Photographing dogs who are already skeptical of new items or situations is challenging to start. Adding in props, set pieces, and more can - quite simply - overwhelm them. When photographing a calendar, physical props also limit the breadth of the available photos. So this year, we decided to do something different.

I set up shop in the rescue's facility that all of the dogs are familiar with, and each dog had their 15 minutes of fame. I started with naked dogs (that's right - no leash!) on a plain white background. Plain white? With dogs? Yeah - it gets dirty. But it's a clean starting point and with the magic of Photoshop, it's easy to clean up. Plus, it's just a blank canvas at this point.

I snagged several photos of each pup, working with them one-on-one to get them comfortable. I reward them with copious treats (Pupperoni, if you're curious) and praise throughout the process to ensure a positive experience. This approach works - many of my repeat dogs are confident they're visiting Disney World when they come see me.

After making sure I have good "portrait" photos (chest-up), the Photoshop work begins. I'll adjust the lighting and do a rough crop in Lightroom, then export to Photoshop to isolate the dog. The new AI and cloud-based subject selection tools are absolutely key to pulling this off.

I then sourced images and digital artwork from stock sites - focusing on scenery, accessories, and more to bring the photos to life. The beauty of this approach is that I can build the scenery to fit the dog, not the other way around. As a bonus, I don't have to coax the dog to give the set props back if they decide they're better as toys (been there, done that).

The scenery you see in the artwork is layered. I used varying pieces of digital artwork combined to make the scene fit the dog how I want it. All of the accessories, from the hats and scarves to bows and bowties, are also digital. Nervous dogs are sometimes not OK with new items going over their heads, so adding these digitally allows for a tremendous amount of flexibility while ensuring the dog's comfort.

As a bonus, photographing dogs in this manner allows me to digitally combine family dogs into one photo. Wrangling a couple of dogs together can be challenging - it took all hands on deck and every single toy and sound in my arsenal to get the great dane in January's photo to just look at me - so photographing them separately and then taking a couple of size reference shots makes it simpler for everyone.

This calendar is the rescue's major fundraiser every year, and I'm so excited to support them using my digital artwork options. I'll be launching this as a new offering starting in 2024!