Frankfurter ‘Frank’ and Chorizo ‘Rizo’
Frank and Rizo are my own dachshunds — Frankfurter and Chorizo, to give them their full names. They live in the studio with me, which means they’ve had more portrait sessions than most dogs will ever experience. That doesn’t necessarily make them easier to photograph.
Photographing Your Own Dogs
There’s a particular challenge in photographing dogs you know too well. Frank and Rizo know every sound I make, every move I make with the camera, and have a well-developed sense of when something more interesting than a portrait session might be happening nearby. Getting them to actually pay attention to the lens when I want them to requires more patience than it does with client dogs who are still figuring out the space.
What they do give you, though, is time. I can work with them whenever the light is right, come back to a setup, try different things without the pressure of a booked session. Some of the images I’m most pleased with from the studio have come out of an afternoon messing around with Frank and Rizo when I was testing lighting or trying something new.
The Images
Both dogs have their own look. Frank tends toward the serious end — he holds himself well and will sit still if he’s decided to. Rizo is more easily distracted, but that comes with better expressions when you catch him looking the right way.
These are the dogs behind the Sausage Dog Photographer. It seemed right to give them a proper post.
