Rachael McKenna (nèe Hale) has been commissioned to photograph “all creatures, great and small” - from a dedicated pet owner’s furry friend to an iconic French actor’s beloved pooch. You may even see her pictures in that wall calendar you gave your cat-obsessed grandmother for Christmas.
McKenna’s ability to capture the souls of the animals she photographs began at the age of 8, when she watched her grandparents develop their own images in their dark room. Now, with 19 books to her name and three decades worth of works from New York, Europe, and her New Zealand home, McKenna’s photographic career speaks for itself – but it doesn’t have to. Here, McKenna shares some of her all-time favourite shots, and what it’s like working with celebrities to capture their pets.
Many people advise against working with animals, what drew you to this kind of photography?
I have always had an empathy with animals, and a passion for photography, so combining the two was a dream come true. Animals are so incredibly soulful and true, and when I gain their trust and totally respect them, they give back to me and my camera with an abundance of emotion; emotion is what I strive for within my images, a feeling that engages the viewer, causing them to also have an emotional reaction to the image.
How did you set up this shot?
Henry was my own dog and Pipi was owned by animal trainer/psychologist Mark Vette. When Henry was about a year old, I asked Mark to train him to allow Pipi to sit on his nose, it took a few sessions before Henry completely relaxed allowing Pipi to climb over his face. I have other images of Pipi hanging upside down off his muzzle. They were very relaxed with each other in the end. This was the image I chose to feature in my Book 101 Salivations: For the love of Dogs. The image also won me numerous awards.
Henry looks pretty scared of Pipi, are (were) these two friends in real life?
I wouldn’t call them great friends but they definitely tolerated each other. Henry was in fact oblivious to Pipi being on his nose at the time this photo was taken, having Pipi crawling over his face had become second nature after the training, he was more interested in the biscuit that was being held above him to get his eye line to look like he is looking at Pipi.
They look almost cartoonish - do people who commission you for pet photographs often give an indication of how funny or cute they want an image, or do you have a lot of creative licence?
I definitely work with my clients to build a concept that will give them an image that will sit as a work of art within their home; people who commission me to capture a portrait of their pet are more than happy for me to take creative licence, they commission me because they love my style. Often my concepts are based on the dog’s colouring combined with the décor of people’s homes. Most of my portrait commissions are simple images that capture the true character of the pet, displaying an emotion that portrays the true soul of their beloved pet.
The more humorous images I create have often been created for my book projects or for commercial calendars and cards. But it is not unusual to have requests for more stylised portraits from clients. Often in these cases, I may need to have the pet trained to hold a specific position, like standing in roller skates or wearing a hat, or have a prop made for the shoot. It all depends on what concept we come up with. And of course, it’s always realistic - I would never force an animal to do anything they weren’t happy to do.
How did you find yourself in New York City, photographing pets?
The New York Dog book project was a more urban follow-on after I had published The French Cat and The French Dog books. After working in France for five years, I was keen for a change so headed to New York with the idea of capturing portraits of dogs in the iconic city. We spent a year in New York working on the project and loved every minute of it. It was an amazing experience and opportunity.
Did this dog have a connection to this barber shop? Was it his owner’s?
When roaming the streets of New York looking for locations, I stumbled across this iconic looking Barber’s Shop and knew that I wanted to create an image of it to include in my book… all I needed was a dog that looked like it needed a haircut! Andy, my husband, saw Floyd walking with his owner on the streets in Chelsea and asked him if he would be keen for Floyd to star in a photograph for The New York Dog book. He obviously agreed and arrangements were made for a day to create the image.
He seems very well behaved, waiting patiently by the door near a busy New York street. How do you approach pets that aren’t as well-adjusted?
Floyd was very well-behaved; to get the perfect direction of his look, I had his owner walk down the road and Floyd was watching him. I then waited for a NYC yellow cab to drive by so I could get the reflection in the window, making it even more iconic to the city.
Most of the New York dogs were used to noise and chaos, but it did make it challenging to really connect with them and get the expressions and soul I am renowned for within my photography. So, I had to use other ways of getting the dogs to hold their heads and look where I wanted them to for the perfect shot, like how I used Floyd’s owner to walk down the street to get Floyd to turn his gaze as if he was watching the world go by.
Over the years I have developed the skills to be able to read a dog’s behaviour and understand how to connect with them. Every dog is different, and I often have to change the way I work with each individual dog to get a connection or to be able to create the desired image.
When was this photo taken?
I photographed Leslie Caron with her dog Tchi-Tchi in her Paris apartment in December 2012.
How did you get in touch with Leslie Caron for this shoot?
This shoot was a commission from DOGS Magazin in Germany, so the magazine made the first initial contact and then her details were passed on to me for me to arrange the time and date to complete the shoot.
What was Caron’s approach to the shoot like? How was she interacting with Tchi-Tchi during it?
Leslie was adorable, such a sweet gentle person with a lifetime of experience in front of cameras. She was a dream to photograph. Her home was exquisite and perfect for capturing an emotive portrait; dark interior with glorious window light always adds so much character. Leslie loved her dog and Tchi-Tchi adored Leslie, they were both very relaxed, Tchi-Tchi so much so that he just fell asleep in Leslie’s arms, which added to the overall feeling of the image.
Photographing a person with their pet seems almost quite intimate because you’re capturing such a sweet relationship. How does this compare to photographing the pet alone?
It is always an honour when I get the opportunity to photograph a person with their beloved pet. It definitely is very intimate and needs to be approached with total respect and care. It is quite different to capturing images of the pet alone, though during both captures I work quite quietly and calmly so I can connect and capture the true connection of the owner and their pet or the true expression and character of the animal in front of my lens.
I often let their relationship speak for itself, as the shoot progresses the subjects tend to relax and mould into each other more, the only direction I give would be a slight change in hand position or head angle, but often my images create themselves within the moment and I just happen to capture them.
Were there any other anecdotes from this shoot that you remember?
I have been privileged over the years to have worked with a number of well-known people. It is always a little intimidating at first to be in the presence of such icons, but Leslie was so humbling. She honestly was one of the sweetest and most gentle-natured people I have had the pleasure to work with. I was also quite chuffed when she produced a copy of my book It’s a Zoo Out There and asked me to sign it, saying she had been given it by a friend and she absolutely adored it.