Dog person? Cat person? They’re not just pets, they are bona fide members of the family. The concept of professional pet photography is relatively new, but it’s gaining popularity as our four- legged friends garner a spot in the family portrait. Meet Pam Biasotti, professional photographer of people and pets:

Biasotti and her beloved Riley

Biasotti and her beloved Riley

How and when did you get started as a photographer?

I have been a photographer since the age of 15. I started with black and white film and did my own developing and printing. In high school I was in the darkroom while most kids were outside eating their lunch. I continued dabbling in photography courses throughout college and post college. I started my business in 2004 as a result of being outsourced over and over in the IT industry. During the years in IT I was actively involved in dog training, obedience, and agility training until my youngest son was born.  I achieved my Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) status from the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) last year.

How did you get started photographing pets?

While I love being a portrait photographer of children, I found I would continually gravitate towards photographing animals. When my dog breeder Laura told me that one of her dogs had been diagnosed with cancer I did an immediate session of them just enjoying each other and I realized it was something I had to pursue further. I didn’t just want to photograph people–I had to photograph animals too. There was such extreme satisfaction knowing I gave Laura a gift of memories of her beloved dog. (By the way, this was my dog’s mother so it was even more meaningful).

Which is easier, people or pets?

That’s a great question because chasing around a wild puppy isn’t much different than chasing around an active toddler. I think people are easier to direct and communicate your vision to but pets can be easier to capture personality and expression. For some reason if I had to pick one or the other I would say pets because I find I push myself to experiment more and try different angles.

Do you shoot mostly on location?  What makes that better than in studio? (or is it?)
I shoot mostly on location because I think both children and animals are more comfortable in an environment that they can enjoy rather than a strange place. That being said, I do carry my studio equipment with me and bring the studio to the client. I don’t think either way is better
than the other. Some people prefer a backdrop setting while others prefer environmental scenery. Being on location does give me an opportunity to achieve a better variety of images.

Do you have a worst or funniest (or both) story you’d like to share?

I think the funniest things about my shoots are when I get an idea in my head and don’t pay attention to my surroundings to get “the shot” and end up falling on my face! I was photographing cats at a pet boutique in San Diego and they crawled into the corner of the loft. There was a huge metal staircase coming down and I was crouched under it, snapping away. As I stood to get up I forgot about the staircase and banged my head so hard I cut it open. As I continued to shoot the cats, blood was dripping down my face. I wasn’t going to stop until I had the shot I wanted! Nothing a little ice couldn’t fix–thank goodness I didn’t need stitches. I should probably check to see when I had my last tetanus shot though!

When you shoot kids and dogs together, particularly newborn babies, do you find parents are nervous? How do you keep everyone relaxed?

Fortunately, every baby/child and dog combination I have done so far has been with willing, trusting parents who wanted that shot. I would never force a client to do something they didn’t want to do. If they feel confident about the situation I will proceed but in the back of my mind I am careful to observe how the animal is responding. I usually give the animal lots of love and attention during the shoot and praise them for their gentle behavior. I think I relax the parents by keeping a good sense of humor and having fun with it. Bottom line, only shoot pets with kids if it’s something everyone agrees upon. If the child doesn’t want to be photographed with the pet, you aren’t going to have an image you would be proud to show the parents.


Do you have special tricks you use for pets? (You mentioned treats and high pitched noises in one of your blog post)

I am very off the wall. I make weird noises that range from a whiny dog to a panting lunatic. The noises I make tend to get the eye contact I am seeking from the pet. Kids seem to enjoy my weirdness too. Treats work well when praising the pet, but if you continue to offer treats while
shooting you will have a dog running up to the camera rather than staying in place. One of my favorite tricks was at a mini session where a dog would not give me eye contact. Someone held a live puppy over my head while I managed to get the dog to stare at me. The puppy was literally sitting on my head like a hat. The expression from the other dog was hilarious.

“One of my favorite tricks was at a mini session where a dog would not give me eye contact. Someone held a live puppy over my head while I managed to get the dog to stare at me. The puppy was literally sitting on my head like a hat. The expression from the other dog was hilarious.”

Do you get a lot of repeat business for new babies ? (the human and the dog varieties)

Actually I do. I have some loyal clients that have called me back each time there is a new addition added to the family. Customer loyalty is very important to me. I mean every word when I say to them “I want to be your photographer for LIFE”.

What kind of equipment do you use?

I have a Canon 1D Mark 3 that is used frequently for the action shots of running dogs and running children. I alternate with my Canon 5D. Most of my Canon glass consists of prime lenses ranging from 20mm to 100mm but I am trying to use my 70-200mm zoom a little more these days. My favorite for the 1D right now is my 35mm f 2.0. For the 5D I adore the 85mm 1.8. For studio and off camera lighting I have a couple of Alien Bees with various light modifiers. I want to be able to have available light in any situation, so the more prepared I am the better.

Do you do a lot of editing? What system/software do you use for editing?

I tend to be a perfectionist but have improved my workflow tremendously once I started using Adobe Lightroom. I shoot RAW and do my initial editing in Lightroom, then export the files to Adobe Photoshop CS3 for final editing and tweaking. For some reason I can whip out a dog session much faster than a human session. I think the secret is I don’t have skin tones to worry about.

Biasotti adds, “I am just thrilled that I am living my dream. It took me 20 some years to get back to where I wanted to be but now that I am here I love it.”

Visit Biasotti’s website at www.pambiasotti.com

AND her brand new pet site at www.you-had-me-at-woof.com

Looking for a photographer for your child, pet, family, special occasion or all of the above? Biasotti lives and works in the greater San Francisco Bay area. On her site, however, she lists top photographers all over the United States.

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