Sutton Park – Dog Portraits Of A Miniature Dachshund With A Big Personality

The West Midlands has many lovely parks, and Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield is one of the largest in the area.  This makes it a wonder place to go with dog for some relaxed pet portraits.  Gizmo is a lovely little miniature daschund.  He is still young, and so still has that sense of fun and excitement about the world.  I met up with Gizmo for his shoot at the park (with his owners obviously), and it soon became clear that he was a dog with bags of personality.  

Photographing a small dog is a different challenge to photographing a larger dog.  They may have smaller legs so the distance they cover may be smaller, but that does not mean that they are slow.  Gizmo was full of beans and rarely stopped moving the whole time.  He also had fantastic ears – one kept popping inside out.  It was obvious that this was all just part of his personality.  As a photographer it is my job to capture the personality of the dogs that I am with, so you learn to work with the dog, and not against them.  There is no point in trying to get an active dog to sit quietly and look calm if that is just not in their nature.  Obviously from each shoot you do get photos of them looking still, but looking at the photos of Gizmo, you can see that he is just poised and ready to go again.

As miniature dachshunds are so low to the ground it does mean that I have to adapt the way I photograph them.  I like to get various angles when I am photographing dogs, but I particularly loved the photos from above – Gizmo has such a lovely face, and I really liked the way he looked up at me.  You could see he was just excited and looking forward to getting moving again for some more adventures.

If you like these dog portraits in Sutton Park and you are interested in your own pet portrait session in relaxed surroundings, please drop me a line and tell me all about your pet.

Written by James Crockford

As a photographer, I genuinely enjoy the process of taking photos – the interaction, creativity and happy clients keep me enthusiastic and innovative. Many people find it awkward having their photograph taken – I use my experience to put people at ease so that I can get the most out of them, often in a short period of time.

Over the years I have been a professional photograph, I have won both regional and national awards, and I have been awarded an LMPA from the Master Photographers Association.