Enewsletter

Animal Attraction

Alex Cearns uses her arsenal of Tamron SP (Super Performance) series lenses to capture 'zen' pet portraits.

By Jenn Gidman
Images by Alex Cearns

When Alex Cearns was growing up in Australia's Outback as an only child, the daughter of a sheep shearer and wool valuer, her most constant companions were her dogs, guinea pigs, horses, rabbits, and bottle-fed lambs. "My family had a great regard for Australian wildlife, and I often helped my mother rescue and care for a wide array of injured kangaroo joeys, birds, and other creatures until they could be released back into their natural habitat," she says.

She grew up to enter a law enforcement career, and in 2006, photography entered the picture. "I spent every spare moment studying photographic literature and practicing the craft on my own pets, those of friends and family, as well as farm animals and wildlife," she says. "I tried a few other genres, such as landscapes and people, but animals enthralled me more than any other subject."

After winning a few photo competitions, Alex was encouraged to convert a small office on her property into a studio and started filling requests for pet portraits. She eventually had so much work that she was able to leave her day job in 2010, merge her two real loves—animals and photography—and rebrand her business as Houndstooth Studio.

Animal Instinct
"Philanthropy is a huge part of my business philosophy, and one of my driving passions," she says. "I work pro bono with dozens of animal rescue charities, sanctuaries, and shelters across the globe by providing images and sponsorships and conducting major fundraising projects every year."

Alex's two main goals: to show, through photography, how beautiful animals are, and to support, promote, and endorse animal rescue organizations. "Every charity project I undertake is about improving the lives of animals," she says. "Knowing I can help make a difference to the lives of rescue animals is a huge motivation for me. The right image viewed by the right person can mean a dog is re-homed, a donation is made, or that the media will run a story that increases awareness or raises public concern for a cause that directly affects the welfare of the animal.

For her pet photography, Alex has been using Tamron's Super Performance (SP) series lenses for the past three years, describing them as "exceptional." The lenses she most often uses are the SP 24-70mm VC, the SP 70-200mm VC, the SP 90mm VC Macro, and the SP 150-600mm VC. "For my studio animal portraiture, I mostly use the 24-70mm," she says. "I also use this lens for natural-light wildlife photography when I want to incorporate the environment in my image. It's fast to focus, enabling me to capture split-second moments with clarity; produces crisp colors; and features moisture-resistant construction, which is perfect for shooting outdoors. Plus, the Vibration Compensation (VC) feature reduces camera shake."

Alex taps into the 70-200mm for her wildlife photos, citing its speed, ease of use, light weight for handholding, and its beautifully blended bokeh when shooting at F/2.8, her preferred depth-of-field. When it comes to capturing intimate details, she'll pull out the 90mm Macro, which lets her capture life-size 1:1 macro photos with quick focusing and outstanding image quality.

And then there's what she calls "the beast": the 150-600. "When I need more zoom, that's when I reach for this lens," she explains. "It produces vibrant color saturation, is fast-focusing, can be handheld for short periods with minimal camera shake, and performs well in all lighting conditions. And the clarity at the telephoto end (600mm) has to be seen to be believed."

Alex admits she's a bit of a purist when it comes to her photos. "I love using negative space above, below, or beside my subjects, and having distraction-free backgrounds," she says. "My retouching is minimal—minor tidying and ensuring backgrounds are clean—and I usually remove collars from dogs and cats so that they appear without any man-made influences."

For studio images, Alex shoots against white or black backdrops, effectively eliminating any environment from the shots. "This emphasizes the subject and removes all distractions," she says. "I think this allows each subject to be seen in their most pure form." For her natural-light images, she follows the same concept, trying to shoot against block colors—pointing up into a blue sky, for example, or down toward green grass—or even toned patterns, like concrete or the ground. "As a result, and despite having a different light source, my outdoor and studio images have a similar feel to them," she says.

That simple background was her approach while photographing Dinar the orangutan at the Perth Zoo. "I was standing on a rooftop walkway, and Dinar was just about to be handed a frozen banana treat," she says. "He looked right down the barrel of my lens with amazing intensity. I fired off several images, not wanting to miss the moment. The original image was taken in full color, which is usually my preferred look, but I felt this photo was a strong candidate for a black-and-white conversion. The space to the right of Dinar was originally blue sky, as he was sitting high up on a climbing pole. To add some detail, I Photoshopped a texture—actually part of a marble tombstone I photographed at a local cemetery—over the area and then converted the image to black and white."

150-600mm at 600mm, F/6.3, ISO 1350, 1/320th sec., no flash 

For Alex's photo of Sir G, a baby pink-and-grey galah that was rescued and being hand-raised, she had to carefully observe its behavior until she could predict what it would do next. "Birds are often quite comfortable in the studio, and after a short period of time, they usually start preening," she notes. "Sir G eventually began to stretch his wings, and when he swung his wings over his head, I knew I had the shot."

