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Pune’s ‘pet parents’ dishing out big bucks for exclusive photo shoots of their animals
Pet photo shoots are happening like shoots for a new-born child. Pet parents want to capture a picture when the dog is one-month old and then, when s/he turns a year old, according to a photographer.
Pet photo shoots”, are currently a trend that is seeing much traction in Pune.
“Pet parents” in the city are paying as much as ₹2000- ₹5000 to get professional photographers to snap their pets in exclusive photoshoots.
The prices vary and it depends on the type of photos the pet parents want.
“The concept of pet photography is in high demand in Pune. Especially during the lockdown, people have realised the importance of spending time with pets and now they are eager to capture their pets for posterity. The trend has surged since August 2020,” said photographer Prasad Ladde, who has so far done photoshoots of a rottweiler in New Sangvi and a Golden Retriever in Parihar chowk, Aundh. He charged ₹5000 each.
“Prasad had lot of patience to handle my dog (rottweiler). I was excited for the shoot, but a little tense as to how he would do his work, but the end product was very good,” says Nilesh Mue of New Sangvi, Pune .
“Pet photo shoots are happening like shoots for a new-born child. Pet parents want to capture a picture when the dog is one-month old and then, when s/he turns a year old,” added Ladde.
Photo shoots are generally done in a garden, open ground or on a terrace.
The biggest challenge photographers face is to capture the raw emotions of the dog or cat.
“We can decide the theme of the photoshoot, but things will only progress according to the flow of pets on the given day. Balloons, balls, ribbons or sometimes, even cakes, are used to add effects during the photographs,” said Prathima Pingali, a Mumbai- based photographer and owner of Pawparazzi Pet Photography, who keeps coming to Pune for dog shoots.
Pingali charges between ₹9,000 and ₹24,000 for one shoot.
Before finalising the shoot, photographers have a detailed discussion with the pet parents on the behaviour of their pets as a safety measure.
“While shooting a dog one cannot be sure about the next action, so one needs to have a lot of patience and allow the dog to settle in, before clicking a picture. Sometimes a shoot can go on for four hours, or sometimes if the dog is not in the mood, then the shoot has to be postponed,” explains lensman Sashwat Nair.
“The shoots have increased these days as many people are gifting pets on special occasions, like birthdays and anniversaries. So special shoots are conducted on such occasions,” added Nair.
“Sheru (labrador) is like our family member and I wanted to have an album for my dog. I knew Sashwat via a common friend so I went ahead with the photo shoot,” says pet parent Mohini Verma.
Rithima Khurrana, a Koregaon park resident, said, “When we bought our German Shepherd in January, our kids wanted to have a photo shoot with him. The photos came out really well and now we will have another photo shoot when our Bruno turns six- months old.”
