A Day in the Life of a Pet Photographer
A Day in the Life of a Pet Photographer
My cats usually wake me up between 4-5am every morning. They wake me up early even on my days off. My sweet cat named Summer scratches at the edge of my bed until I wake up and feed them. I have six cats and they all have very different personalities. Dragon begs for treats many times a day by jumping on the bed and meowing. Winter likes to be up high and jumps on top of the cabinets. Gidget’s shy but very sweet. Autumn likes to meow for attention by the door. When we first rescued her she wouldn’t let us touch her, but now after two years she can’t seem to get enough attention and pettins. Olive is the momma to Summer, Winter and Dragon when rescued them as a family when the babies were about 3 weeks old. They still had baby blue eyes when we first adopted them and their Momma.
I multi-task and eat breakfast while checking my email and social media sites. For breakfast, I am trying to be more healthy, but I still like something sweet to start off the day. Today I had yogurt with bananas, blueberries, and Chocolate.
On most days I spend three or four hours in the morning editing pet portraits in Photoshop or photographing products. Some of the products are pet products while others are for humans such as lanyards, cooking products, snacks, home decor, teacher worksheets, subscription boxes, and lots more. I love the variety of photographing lots of different types of products. Then I spend 10-15 minutes petting my six cats before heading out for the day.
On days when I am holding a pet photo event at a local pet business, I load my car with tons of props and photography equipment. I have to load my car like a jigsaw puzzle to fit in all the fun props. I have different props for every holiday. I then spend the day photographing and playing with dogs. Although some times people bring other animals such as cats, bunnies, lizards, hamsters, goats, and more. After a fun day of photographing, I pack my car back up, drive home, and then unload. Next I download the photos from the day and back them up to an external hard drive.
Then it’s dinner time for the cats and myself. If I have any energy left from the long day I edit for another hour or two before bedtime. Before I sleep the cats want more treats and pettins.
On days I don’t have pet events I edit, print, or photograph private photo sessions in people’s homes or at local parks. My cats love days when I do product photography photo shoots especially if it’s a pet product that they get to taste or play with. They love treats and prefer chicken and turkey. Cats get bored very easily and they love to be entertained with new things even if it’s just a new empty cardboard box from a product.
Do you have a product, pet, or family you would like photographed? Email me at amanda@astylephotography.com to schedule.
I would love to have a profession where I can hang out with animals all day! It sounds like you stay busy between pet product photography, on-site photography, editing, and so much more. Your cats get to benefit from the products too, although I bet my cats would be more interested in the box that the product comes in than the actual item itself! Hah!
What great career!! Creativity merges with the unconditional love of the animals!!
What a fun look into “a day in the life”!
This is great, Amanda. I love a peek into the day of the photographer! You have a busy and fun life. Loved all those kitty and canine photos sprinkled throughout your article., too!