Elke Vogelsang is a photographer based in Germany who turned to the art form as a means of coping during her husband’s serious illness. What began as a therapeutic outlet evolved into a successful career in editorial and commercial pet photography. Her three dogs—Noodles, Scout, and Ioli—have become the stars of her licensing archive, with their images featured in publications like The Sunday Times Magazine and National Geographic. Elke has authored two books, written numerous photography articles, and exhibited her work globally in cities like Paris, London, and Singapore. In this interview, we explore her journey and creative process.
Elke, can you tell us a bit about your journey into commercial pet photography? What inspired you to focus on this niche, and how has your style evolved over the years?
I registered my photography business in 2011. In those days I still worked as a translator and photography was a side-hustle for a few years. A year and a half before that I had started a one-picture-a day project as a means to distract myself from a very stressful time due to sick family members. My own dogs were my pass-time and my favourite models. More and more people asked me if I could photograph their dogs, too. That’s how I got into pet photography. To later on focus on the commercial side was a decision made after quite a few years of working successfully as a photographer and having my images out there all over the internet after my images went viral a few times. That’s already ten years ago now. During the pandemic I decided to focus entirely on commercial photography and stop the private sessions. I never really expected to be able to work entirely as a photography and to have the success I now have.
I’m known for my studio photography, but this niche was more of an accident. I always thought studio photography with pets was a bit boring, as I wanted to be out in the fields and forests with dogs. But as I wanted to try out studio photography, I tried to find something I find funny. And this was getting close to the faces of the pets taking images of dogs catching treats or licking, yawning, chewing. Nowadays, studio portraits of dogs with funny, emotional expressions are my niche and I couldn’t be happier about it.
You mentioned that continuous light is particularly beneficial for photographing puppies, kittens, and shy pets. How have Hobolite continuous lights enhanced your workflow and the comfort of the animals during your sessions?
The sudden eruption of light from a strobe as well as the “whoop“ sound they make can spook an animal. Therefore, I use continuous lights for easily scared pet. I also use a continuous light as a model light, even when photographing pets with a strobe. To make sure there is always a light switched on and no sudden change between dark and light. This, though, is not enough for scared pets. For these the strobe light can still be too scary. If an animal gets scared in your studio, the session is over. Never scare your model! Therefore, using only continuous lights can be a life-saver for sessions with easily spooked, shy or scared pets.
In the past I had several other lights, some very cheap. They easily broke or produced heat. The tripods they came with were fragile and hardly carried the weight of the light.
With the Hobolite LED lights I have exactly what I need. They are near to silent, which is perfect for the studio situation with animals. They don’t radiate heat and the housing of the light itself is compact and handy. I really dislike bulky equipment in the studio as my studio is not big and bulky equipment can always be scary for some pets. Furthermore, it comes with exactly the softbox I prefer. The Avant Creator Kit is put together as if I had my saying in it. The light modifiers (barn door, softbox, grids) are what I use and need for a variety of portraits with different styles. You can produce soft light spreading across all the scene with a softbox and also direct the light more focussed to produce dark and elegant portraits with the grids and with the barn door and grid.
Even the size of the softbox is perfect, as with 23.6’’ it’s big enough to get soft light without having to put it “right into the face“ of the animal. And it’s not too big to bother my models. The highlights it produces in the eyes of the pet are beautifully round, like with the Hobolite Avant Lantern softbox, which can be purchased separately.
If you want to shoot images with faster shutter speeds, the Hobolite Pro 300W light is of great help. I will get myself a second light to my 100W Avant light, also to be more flexible in my light setting. With strobes I only ever use one, as my first priority is that my models feel comfortable. But with continuous light you don’t have this problem. You can easily use several lights without bothering the pet with sudden light from behind, for example.
Your images often capture the unique personalities of the pets you photograph. Can you share some tips on how you achieve such expressive and captivating shots, especially when working with animals that might be nervous or unfamiliar with studio environments?
It’s super important to always make sure that your model has fun and gets lots and lots of rewards. This might sound obvious, but the way you treat the pet and whether you are able to make it feel comfortable but still happily engaged in the session, is the most important part of pet photography. Every single pet is different in character. I met hundreds if not thousands of different dogs and also lots and lots of cats. And with every individual character I might learn a new trick or might learn more about how to approach a new situation.
In general, I use sounds, treats and toys to entertain my models. I always start with something less obtrusive. This might mean to just whisper something to try to get a cute head tilt, instead of getting out the noisemakers immediately. For pets I don’t know I also use low-priority treats first, like ordinarily kibble. Otherwise, you might have the super treat-obsessed beagle sitting on your lab instead of in front of your camera. Should your model not be that easily convinced, you can still get out the liver paté or cheese cream. Some pets react better to toys, like lots of cats. For these I have something like a feather or a toy they can chase or catch, thus having fun and show some action.
What tips can you share for photographing pets in natural light versus studio light, and how do you adjust your approach depending on the lighting conditions?
Have your lights already switched on before the pet enters your studio.
Make sure to move the lights only in a calm situation and remove the pet from your stage to be able to relax, for example, with the owner in another corner of your studio or even in another room. This super careful approach only applies to very scared pets, of course.
While you can use nature outdoors to be your second main character, in the studio you have only light as the one other factor (despite of your model) to achieve a winning image. That’s why the lighting equipment in the studio is so important.
If you are more of an outdoor photographer, the studio can still be a good alternative for still being able to take images even when the weather doesn’t allow for a session outdoors. I love to have that flexibility.
Even when you shoot images indoors with available light (like window light), continuous lights can give you that extra punch and versatility for creative images.
For other pet photographers considering the switch from strobe to continuous lighting, what advice would you give? Are there specific techniques or modifiers from the Hobolite Avant Creator Kit that you find indispensable?
The Hobolite Avant Creator Kit comes with accessories, which are perfect for portrait photography, no matter if your model is human or an animal. You can choose between soft light and stronger contrasts. With the kit alone you can go for a variety of styles, moods, techniques to be creative. For more than one light, the gels offer a variety of options to light your picture.
For more action I would also recommend getting two lights, which also lead to even more ways to light your model. Or choose the Pro Standard AC/DC kit.
What’s also handy about the AC/DC kits is to have a battery to get rid of the mains cable in the studio. Cables can be a bit of a hassle and in the way for very energetic dogs.
About Elke Vogelsang
Bio:
Elke Vogelsang is a photographer from Germany. When her husband fell seriously ill a few years ago, she used photography as a means to try to get her mind off things and to cope with the stressful time. Fortunately, everything turned out well. The passion for photography turned into something like a healing creative outlet and finally into a profession. She now works as an editorial and commercial photographer specializing in pet photography. Her three 'photography companion dogs' and beloved canine family members Noodles, Scout and Ioli are the stars of her licensing archive. They as well as Elke's other animal models claim their share of worldwide fame by publications in magazines and newspapers all over the world, including The Sunday Times magazine and National Geographic. She's the author of two books as well as numerous articles about photography. Her works were exhibited in group and solo shows throughout the world, e.g. Paris, London, Lisbon, San Anselmo, and Singapore.
Statement: Dogs are funny characters. They find pleasure in the most mundane things. My dogs are my joy, recreation, and constant source of laughter, though they can be shy and sad as well; they comfort me in bad times. They are members of the family, the kind I love to have around. I can never get into trouble with my dogs, because they are unpretentious and forgiving. I would never say that I prefer dogs to humans’ after all, some people mean the world to me; but I would definitely say that dogs enrich my life in numerous ways. My hope is that I give back to them at least half of what they give me. As I try to explore in photography all the emotions I share with my dogs, I pay homage to them and also to life.
