Most photographers have not spent much time around working dogs.
They do not understand the difference between a dog that sits well on command and a dog that has spent three months in the field. They do not know that a Spaniel’s idea of standing still is entirely negotiable, or that a Pointer will scan the horizon before anyone thinks to call its name.
That understanding shapes every session.
A gundog carries an identity that a generic pet photograph cannot capture. It has drive, instinct, and a particular alertness that surfaces when conditions are right. Getting that on camera requires patience, knowledge of the relevant breed, and the right environment.
Working Cockers, Labradors, Pointers and HPRs
Each breed photographs differently. Each requires a different approach.
Working Cockers and Springer Spaniels The most photographed gundogs in the UK and among the hardest to capture well. At speed, Springers and Cockers are a blur. At rest, one rarely stays still long enough. The approach is to read the moments where the energy briefly settles, and be ready.
Labradors A calmer subject, but one with subtlety in expression that is easy to miss. The difference between a good Labrador portrait and a great one is usually about waiting: for the dog looking past the frame, the ear at a particular angle, the stillness that follows movement.
Pointers and HPRs The most visually distinctive of the working breeds. The classic point, weight forward, nose down, total stillness, is what every HPR owner wants and almost no photographer has the patience to wait for. It takes time and an understanding of what triggers it. When it happens, it makes a portrait that almost nothing else can.
Credentials that belong in this world
Work published in The Field and Country Life. Fourteen years of experience. Multiple national and international awards.
These credentials sit in the world of field sports, countryside and working dogs, which is the world your dog comes from.
What ends up on your wall
These portraits belong on walls. In hallways, in boot/gun rooms, in sitting rooms where they are looked at every day.
Wall pieces are produced in sizes to match the space in your homes, on fine-art papers in deep-set frames, with materials chosen to last decades.
I specialist in delivering finished artwork from every session. At the viewing appointment, you see the images for the first time and choose the pieces for your home.
Enquire about a gundog portrait session
Sessions are by appointment only. Numbers are limited each month and not every enquiry can be accommodated. If you have a working dog and want a portrait that does justice to what that dog actually is, get in touch.
