or on a wall, on a commercial shoot I would put, much more space at the bottom, top and edges of an image so it can be used in multiple different crop types.

Also thinking about the background – anything too cluttered is a big no-no for being able to overlay text! (or in some instances, overlaying a product) Below is an example of how a horizontal image with plenty of space means it was easy to crop to a square format with still enough room to overlay plenty of text.

The one thing which is the same on a commercial dog shoot and a private shoot

Regardless of what type of shoot I’m on, the thing which is of the upmost importance is that the dog is comfortable and happy. There have been many times where a dog who usually is happy and confident doing what they are asks, decides today is the day that they aren’t happy doing it.

Gorgeous Freckle was on a shoot for The Innocent Pet Company who needed some imagery of dogs looking happy and healthy in nature to overlay their products onto. Usually, Freckle does a good sit and wait, so I found a gorgeous spot for her, but she just wasn’t happy with it so rather than keep trying to get her in that location, I just let her move around and relax, and when she was in a good position, made a funny noise, which got one of my absolute favourite images from the day.

Since 2014 I’ve photographed for drying robes, pet food brands, treat companies, interactive toys, dog walkers, dog beds, dog coats to name a few and the images for my clients have been published in the likes of The Times, Town & Country and many more.

I hope you enjoyed this brief insight to the differences between a commercial dog photography shoot and a private client shoot – I could go on about location scouting, creating shot lists, sourcing dog models, working with multiple dogs, timescales and more but I’ll leave it there otherwise you could be here a while!

Is this for you?

If you are a pet business and you’d really want to elevate your images and reach your ideal clients, drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com – I’d love to hear from you!

Kerry x

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TAGS: commercial dog photographer, commercial dog photographer uk, commercial dog photography, commercial pet photographer, innocent hound, innocent pet care company, lake district commercial photography, luxury dog treats, outdoor commercial photographer, uk dog photographer, yorkshire commercial photography, yorkshire dog brand

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kerry@furandfables.com
07810 541685

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kerry@furandfables.com
07810 541685
Lake District Dog Photographer

The post The Difference between Commercial Dog Photography & Portrait photography appeared first on Fur and Fables.

commercial pet photographer Archives - Fur and Fables

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Further reading

5 reasons why your pet brand needs a photoshoot ASAP.

It will give your website viewers confidence in your brand.

It will help your brand be more visible.

It will give your brand consistency.

It will showcase your product or service in the best possible light.

It will help with your PR Success.

Need more convincing?

Behind the scenes of pet product photoshoot

A well established relationship

Making Contact

The Plan

Top Dog Models

Choosing the right products

The days of the shoots

After the shoot

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Brand Spotlight – Collar Club Subscription Box for Dogs

Is this the best subscription box for dogs?

Putting the planet first