Online Photography Course
Photographing Your Dog with an SLR Camera

Your Instructor
Jenni Bidner

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What You Get

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	Benefits: You get direct feedback on your photos from world-acclaimed, professional photographers. You can learn photography in this way from anywhere in the world.
Learn at your pace, with structure. Be guided by a real pro instructor. Get your photos critiqued every week. Join students from around the world. Go far beyond any book or DVD. Make great pictures, again and again!

Instructor

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Jenni Bidner

Jen Bidner is an instructor with BetterPhoto.com. She has 20 years experience in the photo industry as an editor, author, and photographer. She is the author of over a dozen books. Jenni is the former editor of Petersen’s PHOTOgraphic magazine and Outdoor & Travel Photography magazine. She is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with a BS from their Professional Photography Department

Bidner is the author of over a dozen books including:

• Love Your Dog Pictures: How to Take Great Photographs of your Pet (Amphoto)
• Is My Dog a Wolf? (Lark Books, Juvenile)
• Is My Cat a Tiger (Lark Books, Juvenile)
• The Amphoto Complete Guide to Photography (Amphoto)
• The Kids’ Guide to Digital Photography (Lark/Sterling, Barnes & Nobles)
• Dog Heroes: Saving Lives & Protecting America (Lyons Press)
• Kodak’s Most Basic Book on Digital Printing (Lark/Kodak)
• The Lighting Cookbook for Fashion and Beauty Photography (Amphoto)
• The Lighting Cookbook (Amphoto)
• Guide for Models: Inside Advice from Industry Pros (Lark Books)
• Making Family Websites (Lark Books)
• Best of Nature Photography (Amherst Media)
• Kodak Pocket Guide to Digital Photography (Kodak/Silver Pixel Press)

In addition, Bidner’s words and pictures have been published in numerous major magazines and newspapers worldwide.

In her spare time, Jen Bidner is a K-9 Handler with a volunteer search & rescue unit in the Chicago area, working with her two dogs Ajax and Yukon to find lost and missing people. Her award-winning book Dog Heroes: Saving Lives & Protecting America (Lyons Press) features her photographs and stories of search and rescue dogs.

A Couple of Photos by the Instructor

© Jenni Bidner

© Jenni Bidner

Course Outline

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Lesson 1: Perfect Pet Portraits
All aspects of portraiture - from classic pictures to cute candids - will be covered. Learn how to pose your dog or a group of dogs. I’ll show you how focal length and aperture can be used for creative improvements, and how to coax the expressions and behavior you want. Before-and-after images will illustrate the lesson plan, so you can clearly understand the how’s and why’s. The assignment will put this new knowledge to the test!
Assignment: Your assignment is to share at least one before-and-after combo from one of the exercises listed in this lesson. The second and third submissions can be either before/after combos, or just the "after" images from any of the other exercises.

Lesson 2: Mastering Flash and Lighting
We thoroughly explore how lighting affects your dog photography, from selecting the right natural light, to mastering your camera’s on-camera and/or accessory flash. Overcoming the difficulties of photographing white or black dogs will be discussed. Tricks for modifying the lighting for creative purposes will be explored.
Assignment: Your assignment is to share at least one before-and-after combo from one of the exercises listed in the lesson - related to light and flash. The second and third submissions can be either before/after combos, or just the "after" images from any of the other exercises.

Lesson 3: People & Puppies
Two aspects of dog photography will be explored here - people and puppies. Learn how to take great pictures of dogs and their people (including self-portraits!), from posed images to candids. We’ll also cover the nuances of photographing puppies. Since puppy models may not be available to everyone at the time of this course, students will have the option of a People & Dogs assignment, a Puppy Assignment, or both! Either way, you’ll be prepared to take award-winning pictures the next time you photograph puppies.
Assignment: It's self-portrait time! Please take a self-portrait of you and your dogs and submit it as your first photo in the assignment. Your other assignment pictures should be of other people and their dogs. Try and work on poses that are interesting, but natural looking. Please state in the title which tip is emphasized.

Lesson 4: Action Dogs
SLR cameras are great for action photography. We’ll cover lenses and focal lengths, shutter speeds, panning, composition, and other aspects of canine action photography. A wide variety of techniques will be explored, from classic (telephoto) action to creative wide-angle and panning images.
Assignment: For our final assignment, I'd like you to take some action photographs. Try to line up two helpers and an enthusiastic dog, and try the running shot. See if you can manipulate your camera's controls to get a sharp and a blurred version. Even if you can't get that much variation, practice your panning! I'd also like you to do some candid action shots, where you shoot dogs playing or participating in an activity.

© Jenni Bidner

© Jenni Bidner

Requirements

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SLR digital camera, or point-and-shoot camera with aperture and shutter speed controls. Simple image-editing software.

FAQ

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This class is intended for any dog lover who wants to improve their pictures of their dog. Two versions of the class are offered, based on the capabilities of your camera. This class is for anyone using an SLR camera with interchangeable lenses and aperture/shutter speed controls. We will be discussing lens selection and exposure control as it pertains to dogs.  

You’ll probably want to stay in this class. Your camera has extra capabilities. Why not learn to use them?  

Yes. Part of the class will cover how to use your aperture and shutter speeds to affect the outcome of your pictures. However, many other aspects of dog photography - including how to pose dogs, how to coax expressions, and how to compose your pictures - will be canine specific. 

All-black and all-white dogs can be difficult to photograph well - but I’ll show you tricks for getting great results every time.  

No, but it will be easier if you have a digital camera. If you use a film camera, you will need to "digitize" your pictures so you can upload them for the assignment critiques. This can be done by having a Photo CD made of the pictures when you bring them in for development, or by scanning the prints yourself at home with a flatbed scanner. I can provide you with a special lesson plan to help you do this. But be aware you will need to leave extra time for the minilab to make the Photo CD or to scan the images yourself. I recommend you consider upgrading to a digital camera. The instant feedback makes the learning process easier with a digital camera. There are excellent point-and-shoot models available for under $130. SLR digital cameras start at about $500. Remember, you will no longer have to pay for film and processing if you buy a digital camera, so factor these savings into your camera cost.  

© Jenni Bidner

© Jenni Bidner

No, you do not need to be online at any specific time. The lessons are sent to your email and you are also provided the Campus Square - where you interact with your classmates and instructor. This is also where you upload your photos to be critiqued by your instructor. The instructors are very punctual and respond quickly.

Absolutely! Students can ask questions in the special Q&A forum set up in the course's Campus Square, or can ask the instructor via email.

Yes. We are confident that you will fully enjoy our courses. All the same, for our 8-week classes, we offer a 100% money-back guarantee before the Wednesday that Lesson #3 is sent out. If for any reason, you are not satisfied and let us know that you would like to withdraw before the Wednesday that Lesson #3 is sent, you will be promptly refunded.

For our 4-week courses, we offer a 100% money back guarantee before the Wednesday that Lesson #2 is sent out from BetterPhoto. If for any reason you are not satisfied and you let the ordering department know that you would like to withdraw before the Wednesday that Lesson #2 is sent, you will be refunded within 7 days. After the second lesson has been sent out, no refunds will be given.