b"Picture Perfect,an occasional column. abOverseeing the content and design of a magazine, Ray by Laura Allen Studios.we consider ourselves fortunate to have theopportunity to work with some of the bestprofessional photographers in the country, whosefavorite subject happens to be the dog. Over thenext few issues of The New Barker, we will featureour photographers with a brief, personal insight intotheir work.Laura AllenI have always loved animals. As a kid,I nursed manyanimals back to health - ducks, seagulls, stray cats,dogs, begging the local vet to help. I started doingphotography at 12 years old, including darkroomwork. After college, I worked a full time job whilerunning my photography business part time, 10 to20 hours a week. I have been working full time asa professional photographer for 20 years.Combining both my love for animals and pho-tography into a career has been very fulfilling. Laura shoots on location, such as this beach venue. Her mobileThe best part of my work is photographing a moment between studio is also available for events. She donates her time and talenta person and their pet when pure love is captured. to SPCA Tampa Bay, Animal Coalition of Tampa and the HeartTo the Budding Photographer. Gallery. To view her portfolio, visit LauraAllenStudios.comUIts one of the most rewarding jobs you can have, but its alot of work. Its not just all about taking pictures.Learn thebusinessside.Manyaspiringphotographer'sdontchargeenough to make a living full time and will never be able to sup-port themselves and their family. Learn about the equipmentand make a concerted effort to stay up-to-date on the latesttrends. Seek out seminars. Learn about correct exposure, depthof field, F-stops, shutter speeds, white balance and posing sub-jects. Finally, and we all dread this, butread your camera man-ual all the way through; refer back to it. There is lots of greatinformation in there. Most camera companies have free tutori-als on their website. Use them.When I started in photography, we shot on film. We did nothave the luxury of instantly viewing what we had just shot, likePeanut by Brian Kalishwe do today with digital cameras.A great mentor once told meget the image correct in the camera.Thats the best advice Ihave ever received. You dont want to spend your life in front ofa computer screen editing and correcting images. Tips For Photographing Your Dog For Fun.Remember to look at the background of your shots to pre- Brian Kalishvent visual mistakes, like a tree coming out of your dogs head. When I look at this photograph of my Maltese, Peanut, after justMake sure the background is not busy. Watch your light, where a short period of time, his fur fades from view, his nose becomesis it coming from? Use it to light your subject, if needed. Stay unimportant and the background disappears. All I see are hiscalm. Nervous energy will be felt by your dog. Its one of the eyes, the soul of a dog. He was not startled out of his sleep, butreasons we love dogs, they feel everything. When we are feeling was very aware of my presence. This was one second in the lifebad, they are right by our side. If were nervous they know it. of a dog. Nothing speaks so clearly and with reserved volume asMost important, have fun taking photos with and of your dog. the silent communication that emanates from the soul of a dog.84 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com"