Going to the dogs

My name is Elke Vogelsang. I am a people and pet photographer from Hildesheim. I am particularly well known for my dog portraits.

Before my husband suffered a serious brain hemorrhage in 2009, I had resolved to start a one-picture-a-day project to improve my photography, which was then practiced as a hobby. I started the project despite my husband's illness out of an incentive to maintain a little bit of normality. It also served as a diary for my husband, who had previously been in an induced coma and therefore had no short-term memory for a few weeks.

Fortunately, everything turned out well. My husband got well again, but photography remained as a creative outlet and stress reliever. I presented the pictures from my project on my blog and on Facebook. As my dogs were often the subject, more and more people asked if I could photograph their dog too. So in 2011 - 1.5 years after starting the project - I plucked up all my courage and decided to register a business. Naturally, it started a little slowly, but as I kept having fun and patience, my pictures became more and more expressive and therefore more popular. Today I have been working exclusively as a photographer for three years and couldn't be happier.

My three dogs Noodles, Scout and Loli are not only beloved family members, but also my favorite models and stars of my photo series. Since I attach great importance to the fact that photography is not only fun for me, but also for the dogs, they are very enthusiastic about it. This makes many an interesting subject possible and simplifies photography enormously. I swear by keeping everything as simple as possible. My studio, which is in my house, is kept quite simple with a Walimex set consisting of three flashes. At 30 square meters, it's not particularly big, but it's absolutely sufficient for my purposes. When I was looking for a light and handy camera 4 years ago,

that I could always have with me instead of the bulky SLR camera, I came across the Fujifilm X20. This is a very basic camera that didn't offer me the telephoto range I was used to and was otherwise rather simply equipped. But it was precisely these limitations that led me to explore other avenues. I had to be more creative in order to come up with photos that I liked. The result was the series "Nice Nosing You", which consists of close-ups of dogs' mouths as they chew and lick. The series received a lot of attention and was broadcast on American television, among others. In retrospect, it was the beginning of my international career as a photographer. My photo book of the same name was published in London in 2015.

There are always models that present me with a challenge. For example, there is the anxious animal welfare greyhound or the hyperactive terrier, the detached Molosser that is difficult to motivate or the deaf, blind senior. That's also what makes this job so interesting and varied.

I find it particularly important that the dogs are not overwhelmed, even if the situation can often be exciting for them. Some sensitive dogs find the noises and lights in the studio very intimidating. That's why I take a lot of time to slowly get the animals used to the situation. Here too, everyone involved should have fun and everything should be as relaxed as possible.

My pictures focus on character and personality. If the dog is shy, I have no problem capturing this characteristic in a picture. Many a dog has presented itself as very stubborn and initially showed little interest in posing for my camera. In my opinion, this also results in a portrait full of character. But above all, of course, I try to catch the interested, bright, friendly, clever, cheeky, demanding, loving or funny looks. You can't plan this and every dog presents itself differently. So every appointment is exciting all over again.