Improving Your Dog Parade Photos
September 21, 2009 by Paris and John
Filed under Tips
Fall is a great time for dog parades–especially costumed dog parades. You’ll find events almost every weekend through October, each a great opportunity to grab your camera and capture all the color and fun of the season. But before you head down to the parade route, take a few moments to plan out your photo strategy:
1. Scope out your spot. Before the parade begins, check out the area and know the parade route. If it’s not too crowded, plan to catch the start of the parade then change positions and shoot the parade from a different vantage point; this will give you two different backdrops.
Now, before the parade begins, grab a shot of the starting banner if there’s one; it will make a good opening photo to a slideshow if you create one later.
2. Put the sun at your back and get ahead of the action. The sun at your back will prevent your subjects from becoming mere silhouettes. Your photos will be more interesting if the parade is moving toward you (rather than shooting straight across at the parade or, even worse, at participants that have already gone by.)
3. Get down to dog level–and zoom in. Your photos will be far more eye-catching if you get down to dog level…so dress accordingly! If your camera has a zoom feature, now’s the time to use it. If not, shoot your photos on the highest resolution you can then crop them later, removing distractions to focus the photo’s attention on the dog.
4. Take a variety of shots. It’s easy to get caught up in dog close-ups (especially at dog costume parades) but don’t forget the big picture. Grab shots of people and dogs, distance shots of the parade itself, and both horizontal and vertical photos.
5. Have fun! Most of all, have fun! Dog parades are a great photo opportunity…people–and their dogs–are ready and willing to be photographed!
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