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Internationally-renowned, award-winning animal photographer Illona Haus created scruffy dog photography inc. as the province's premier pet photography business in 2007 ... the first of its kind in Canada ... and, still today, continues to serve clients across Ontario, the US and the world. Based in Kitchener, Ontario and photographing exclusively animals for almost 20 years - both commercially and for private clients - Illona is considered one of the world's leading and most influential pet photographers.

 

To learn more about scruffy dog photography, its creator, history, and the scruffy dog experience, feel free to browse through the menu above, and scroll over a decade's worth of blog entries below!

 

Please drop me a line! I'd love the opportunity to capture stunning, creative, one-of-a-kind photographic memories of your 4-legged loved ones to treasure in artwork for a lifetime, and show you just what makes the scruffy dog experience second to none.

it’s time to get wienerfied ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

y’all ready for this?  like, seriously ready?  because i have three dachshunds to share with you, and we had such a fabulous shoot, i don’t even know where to begin.  and with so many images to choose from, well, i’ve decided to give you a blog entry for each of these irresistible boys, but thought i’d start with a quick entry of some group shots.

you may remember Oscar and Rollo from their Winter shoot earlier this year, and since then they’ve had baby brother Charlie join their short-legged little pack …

one session with a dog, three hours of shooting, i tend to get to know them pretty well.  but two sessions, and well, i’m seriously in love with these little guys (and i know where they live!).

Oscar — with the black eye-liner — is always up front and centre, busy, busy, busy, seeking the limelight.

Rollo (middle, below) is just so sweet, somewhat independent, and more subtle.

and Charlie (middle, below) … wee Charlie … what isn’t to love about this piebald little dude?  … just so eager to learn, so anxious to please.

as i said, you’ll be seeing a lot more of these three over the next few days as each boy gets his own blog entry … they’re simply too irresistible to limit to one!  stay tuned …

… and have a great weekend, everyone!

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  • Alison MeyerLove, love, LOVE your work! You are spot on with your weenie personality photos and as for the others – perfectly brilliant too! I am a cartoonist with a love for all animals but especially the dog. Anyway, just wanted to say thank you for sharing your talent with the rest of the world! 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Holly Garner-JacksonAwesome threesome!ReplyCancel

  • Susan HumphreysGreat captures! I actually squealed out loud when I saw these three doggies!I love the one of them carrying the stick.

    Susan Humphreys
    Northampton
    EnglandReplyCancel

  • MarlaAbsolutely adorable!ReplyCancel

  • sherry bolesThey are so cute! What wonderful images!ReplyCancel

  • becky g. (from AZ)i love photography blogs, and your’s has become my new favorite! your dog shots are fabulous. thanks.ReplyCancel

more big canvases ~ {Ontario premium pet photographer}

thought i’d quickly share a few images of the latest two canvases before i have to head out to help a friend/client with some training with their pooch this morning.

what can i say?  i love the big canvases … and i love clients who love the biggies too.

it’s a fact: scruffy dog is quickly becoming known for these big ones.  when i pick up at the lab and run into other photographers, they already know me because of the big doggie canvases that frequent the place.  and more and more, clients are booking with big canvases in mind … whether repeat clients or first timers.

because there’s a little work involved with hanging these pieces and shooting them, i don’t have the opportunity to share every canvas that comes through scruffy dog, but the other day i took some time out to document the latest two.

first up, Miles in the train tunnel …

this canvas is 30×54, and finished with our gorgeous satin-finished, black, oak float-frame.   i always recommend for couch pieces or over-the-bed pieces, that 52″ is a minimum, with 60″ being a great length, especially over queen-sized beds.

as you’ll see from this closeup, the detail and sharpness that is maintained even on a piece this large and on the subtle texture of the canvas, is still stunning.

this is achieved first, by using only a superior image and second, by taking the time and care that is required to upsize.

Miles is a repeat client whose mom — upon seeing the shoots we’ve been doing in the train tunnel — booked a second shoot for her gorgeous boy with this exact canvas in mind.  Miles is a rescue from Tennessee, picked up as a stray, and Ingrid has always imagined him surviving on his own, on the streets, and perhaps in train tunnels such as this.  so this canvas means a lot to her.  you can see more images from this second session with Miles in his blog entry.

i should note that if i were hanging this piece permanently, i would have hung it a little lower, but i’m trying to minimize the holes in my own walls!

next up is egghead Memphis … and of course, i use “egghead” as an endearment, since i deeply adore both of these wonderful models.  Memphis’s blog entry is here, if you want to see more images from his session and read about how dad Don was instrumental to the shoot by providing his own graffiti!

i’m looking forward to Memphis’s fuller shoot this fall where we intend to take the Badlands by storm.  i can’t wait!

of course, Merrick — who knows Memphis from our monthly walks with Waterloo Dog (ah, Memphis was just a wee little spud back then!) — thinks this is all a little ho-hum.

