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Afghan Hounds Dog Photoshoot
Nov
Afghan Hounds have always been high on my wish list of dogs to photograph, so I was thrilled to have dog lover and Afghan breeder Susan in the studio for a photoshoot. She brought two beautiful Afghan Hounds with her, a male and a female.
Afghan Hounds are very loveable, big dogs and also highly intelligent. Within a couple of minutes, it was obvious that they were not going to respond like many other dogs I photograph though. Treats and a belly rub, (which work great with a lot of dogs, including my own), weren’t going to cut it with these two!
The female Afghan’s approach to the photoshoot was hilarious. She walked to the sofa, draped herself elegantly across it, and observed us from afar. Her aloof expression clearly said, ‘I’ll have my photograph taken when I’m ready thank you!’ I could instantly see that different tactics would be needed to photograph her! The male Afghan chose to lay on the floor in front of her, (I think he knew she was the boss!)
The best way to ‘pose’ them was to use gentle persuasion and work around them. If they didn’t want to move to the exact place I needed, I moved instead, quickly fixing the position of myself and my lights to compromise. They really were fantastic dogs to photograph though and I was thrilled with the results.
The Photographs
Three of the images taken were entered into the Image of the Month competition with The Guild of Photographers and I was amazed to receive two golds and a silver award.
Fun Facts about Afghan Hounds
- They are one of the most ancient dog breeds, so much so, it’s difficult to know exactly where they originated from!
- Afghan Hounds have amazingly thick silky fur and consequently require a lot of grooming.
- They can run up to 40mph, which is almost the same as a racehorse!
- The field of vision of an Afghan Hound is 270 degrees. As a result they are known as a sighthound.
- Afghan Hounds are an extremely intelligent breed of dog. They are also very loyal and quite independent.
- Their independent nature makes them great hunters and is also the reason why they were bred for this.
- Afghan Hounds have had several different names over the years, such as African Hound, Shalgar Hound, Eastern Greyhound, Ogar Afghan or Tazi amongst others.
- Pablo Picasso owned Afghan Hounds and even painted them in a painting called “Femme au chien.”
How to tell the difference between male and female Afghan Hounds
A key way to distinguish the difference between male and female Afghan Hounds is to look at their faces. The male has a longer face than the female. This is noticeably visible when looking at the photograph of the two dogs together, (above).
This image one of my favourite images and also one chosen to be framed by Susan. The head tilt and mass of gorgeous fur, blowing in the wind, clearly shows off the elegant nature of an Afghan Hound.
Final Framed Images
From the photoshoot, Susan chose two large wall images of her Afghan Hounds, to show off the gorgeous dog images. Both looked simply stunning when printed and framed, in beautiful dark wood Heritage Frames.
More Afghan Hounds and other gorgeous dogs
To see more gorgeous dogs photographed in our Worden Park studio, in Leyland, Lancashire, follow our Instagram Page RedFrog_PetPhotographer. Alternatively, click on the link in the sidebar to visit our website.
To see more of these beautiful Afghan Hounds you can follow Susan on Instagram. Her Page is called My Crazy Life with 40 Dogs, (yes she really does have that many gorgeous dogs – in fact, I think it might now be a few more! 😄)