Way back in November I left my house to drive to a session that was to be unlike any I’ve ever done before, or since. In her owners words:
“Lexi is 11 and blind in both eyes. One eye is small, white, hard and sunken back into her head, the other is discoloured and has almost doubled in size and protrudes from her face. She has scars everywhere from her surgeries (dew claws, hernia, several cystic growths) and multiple dog attacks. Your work is nothing short of fantastic, but I don’t think Lex will lend herself to your usual types of shots as she is a bit ratty looking.”
My brief was to artistically photograph details of Lexi that could be blown up really big, while trying to avoid her eyes as much as possible. If you’re familiar with my work you’ll know what a daunting task that would have been for me – capturing a dog’s essence through his or her eyes is what I’m best known for.
She may be blind, but there’s nothing wrong with her sense of smell and she knew exactly where the treat was at all times.
We were really lucky to get a spectacular sunset at the end of our session. What better way to get a photo of Lexi that doesn’t show her “defects” than with a silhouette.
My client was so happy with the results that she couldn’t choose just one favourite image so she bought the entire digital collection.
If you have a difficult brief that you want to task me with send me an email, I’m up for the challenge.