24-70mm lens at 50mm, F/13, ISO 100, 1/200th sec., captured in a studio using studio lighting

Her rapport with animals helps Alex capture the poses and expressions she's looking for. "As a person who loves all animals, and who will often greet a dog before I even say hello to the owner, it’s easy for me to capture the character of my subjects in my photographs," she says. "I'll connect to my subjects by first making friends with them."

And expression was what Alex was able to capture while photographing a rescued rainbow lorikeet. "These birds have stunning plumage and make great photo subjects," she says. "I moved my hand to her right to draw her head in that direction, zoomed in to 70mm using my 24-70, and captured a tightly cropped profile image, showcasing her brilliantly colored feathers and sparkling eye."

24-70mm lens at 70mm, F/13, ISO 100, 1/200th sec., captured in a studio using studio lighting

Crazy for Canines
While Alex is drawn to most animals, her favorites are dogs. "I photograph over 800 pet dogs each year in my studio, and on my global travels, the natural focus of my lens is always the local dogs," she says. "Nothing makes me smile more than spending time with them and laughing at their zany, adorable antics."

And she finds dogs to be particularly easy to woo, offering them toys and treats. "Once I’ve won them over, they think I’m the best person they’ve ever met—until the treats run out, at which point I pretty much let them do whatever they like. If I ask them to sit and they don’t, I let them stand. If they want to lie down, they can, and I never move, push, or pose them into position; they do it organically for me, depending on what I’m asking them for or how I’m using food rewards. I find this is the best way to get relaxed and happy shots."

Alex photographed a Dogue De Bordeaux sitting on the couch in her studio while she was holding a treat up. "It took a few attempts to get him looking up with his head parallel in the frame and not tilted to one side," she says. "As soon as I saw him move into the perfect position, I shot the image as quickly as I could."

24-70mm lens at 70mm, F/13, ISO 100, 1/200th sec., captured in a studio using studio lighting

But dogs can also be the hardest subjects. "They're very aware of their environment and the fact that they're in a new place with a stranger, surrounded by flashing lights and with a large object (the camera) pointed in their face," Alex says. "I work with many dogs that have come from abusive backgrounds, so to relax them I move slowly and deliberately and make sure I don’t trigger any of their anxieties. All dogs are welcome in my studio, and I photograph many dogs who have been aggressive to people—but I’m proud to say I’ve never had a problem with any of them because I’m able to call on my dog-handling experience and knowledge and ensure they trust me and have lots of fun. Some people call me a dog whisperer, but to me it’s just using my body language and energy to relate to them in an easy and non-threatening way."

This penchant for pups has even led to Alex's Zen Dogs book, which is being published by HarperCollins this fall. "In 2013 I captured an image of Suzi the Shar-Pei, where Suzi’s eyes were closed and she had a big smile on her face," she says. "I called the image 'Zen Dog,' and from then on became keen to capture the emotion and moment of being a 'Zen Dog' for other dogs who visited my studio."

Since then, she tries to capture at least one "Zen Dog" image during each photo session. "These images capture a split-second blink in the life of my subjects, freezing that moment in time," she says.

She sits just a foot away from each pup, watching each subject carefully to pick up on their blinking pattern—then she takes a series of images just before she predicts they're going to blink. "Each dog expresses their inner joy—that big bubble of canine happiness that comes from deep within and is expressed through their gently closed eyes and relaxed body language," she says. "They're chilled out and in the moment."

She has a few signature dog shots she tries to nail in addition, so that her session will often include a half-face (cropping the subject's face symmetrically in half, emphasizing one eye only); a "Zen Dog" photo (where the subject has its eyes closed and is looking happy); a looking-down image with the subject bowing its head, which makes dogs look very young; and a high-five or paw shot if they have it in their trick repertoire.

"This composite image you see here was the first set of images released from Zen Dogs," Alex says. "It shows happy, smiling dogs, each with their eyes closed. I felt that rather than showing each image on its own, the story of the 'Zen Dogs' concept was stronger showing the four images as a themed set."

All four images in composite: 24-70mm lens at 50mm, F/13, ISO 100, 1/200th sec., captured in a studio using studio lighting

Alex feels humans can take lessons away from her soulful subjects. "Dogs are spontaneous, carefree, and give everything 110 percent," she says. "These images are a gentle, positive reminder to stop and take a break, to relax and unwind, to be fully present in each and every experience, and to breathe it all in. And that's exactly how we feel when we're with our pooches—relaxed and happy. Seeing these photos is like looking in a 'feelings' mirror, only with our eyes open."

To see more of Alex Cearns' work, go www.houndstoothstudio.com.au.

ZEN DOGS, from Houndstooth Studio by Alex Cearns, is a collection of eighty stunning color photographs of dogs in their most relaxed, contented moments—a gorgeous compendium for every dog lover, animal enthusiast, and anyone looking to add some peace and joy to their day. Learn more and order here: http://bit.ly/2ayyNCO