{"id":1399,"date":"2026-10-29T16:52:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T15:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/?p=1399"},"modified":"2026-10-29T16:55:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T15:55:01","slug":"nikto-nezacina-ako-profik-moja-cesta-k-foteniu-psov-kopirovat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/en\/nikto-nezacina-ako-profik-moja-cesta-k-foteniu-psov-kopirovat\/","title":{"rendered":"Nobody Starts Out as a Pro: My Journey into Dog Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I shot on auto. My models were rats. And I was convinced I was a genius.<\/em>

If your dream feels miles away, or you\u2019re only just starting out, I want you to know one thing: I\u2019ve been there too. And so these aren\u2019t just empty words, I\u2019m going to show you. Photos included. Some of which make me want to crawl under a rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every beginning is uncertain. You just have to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The early days: when loving it was enough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I bought my first camera at eighteen, with money saved from summer jobs. It was a Canon EOS 1200D. Over time I added a 50mm and a 100mm to the kit lens. Today I\u2019d call it a toy. Back then, it was my whole universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manual mode? Watching out for harsh light and shadows? Composition? None of it crossed my mind. I shot on auto and I was perfectly happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I photographed nature and everything around me. And since I had pet rats at the time, they ended up doing most of the posing. My very first models. They just didn\u2019t know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I smile at those photos now. But the excitement was real, pure and genuine. And that\u2019s exactly what kept pulling me forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I was convinced I was taking the best photos in the world. Looking back, I can\u2019t help but smile, but back then, the excitement was genuine and absolutely unfiltered.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nabu: my first canine model (not entirely a willing one)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, Nabu came into our lives. And I very quickly realised that photographing a dog called for something better. So I got myself a semi-professional DSLR, the Canon EOS 80D, which stayed by my side until 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bit by bit, photographing just my own dog stopped being enough. I started putting my dog friends from the neighbourhood in front of the lens. Here\u2019s a selection of my favourite shots from that time. Shared with pride. And a little shame :D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"pes<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Then came the \u201cI\u2019ve discovered editing\u201d phase. Changing the background colour? Sure, why not. I was seriously proud of this one too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jada: a born supermodel, and the moment it got serious<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

n 2017, Jada arrived and everything changed. A born supermodel. For the first time, I felt I wasn\u2019t forcing my dog into a shoot. She enjoyed it just as much as I did. (Sorry, Nabu.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I had to pinpoint when my photography journey truly began, it would be here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I threw myself into it. I started following people who photographed dogs, studying their work and wondering how I could create something similar. And the first paid shoots came along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, I did my first one-to-one course with another dog photographer. Around the same time I bought the Sigma ART 85mm, which quite literally opened up a new dimension for me, followed shortly by the Sigma ART 35mm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so began the search for my own editing style. I\u2019ll be honest with you: it was neither easy nor quick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"pes<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Quitting my job, a pandemic, and a style that finally clicked<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the end of 2019, I handed in my notice. In 2020, I officially launched my business. Literally one week before the pandemic hit. Impeccable timing, right? \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But maybe I owe Covid a small thank you. The world slowed down, and suddenly I had time to try things, experiment, mess up and try again. And in 2021, it finally happened: I found my style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same year, I switched to the Canon EOS R5 mirrorless and invested in the Sigma ART 135mm. And I won Pet Photographer of the Year. So yes, sometimes it really does click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"pes<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A journey that never ends<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The photography journey is winding and full of pitfalls. And above all, it never ends. There\u2019s always something new to learn, a technique to improve, or an editing process to tear down and rebuild from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you\u2019re just starting out, or you feel like you\u2019re going round in circles: don\u2019t give up. Your moment will come. One day you\u2019ll wake up and it will all just click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust me. I used to photograph rats on auto :).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally: where I started and where I am today<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My very first paid shoot vs. one of my most recent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"pes<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like your journey to be a little shorter than mine, you don\u2019t have to do it alone. Take a look at my online courses<\/a>, or join my community The Pack<\/a>, where we learn, share and grow together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I used to shoot on auto, and my first models were rats. In this post, I share my journey from my very first camera to finding my own style and winning Pet Photographer of the Year. Embarrassing early photos included. For anyone who feels their dream is still a long way off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-1399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mindset-inspiration","tag-inspiration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1399"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1403,"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399\/revisions\/1403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ve-shandor.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}