Animal Photographer – Steve Grubman

If the shot looks simple…
…we’ve done our job, because it probably wasn’t. Every shoot involves the efforts of a team of individuals. Digital artist Dave Kreutz is the guy behind the scenes who makes my images come together. With a background in biology, music, and photography, Dave is truly a renaissance man who is involved in all aspects of the studio. During concepting, executing, and through post production, Dave’s influences are instrumental in making my photos shine. From subtle clean-ups and stylizing to multi-shot compositions, Dave’s skill and artistry help me deliver exactly what my clients demand – beautiful images.

As Dave and I celebrate 25 years of collaboration, I want to take a moment to say – “Thank You, Dave”.

All modern domestic dogs are the direct descendants of the wolf. Tens of thousands of years ago, wolves came out of the forest and began their first interactions with humans. Some returned to the wild, but those that stayed were eventually domesticated and bred to become what we think of as “man’s best friend.” As a dog lover, I was thrilled to be awarded an assignment to photograph wolves for Emerson’s global advertising campaign. Many of the wolves used for movies and print have been bred to have a bit of domestic dog as part of their blood line, in order to make them more trainable. For Emerson, only a 100% purebred would be authentic enough for their needs.

In the studio, armed with a fan and tossing eco-friendly artificial snow, we ran them past the camera time and again. In order to keep these thick furred animals from panting, we lowered the temperature to 45°. Great for the wolves, but not so pleasant for our stand in dog – my daughter’s 4 year old Schnauzer, Gatsby.

Photographing these beautiful animals was a real treat, and if you’d like to see more Behind The Scenes photos, click here.

Client, crew, handlers and wolves.  A good time was had by all!

Over the past year, my Lab Polly and I have been volunteering with the Canine Therapy Corps at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. CTC dogs have gone through a stringent screening process; training and testing in order to become certified for therapeutic programs at hospitals and institutions around the city. They are adept at helping profoundly injured patients with their therapy goals, as well as providing some light hearted “play” time that helps lower stress.

Last month, several of Polly’s “colleagues” dropped by the studio for a visit and photo session. All four of these dogs are family pets when they’re not working, and the fact that they’re so well trained made photographing them together a breeze. Once we placed them on the set, I simply asked each owner to cluster around my camera, instruct the dogs to stay, and keep them focused at my lens. What a pleasant alternative to the usual animal shoot!
If you’d like to see some images from behind the scenes of this photoshoot, please follow this link.

Next week we’re photographing Grey Wolves in the studio, and I have a feeling things may be a bit more up for grabs. But, that’s what makes my job so interesting, and so much fun!

A common question asked of me is how I became an animal photographer. Although I’ve had a life long love of animals, this speciality was not in my sights at the start.

I began my career as an advertising photographer specializing in table-top product photography, but slowly added larger products and automotive work to my portfolio. As my reputation for large scale subjects and productions grew, requests emerged for large animals as well. In 1995, I was hired by Chick-fil-A to produce a photograph depicting three cows wearing sandwich boards urging customers “Eat Mor Chikin”. The concept was the brainchild of Creative Director David Ring and Writer Gail Barlow of  The Richards Group. The photo we created increased sales for Chick-fil-A, won numerous awards, and is still being used as an integral part of the restaurant’s markeing efforts 17 years later. For the next 5 years, I continued to photograph cows for an elaborate annual calendar produced to expand the campaign. The exposure and awards these images garnered put me firmly on the map as a go-to-guy for animal photography.

In 1997, Chiat/Day Advertising, for whom we’d been shooting Nissan cars and trucks, unveiled their “Dogs Like Trucks” campaign. This image, which we shot for outdoor billboards, allowed us to combine two areas which were becoming our trademark: automotive and animals.

Through the early 2000s, I continued to photograph snakes, elephants, giraffes, and other amazing creatures, and in  2005, my crew and I flew to Melbourne, Australia for 10 days of photography for the marketing materials for Paramount Pictures live action film, Charlotte’s Web. This included print advertising , posters, coloring books, puzzles, and other promotional materials. Again, the exposure surrounding this shoot solidified my status as a photographer experienced with critters large and small.  There have been many other successful animal shoots along the way, but these three stand out as pivotal projects in my career

We returned just last week from the National Dog Show in Philadelphia, and had a blast photographing the behind the scenes at a top-tier competition. I look forward to sharing some of those photos with you next month.

Happy holidays to all!

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that our book Westminster Dog Show won an American Graphic Design Award, and was selected for inclusion in Altitude Associates book, Best of Cover Design.

I’m thrilled with the work Steve Liska of Liska & Associates contributed to this project, and with the fantastic reception this direct mail piece has received. Behind the scenes at a major dog show is a unique experience, and I think this collection really captures the spirit of the event. Thanks also to Brian Woolbright of Checkmark Communications for providing access to this amazing world of premier dog competitions.

Next month, we’re going to the National Dog Show in Philadelphia to photograph behind the scenes at that historic show. Please check this blog in January when I’ll share more stories and images from this year’s show.