Animal Photography with Rachael Hale McKenna

I found the image representing the course to be misleading. It looks as though it is studio-taken so it lead me to believe this was a course on studio lighting with pet photography. There is no studio instruction other than set up. The photog, as charming and lovely as she was, only used natural lighting. So while i cant fault the course itself for my mistake - and I wont, I do want to mention it incase it leads others to make the same mistake.

She is the BEST in photographing animals and bringing out the Personality of each one!

There was a lot I got from this course. I am sure when shooting and teaching there is a crazy amount of things to think about. For me though, persisting with the hassleblad in studio with natural light at 1/30th of a second and repeatedly getting blurry shots was crazy. Especially when it is not your only camera. I was glad when she finally switched it out. I felt she wore out the noises when using them before the shot was focused or composed. There was however, some really solid information throughout. What an incredible talent she is. Her work is spectacular. I love how patient she is and she has a great calmness to her.

I'm learning all I can about pet photography as I'm doing it as a part-time business, and so naturally was drawn to this course. I do already know quite a bit about studio work, lighting, and so forth and have already photographed a number of animals, so I knew there would be some information that wasn't useful to me in particular, BUT, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of information that was EXTREMELY useful in this course, as well as tons of inspiration! Others have mentioned how long it took for some of the images to be captured -- true, I felt some of those clips could have been edited for brevity, but nevertheless it gave a very realistic idea of what it's like to photograph animals! Especially if you have a particular concept in mind. Other than that, I felt this was a very worthwhile class. I'm ordering some of Rachael's books now, she really inspired me!

I thoroughly enjoyed this class. It was very realistic in how animals can sometimes behave when being photographed. I found her to be inspirational.

I am so I love with Rachel, she is the most genuine and passionate person I have seen for a long time! I have been truly inspired by her work and she opened my horizons about how many ways you can photograph pets. I have bought almost all her books and I am now looking for seeing more of her work. Thank you

This class was worth every penny spent on it! The combination of the relevant information on technique and the demonstration of photographing great variety of animals is so valuable to anyone desiring to photograph animals. You add in Racheal's charming personality and her willingness to share knowledge makes this a wonderful class!

Thanks so much Rachael and the Creative Live Team, and all the animals and owners who helped to put this fantastic presentation/workshop together. I loved it! Ann from Clunes, Victoria, Australia.

Love, Love, Love this course... Rachael is so down to earth and inspiring and I enjoyed all the hands-on shooting which shows you how patient you need to be for this type of photography. Truly an amazing course... Thank you.

Amazing class, so many valuable tips and tricks, just watching Rachael in action taught me so much. Especially loved seeing the post process for the images and seeing how simply she can create powerful images.

Excellent and inspirational. I photograph animals for shelters and I can't wait to put some of her suggestions to use. When working with animals, it is essential to have assistants/handlers/owners help for the safety of the animal and to make it easier to get the perfect image.

cool

This course is useful of you have access to many adorably fluffy puppies and kittens plus a handful of staff to help calm the pups/kittens. For anyone looking to just photograph animals, it is not the course for you. Very much regret spending my money here;(

It was fun to see Rachael at work and watch her creative process. There isn't a lot of technical info but it was still interesting.

This was an amazing class I can't wait to implement some of Rachaels techniques into my own pet photography. I am trying to start a pet photography business and this class was really helpful in bringing my photographs to another level.

Rachael did a good job presenting the class and talked and/or covered a lot of things you may or may not have thought about already. Regardless, if you are interested in Pet Photography and have absolutely no idea where to begin, this is probably a solid place to start. Good luck!

I can't say enough about Rachael's Animal Photography class ... her thought process ... her patience and waiting for the right shot instead of spraying and praying ... her creativity ... she pours her heart and soul into her work and it shows ... so much for my theory of only a Sue Bryce class can make you tear up!

I loved this class! I don't I tend to be a "pet photographer" but I do want to be a "Pet friendly" photographer! I have gotten lots of tricks and tools to use while photographing occasional clients pets and my own! ( I have a horse, a pony, bunnies, cats, dogs and ducks) I'm super glad I watched the class live and I'm even more glad I bought it so I can re- watch it whenever I want :) (The shoot with the mini horse, dogs, chicken, duck and people was awesome! It loomed like my family picture would look if my husband didn't say "no" on occassion! lol)

Just what I was looking for.

Watching Rachael work with the animals helps you to understand that it's 'ok' to let yourself go and just give in to the work you are performing during a shoot. It's all about getting the right look, working the shot, and ensuring the safety of the animals. A very enjoyable watch which will help you in developing your own style over time.

Complete waist of time and money. I didn't like this one at all. I didn't get a lot out of it.

This course was definitely worth the investment - both time and money. With about 15 hours worth of video sessions and amazing bonus handouts - Rachael provides some really useful, practical tips that you can apply straight away regardless whether you're just beginning your photography journey or are a seasoned professional. It was great to see Rachael at work in session - especially her techniques used to calm and quieten her models if needed. She had a potpourri of helpful suggestions such as remember to take both landscape and portrait shots (if possible), know your rights to take and use images - don't assume, be extra vigilant with cleanliness especially around kittens and puppies who may not have been fully vaccinated, keep kittens and puppies isolated in pens or cages if not in their own environment as they're escape artists etc. Her extensive experience with licensing agents and publishing houses was insightful ... and not for the faint-hearted, so it seems! Thanks Rachael for taking the time to share your know-how, tips and techniques and giving us a peek into your world and workflow you follow to produce awesome animal shots.

I am a shelter photographer and also do some portraits of animals and their owners. We are usually rushed and working in cramped dark rooms, so it was exciting for me to see how you can work with animals a more relaxed way. I found Rachael's presentation most inspiring. I think she distills the experience down to the most important simple elements. I appreciated her patience in getting the right shot. I've watched every session twice now, and she has changed my approach significantly although I still have to settle for a less than relaxed animal lots of the time. A fabulous learning experience for me!

I purchased Rachael's class and was very impressed with her style of teaching and her patience with the animals. She took the time to explain many of her techniques and I learned a lot from her. I've had many requests to photograph people's pets and now I feel like I will know more what I'm doing. When you're in a teaching atmosphere, explaining to your students how and why you're doing things a certain way, it's easy to miss some shots. The fact that Creative Live invited her to teach this class shows the quality of her workmanship. Great job Rachael!

I enjoy Rachael's inspiration for dressing and presenting the animals and her post processing work along with the information on publishing, although a bit old method and not total relativant in today's market. As an Equine and rural lifestyle photographer, I felt her method of working with animals a bit to slow for the optimum shots. Animals like children get bored fast and I felt she spends to much time praising and talking to the animals. I saw many shots missed due to time not being ready with the camera when the animal is ready. I love her finished images but I find her process of achieving them way to slow. I work faster around animals and always camera ready when they arrive. Just my opinion and how I work, so I felt I did not get the ultimate value from this class.