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Photographer Captures the Joyful Personalities of Playful Pups and Shows How You Can, Too

By Sara Barnes on July 26, 2022

Snapping a great photo of an animal can seem like a fool’s errand. You can't, after all, instruct them like you can a human. But for photographers who specialize in this type of portraiture, they’ve seemed to tap into an animal’s psyche and, as a result, have the ability to share their wonderful essence with the world. Belinda Richards of Frog Dog Studios is doing just that. Her photographic expertise is in domesticated animals and digital manipulation, which is best showcased in her portraits of pups. Using her photo skills and creative retouching, she reveals dogs’ expressive faces that are sure to make you smile.

Richards’ subjects look happy and at ease. Working with her husband Tony Ladson, they spend time during a photo session making sounds and offering treats to get dogs' attention and bring out their best. “One thing I noticed is how each animal gives me such relatable expressions,” Richards tells My Modern Met. “Their reactions to the different noises I make or words I use is so unique to each individual, just like people.”

If you’ve longed to learn how to capture the personality of your pup, now is your chance to learn from Richards on My Modern Met Academy, our e-learning platform with online courses in a variety of creative subjects. Her class is called Introduction to Pet Photography: Capture the Spirit of Your Furry Friend. Over the course of about two and a half hours, you’ll learn how to take a soulful portrait of your dog in a studio setting.

“I created this course to help aspiring pet photographers capture candid portraits of dogs in a studio environment,” Richards says of her class. “Working with dogs can be a bit of a juggling act between controlling your lighting, camera settings, AND a subject that doesn’t understand most of what you are saying!”