Do you know what a horse’s ears say about its mood? Nicole Begley, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, who specializes in equine and canine portraits, does. Ears back: nervous. Ears to the side: relaxed. Ears forward: paying attention.
It’s crucial that an equine photographer understand horse behavior and subtle changes in body language to conduct a safe session and produce quality photographic results, Begley, a lifelong equestrian, emphasizes. Horses can weigh up to 1,300 pounds, so if its ears are signaling nervousness, the photographer needs to know it and take it seriously, she notes. Most of the time, though, the challenge is to coax the animal’s ears forward from a relaxed side position. “They just don’t look interested if their ears are to the side,” Begley says of photographing the animals. “When their ears are forward, they look happy and engaged.” So, for her equine portrait sessions, Begley always brings along an assistant to crinkle paper, crunch a plastic bottle, or even pique the subject’s interest with a hobby horse to get its ears into the perfect forward position for an engaging portrait.
GOOD FEELINGS
Begley, based in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, has a unique but ideal background for pet portrait photography. After college, she spent 13 years as a zoological animal trainer working with free flight birds, marine mammals, primates, and other species. It was a labor of love that unfortunately didn’t pay very well, she says. So when she had two kids, and daycare costs gobbled up her salary, she decided to move on to a new career. “I knew I wanted to do something on my own, something entrepreneurial,” she says. She launched a family portrait photography business and encouraged her clients to include their pets in sessions. Once she realized her heart was really with the pets rather than the humans, she rebranded to focus solely on canine and equine portraiture. “It was scary because on the family side I did zero marketing. It was all word of mouth,” she says. With pet photography, however, she needed to target a completely different market, as most clients willing to pay for pet portraits don’t have children. “Their kids are their dogs,” she explains.
Begley found the best way to connect with that audience was through charitable marketing, both by donating to silent auctions and by offering special discounts for full sessions to the supporters of a charitable organization. Through those events, and the email blasts and social media posts to advertise them, she found her clients. “When you do charitable marketing like that, you are connecting with [those organizations’] supporters,” she says. “You are supporting something they care about. So, your values are aligned, and they have good feelings about your business.” Though she is established now, charitable marketing is still “my first go-to if I need to do something to increase sessions,” she says.
Begley extends those good feelings to her clients by creating wall art they can see and enjoy every day. “I feel very strongly that selling only digital files is doing clients a disservice,” she explains. “Your clients put them on social and see them for a little while and then they get lost on the hard drive.” Ahead of a session, Begley reinforces that view. She has clients send her photos of their home, which offer insight into their style and what kind of photo and frame might look best. “For instance, if they have a really kind of cool décor home with lots of grays, then I don’t want to do a backlit, really warm orange and green [image] because it’s not going to look good in their home.” Instead, she might do a silhouette, incorporate blues and other cool tones into the image, or perhaps make the photo in a concrete, urban setting. Her portrait work is 75% photography and 25% interior design, she says.
In addition to asking where they plan to display the art, Begley has incorporated another question into her pre-session consult in recent years: What is the most important thing to you in this experience? “That question lets you know so much about what is important to them and what they value,” she says. For example, one client may say what’s most important is to create a piece of art for the mud room. Another client may say what’s most important is to capture images of the beloved dog they adopted in college, who has been with them through many life experiences. “I am going to speak to that client differently from the client that might just want artwork,” she says.
MORE THAN PORTRAITS
Specializing in canine and equine portraiture has only been a benefit, according to Begley. Appealing to a smaller subset of potential clients means you’re able to “speak directly to that person so they have a stronger connection to your business and your values,” she explains, “and that takes price out of the equation,” as clients are willing to pay more when they feel that attachment.
Having a niche also makes you an expert in a specific space, she says. Begley believes strongly that the most important expertise for a pet photographer is a deep understanding of animal behavior. She’s worked with enough animals to know, for example, when a dog is too distracted to be off leash during a session (even though the client insists everything is OK) or is feeling uncomfortable and needs a break. “It’s our responsibility to always keep an eye on what the dog is telling us with their body language and be an advocate for them,” she says.
In addition to her pet portrait work, Begley runs the Hair of the Dog Academy, which offers education for pet photographers. Through a subscription, photographers can access videos about photography techniques, post-production skills, and business tips. She also has a “Freedom Focus Photography” podcast that leans into general business education for all types of photographers. “I really love helping people get results,” she says. “And what’s more fun than helping other photographers?” In addition, Begley runs various workshops in different parts of the world. A recent retreat took place in Iceland, where Begley had more than 60 dog models lined up for photo sessions in various parts of the country. She says she spends about 80% of her time on the education side of her business and 20% on portrait sessions. “My happy place is two [portrait] clients a month,” she says.
Along with her portrait sessions, educational videos and retreats, Begley created a nonprofit, Hair of the Dog Conservation Fund, in 2021. The idea came from a conversation she had with a wedding photographer friend who donated some profits to animal conservation groups in Africa. Begley offered to share contacts from her years in the zoo world. “Then I went to sleep, and I woke up at four in the morning and I’m like, Wait a minute, I have this whole entire giant audience of animal loving photographers,” Begley recalls. Why not leverage them? Through fundraising events, silent auctions, and donations, Hair of the Dog Conservation Fund, a 501(c)(3), raises money for grants to support researchers in the conservation world. For example, the organization recently gave a grant to support research on a pack of African wild dogs. “We’ve raised over $200,000 for the fund,” Begley says.
Her conservation work has brought Begley’s career as an animal lover full circle. “When people ask, ‘If money were no object and you had no responsibilities, what would you do?’ I would just travel the world to see animals in their native environments,” she says. Today, she can help protect those habitats through her photography business. “It just kind of shows the magic of following your interests,” she says, “and that it will never steer you wrong.”
Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.
Tags: portrait photography