Memphis’s canvas is 28×48″, not including the float frame.  i just thank dog i drive a Matrix where i can flip down the seats, including the passenger seat, if need be, and transport a full 8′ spread or more (should anyone decide to go that big!)

(again, if were hanging this permanently, I’d hang it a bit lower … and that bracket you see peeking out at the top left of the frame is the bracket that normally holds my girl Matea’s canvas in place.  of course, Matea wasn’t overly impressed with the artwork switch, however brief.

have a great Friday, everyone.  i have a TON of wiener dog images to share with you and was going to bring you the first installment today, but have no time.  perhaps tomorrow.   stay cool!

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  • LainerHow do I go about finding a vendor who will do this for me with my files of Ozzy? I would like to blow up a file to something this large, but I also don’t know how to upsize an image. What is the vendor that you use?ReplyCancel

  • KimI LOVE these big canvasses!!
    Beautiful work, as always!!ReplyCancel

when ‘stay’ isn’t an option ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

although some photos might make it look easy, not every dog is a natural model and not every dog actually knows ‘stay’.  although the essence of any scruffy dog shoot is dogs being dogs (and cats being cats, of course!) … letting them do what they’re going to naturally do, have fun and let loose … a good portion of the shoot requires a certain level of staging, anticipating, planning and setting the dog up.  sometimes it’s as simple as throwing their favorite toy in the direction we would prefer they run, other times it’s a little more complicated … and then, there’s the fencepost technique.

i decided to offer this as a blog entry because the following photo receives a lot of attention and questions, especially when we had a 30×40 of it hanging at Woofstock last month.   when people see it — besides a rather predictable “aw” — i get a lot of  “oh my god!”s, and “how!?”, and “why?” … even, “did he get up there himself?”

that’s Oxford up there, balanced on a 4′ fencepost in the middle of a soybean field.  and no, he didn’t get up there on his own … after all, this isn’t scruffy monkey photography.  also, don’t worry, dad was inches out of frame, hands at the ready, in case my sweet little model mistakenly believed he was wearing a Superman cape and took flight off that post.  safety first.  always.

so, why did we put Oxford on a fencepost?  well, several reasons …

(1) because it was the only thing to put him on in the middle of that field, and when a young, energetic dog doesn’t have a firm ‘stay’ command and is zipping in and out of the soybean plants, one of the best ways to get them to stay still for even a minute, is to put them on something.  granted, it doesn’t have to be something this high or this challenging.  a tree stump, a rock, a park bench … all work fine as a ‘place’.  with a more defined place or object on which Rover is expected to stay, his boundaries are clearer and the exercise is clearer … and sure, it could take a few tries, but eventually, most dogs figure out that the trick is to stay on the ‘place’.  and yes, this works for cats too!  of course, rewards follow … as do some awesome photos.

(2) i wanted to get Oxford higher.  we had great skies, and a lovely landscape, but there was no way to capture that with such a shorty, and with him zigzagging amongst the soybean plants.

and (3), the owners had seen a recent blog entry featuring Miles — the original fence-post balancing terrier.

Miles was a seasoned pro…

… fence posts are his forte.

and Oxford proved to be a bit of a superstar himself …

to be honest, these little guys rather enjoy the higher vantage point, for a change … and really take the opportunity to check out their surroundings.  Oxford seemed to know exactly what we were hoping for …

perhaps he’d seen Miles’ blog entry?

but like i said: safety first.  don’t try this at home.  🙂

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  • LainerMy first dog Daisy was taught by me to walk a picket fence. She also balanced on a big barrel and rolled it. Back in the 1970’s I had only a polaroid camera, so the quality isn’t there, but I still have that picture of Daisy on the barrel. LOL!ReplyCancel

  • Sonja (and Montecristo Travels)OMG – love this and great advise …. Montecristo is 2.9 pounds … so this works great for him!ReplyCancel

  • raminWith several hunting dogs in the house we’ve been known to place them in fairly off places for shots as well. Fenceposts might be a bit small for them though.

    Love the pictures and they are a good way to get a new perspective of the dogs.ReplyCancel

  • ChrisLove this !! My girls said he looked like a dr.suess character!! Really amazing work !!
    Do you still have space available for September . 2 pooches ?ReplyCancel

  • sonya sellersYou have the best locations!!!! I’m jealous!! Love these shots too! 😉ReplyCancel

  • Anne GeallLove the expression on Oxford’s face in the last photo! Priceless!ReplyCancel

  • Mike Hayesthat’s a creative solution. great results!ReplyCancel

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