Family Portraits--With Pets : Photography: Horses, cats, dogs and even tortoises are among the favorite subjects of a man who focuses on animals and their people.
In a town overflowing with famous faces, photographer Joshua Grenrock prefers to photograph the furry ones.
“People are so crazy about their animals,” Grenrock said. “They are more like family members than pets. Animal lovers are special people, and it’s nice to be able to capture that relationship on film.”
For the past two years, Grenrock, 37, and his wife, Laura Pavey, 32, have used their talents to establish Pets & People Photography, a Studio City-based service that specializes in portraits of pets and their owners.
“We get a lot of calls this time of year for Christmas-card photos,” Pavey said. “We have one client who is a horsewoman, so we photographed her horse at the stable. She was so pleased with the results, she’s using the photo not only for this year’s greeting card, but also as her real estate calling card.”
Pet owner Thomas Filauro learned about Pets & People Photography when he visited a Los Angeles pet shop recently.
“I breed Persian kittens and just had a new litter of four,” he said. “I thought I’d just go to a regular photographer, but when I saw their card at the pet store, I liked the fact they did pets exclusively.”
The result: Filauro casually sprawled on the floor with all four kittens playfully crawling on and around him. Filauro was so pleased with his portrait that he is using copies for Christmas gifts.
During photo sessions at the couple’s 600-square-foot studio, Grenrock operates the camera, shooting photographs of everything from tortoises and tortoise-shell Persian cats to quarter horses, parrots and golden retriever puppies. Pavey’s job is to steady both animal and owner, enabling them to remain calm and camera-ready.
“Patience is the key to being a successful pet photographer,” said Grenrock, whose interest in photography was sparked by his wife’s insistence to own a camera “just for the fun of it.”
“Laura kept asking me to get her a camera,” he said. “I said, ‘What do we need a camera for?’ I was a scriptwriter then and not a photographer.”
Three years later, Pavey said, “it wound up that I never even touched the camera, but Joshua just fell in love with it, and one thing led to another.” She said Grenrock is no longer writing scripts, and Pets & People Photography is their full-time business.
The couple’s own dog, a 5-year-old golden collie named Moses, originally inspired Grenrock to photograph pets. “I used to enjoy dressing him up for some comic pictures and, from there, starting shooting friends and their pets,” he said.
The couple’s studio floor is decorated with black silhouette footprints and paw prints leading inside, and the room has been animal-proofed. When a pet is too big for the studio, they go on location. However, 90% of their business is done in the studio, Grenrock said. The exceptions are usually horses, photographed in a stable or trail setting.
Although Pets & People advertises in pet magazines, such as the Animal Press Newspaper and The Wildlife Way Station Newsletter, word of mouth has helped generate the studio’s popularity, Grenrock said, noting a recent assignment for the International Guiding Eyes organization in Sylmar.
Pat Siehr--computer manager for the organization that breeds, raises and trains Labrador, German shepherd and golden retriever guide dogs for the blind--had photos taken by Pets & People of her own two dogs.
“I have two black retrievers, and black dogs are hard to photograph,” she said. “Well, when I saw the proofs, they were so detailed, you could actually see the whiskers on these dogs. And I thought Joshua captured my personality on film better than anybody has in my 48 years on Earth.”
Siehr recommended Pets & People for Guiding Eyes’ 1990 Christmas card. The result was a little girl dressed like an angel, holding a Guiding Eyes puppy. Grenrock also did a series of photos showcasing other Guiding Eyes puppy candidates for promotional use.
“We do more dogs than any of the exotic animals,” Grenrock said. “I remember one petite little woman who wanted a portrait with her two mastiffs. Well, she must have weighed all of 90 pounds, and one of the two dogs outweighed her at 110 pounds.” The portrait, with the dog sitting behind the woman on the floor, gave the appearance of the dog being taller than its owner.
Most clients agree that it’s the rapport Grenrock and Pavey have with the animals that makes each portrait so memorable.
“The way Joshua and Laura handle the animals is remarkable,” said Yvette Sexton, who, with her husband, John, traveled from Newport Beach for a picture with their Shih Tzu, Pumpkin.
“He’s a special little guy in our family,” Yvette Sexton said. “We didn’t want the traditional family photo with the dog at our feet. So they made the dog the center of the picture against a very creative backdrop.” The portrait session was so successful that the Sextons are planning another one for their two Persian cats.
“Probably our most uncooperative pet was a goat in the studio who just wouldn’t face the camera,” Grenrock said. “He kept turning to face the opposite wall. We never photograph an animal using a leash or tether to force them to stand a certain way, so ultimately, I wound up moving my camera to the opposite wall to catch the goat’s attention.”
What’s the trick to getting the perfect pet photograph?
“Give the animal time to sniff around and get familiar with their surroundings and the equipment,” Grenrock said. “But they’re much easier to photograph than kids, who seem to have less of an attention span and who seem to delight in not doing what you ask them to. When an animal looks directly into the lens, there’s something that really grabs you about that photo.”
