Well, 2020. What do we say in summary of the most bizarre and unprecedented year?! A year of firsts for many of us and certainly a year to remember, but possibly not for all the reasons we would have hoped.
But, we have hope for 2021 don’t we? And that’s the best thing we can possibly have.
In terms of my dog photography, it has been a positive year and I’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes developing my brand. This is the first full year that I have positioned my dog photography under a specific brand – The Yorkshire Dog Photographer – and it has been so warmly welcomed which is just lovely! Over the last 10 years as a professional photographer in Yorkshire I have captured so many beautiful dogs with their owners – my love of dogs and photographing them just had to have more of a spotlight and so here I am with my specialist dog photography brand!
So in a year where we’ve experienced lockdowns, restrictions on our movements and our social life, being a dog photographer has meant I haven’t quite been able to capture as many dogs as I would have liked in as many places – but I do have some highlights in this strange year so I thought I would share this blogpost with you – along with some beautiful dogs of course!
As the owner of a rescue dog myself, I am always keen to support the work of dog rescue and support charities so in 2020 I chose Aireworth Dogs in Need to donate a photo shoot to help them raise much need funds. Dog rescues have never needed support more than this year so it was really important to me to do something. The winner of the raffle in which my photo shoot was a prize, was Nicola and I got to meet and photograph her two lovely rescues – Beau (Staffie) and Patch (English Springer Spaniel) and create some really memorable images which I’ve had some really lovely feedback on too.
Another highlight for me was being interviewed by the Yorkshire Post about my work as a dog photographer. And with that came the fantastic news that they were going to use one of my photographs on the front cover of the Yorkshire Post Magazine! This was such a lift at a time in April 2020 and the first lockdown when things were feeling pretty grim so it gave me a much needed boost I have to say! And big thanks to Boris (another English Springer Spaniel) who was the cover star. Boris is actually deaf and it was the first time I had worked with a dog who couldn’t hear so my approach to this particular dog photo shoot which took place in Ilkley, needed a different set of skills. I could see he needed a little more time out than most dogs and so I really worked with him at his pace to ensure he was as comfortable as possible during the shoot.
In my dog portrait commissions I met some truly beautiful dogs and their lovely owners including quite a few Fox-Red Labradors this year! And I got to capture some gorgeous puppies as well as more elderly dogs – both of which just make the heart melt when capturing the character in their eyes and faces. I’ve worked with dog trainers too and other dog related businesses in Yorkshire who have asked me to capture them together with their dogs to help them communicate their brand to their dog owning customers.
So I look towards 2021 with excitement and positivity and I can’t wait to share some of the things I have lined up for my work as The Yorkshire Dog Photographer.
And a big thanks goes out to everyone who has supported me this year. Wishing you all a safe, happy and healthy 2021.
Kathryn x
