Lorraine's first "photo shoot" (and I use the term loosely)
x-posted in corgilove
Well, as I mentioned here, I was going to get Lorraine's picture taken at the Walgreens Pet Photo event. It was somewhat of a disappointment.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the photographer was one of the regular Walgreens staff, and not a professional. I mean, for this price I can't really expect quality. And it would have been nice if Lorraine would have cooperated by sitting on the gosh-darn blanket. But, really. When your corporate headquarters decides to have a promotion, wouldn't it be nice to have it ready, in case someone actually shows up??
No joke. I arrived at 11 AM, or slightly later. They were not set up, they had no signage, it looked like NOTHING was going on. Apparently the shift manager decided that the weather was bad enough that no one would show-- yeah, it was overcast, and it had been raining a bit and rain was in the forecast, but for the time slot of the event (and a good hour before and at least an hour after), the weather was rain-free and the sun would break out at times. You can't just assume people won't show up under these circumstances, y'know?
Because I really wanted to do this, I waited about 45 minutes for the Walgreens staff to get the photo area set up. And I kept thinking "this is the most disorganized event like this I have ever attended." Never mind that this was also the first event like this that I have ever attended. Sigh.
Then Lorraine did not want to go anywhere near the blanket, which they had laid on the ground as a backdrop for pets to sit on. They actually had this huge (for Lorraine) fluffy fleece pillow thing. She would have nothing to do with that, either. I was wondering who this dog was, who was suddenly spurning soft surfaces? She loves to lie down on soft things. It's the first thing she will stake out in any new environment. But no, she actively avoided the pillow, and when I removed it, the blanket. Wow.
She was also extremely excited, and so she was ... less responsive to commands than she normally is. I was able to take off the leash, and she stayed right by me, but she wouldn't stay seated or faced in the direction of the camera, despite commands and enticements with treats and toys. However, we eventually got some photos.
This photo just really represents the overall experience:
What, Mom? Am I supposed to look somewhere?
She just did not want to be properly positioned...
I'll just lie down here and watch the birds in the parking lot...
But finally, we got a shot that I was able to crop down to something I thought was pretty cute.
Yes, I am a glamorous pup.
But since the staff member just didn't know what she was doing with the camera, I didn't get any close-ups of Lorraine. Which meant that the best full-face portrait was cropped down, and wound up looking like this:
I'm so HAPPY!!
I guess it's not bad at this size, but you can't blow it up much larger than 4 x 6, and that might be pushing it.
Actually, considering the lack of organization, the uncooperative pup, and the inexperienced "photographer", things went amazingly well. The only thing I am irritated with about the photos now is something I didn't notice at the time-- the bandanna I made for Lorraine is not showing up very well in the pictures. Oh, well.
Since the shift manager didn't seem to have a grasp of what this event/promotion was supposed to entail, I got more photos than I probably should have. Instead of paying the flat $5.99, I was able to pay a discounted rate on as many photos as I wanted, including greeting cards and the CD. I wound up touching these all up in Photoshop when I got home, if only because Lorraine shed on the "red carpet". If you want to look at all of them, click on one of the pics to get to my Flickr set.
I am a bit apprehensive, since I'm not sure if Delta Society and Best Friends Animal Society will get the donations that they are supposed to. I didn't get any of the other promised "goodies", but I wasn't going to worry about that. My big concern with the photo shoot was the lack of awareness/familiarity of the details by the Walgreens staff. I will be following up with the store manager on Monday, if not earlier.
Oh well. Feel free to share your Walgreens Pet Photo experience, if you did this. I guess you get what you pay for, right? *g*
Well, as I mentioned here, I was going to get Lorraine's picture taken at the Walgreens Pet Photo event. It was somewhat of a disappointment.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the photographer was one of the regular Walgreens staff, and not a professional. I mean, for this price I can't really expect quality. And it would have been nice if Lorraine would have cooperated by sitting on the gosh-darn blanket. But, really. When your corporate headquarters decides to have a promotion, wouldn't it be nice to have it ready, in case someone actually shows up??
No joke. I arrived at 11 AM, or slightly later. They were not set up, they had no signage, it looked like NOTHING was going on. Apparently the shift manager decided that the weather was bad enough that no one would show-- yeah, it was overcast, and it had been raining a bit and rain was in the forecast, but for the time slot of the event (and a good hour before and at least an hour after), the weather was rain-free and the sun would break out at times. You can't just assume people won't show up under these circumstances, y'know?
Because I really wanted to do this, I waited about 45 minutes for the Walgreens staff to get the photo area set up. And I kept thinking "this is the most disorganized event like this I have ever attended." Never mind that this was also the first event like this that I have ever attended. Sigh.
Then Lorraine did not want to go anywhere near the blanket, which they had laid on the ground as a backdrop for pets to sit on. They actually had this huge (for Lorraine) fluffy fleece pillow thing. She would have nothing to do with that, either. I was wondering who this dog was, who was suddenly spurning soft surfaces? She loves to lie down on soft things. It's the first thing she will stake out in any new environment. But no, she actively avoided the pillow, and when I removed it, the blanket. Wow.
She was also extremely excited, and so she was ... less responsive to commands than she normally is. I was able to take off the leash, and she stayed right by me, but she wouldn't stay seated or faced in the direction of the camera, despite commands and enticements with treats and toys. However, we eventually got some photos.
This photo just really represents the overall experience:
What, Mom? Am I supposed to look somewhere?
She just did not want to be properly positioned...
I'll just lie down here and watch the birds in the parking lot...
But finally, we got a shot that I was able to crop down to something I thought was pretty cute.
Yes, I am a glamorous pup.
But since the staff member just didn't know what she was doing with the camera, I didn't get any close-ups of Lorraine. Which meant that the best full-face portrait was cropped down, and wound up looking like this:
I'm so HAPPY!!
I guess it's not bad at this size, but you can't blow it up much larger than 4 x 6, and that might be pushing it.
Actually, considering the lack of organization, the uncooperative pup, and the inexperienced "photographer", things went amazingly well. The only thing I am irritated with about the photos now is something I didn't notice at the time-- the bandanna I made for Lorraine is not showing up very well in the pictures. Oh, well.
Since the shift manager didn't seem to have a grasp of what this event/promotion was supposed to entail, I got more photos than I probably should have. Instead of paying the flat $5.99, I was able to pay a discounted rate on as many photos as I wanted, including greeting cards and the CD. I wound up touching these all up in Photoshop when I got home, if only because Lorraine shed on the "red carpet". If you want to look at all of them, click on one of the pics to get to my Flickr set.
I am a bit apprehensive, since I'm not sure if Delta Society and Best Friends Animal Society will get the donations that they are supposed to. I didn't get any of the other promised "goodies", but I wasn't going to worry about that. My big concern with the photo shoot was the lack of awareness/familiarity of the details by the Walgreens staff. I will be following up with the store manager on Monday, if not earlier.
Oh well. Feel free to share your Walgreens Pet Photo experience, if you did this. I guess you get what you pay for, right? *g*