Pet parents love to post photos of their furry family members.
According to a global study, one in four pet owners has created social media accounts for their cats or dogs, and many of these accounts have more followers than the owners’ personal accounts.
Cassie Latta-Johnson knows this about pet parents, and for the past 11 years, has helped capture the beauty of pets in Nova Scotia through their business, Wet Nose Images.
‘Your dog’s favourite photographer’ is proudly displayed on the opening page of Cassie’s website. Wet Nose Images allows them to blend two of the things they love most in the world: photography and pets. As they began the interview for this article, their 12-year-old dog Ruby was dancing around the room, happy to be near her favourite human.
“I have loved animals forever,” Cassie said. “As a child, I would offer my pet babysitting services to everyone.”
As a teen, Cassie found their love of photography via a digital camera.
“Getting my hands on a digital camera meant that photography was so much more accessible than it was before. I didn’t have to buy film, and I didn’t have to wait for my parents to get the film developed and printed either.”
As they processed the idea of having a career in photography, the most common genres at the time were not the kind of images they wanted to capture. “It was a lot of wedding photos and newborn photography. I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do.”
Enrolling in the photography program at NSCC taught Cassie the professionalism of photography through classes on studio work and how to run a business. With the support of both their partner and roommate, Cassie opened Wet Nose Images before starting the second year of the course.
“We weren’t taught pet photography, so I did that research on my own outside of the program,” they said. “But the education on studio lighting, branding, and overall marketing of yourself as a photographer was so helpful.”
Cassie is open to taking pictures of any animal, but if you are scrolling through social media, you know the style that is Wet Nose Images, and that dogs are the main stars.
“I have taken photos of horses, lizards, even a pig, but dogs are the main pet that I get hired for,” Cassie said.
Working with pet parents, Cassie learns about the animal in a pre-shoot meeting and finds out where the animal’s happy place is. ‘If we go somewhere that the dog likes to go, and is comfortable, then their behaviour is calmer and happier, and it makes the session so much more successful.”
Of course, Cassie also has tricks up their sleeve. “I have two different hunting whistles, one that is deep and one that is high-pitched. I also have the squeaker from inside a dog toy.”
When you mix beautiful locations – beaches, parks – with the right camera lens and perfect timing, the result can be magical images that amaze pet parents.
“I hear all the time, ‘How did you get this shot?’ because animals are always moving or distracted,” Cassie said. “Patience is required as a pet photographer because I can’t always ask the animal to stand here or look here. I need to be prepared, which is why the pre-shoot meeting to learn about the pet is just as important as the tools I use.”
Over the past few years, Cassie has been using their talent to not only capture beautiful pet portraits, but to give back to help animals waiting for their new loving families, by supporting the Nova Scotia SPCA. The relationship started at an appropriate place: The Doggie Expo. “I met Taylor Huestis, who works in fundraising at the SPCA, she stopped by to introduce herself, and we had a nice chat. She is so passionate about the organization! She followed up a few months later, and that was when we planned our first event together. We have done a few Christmas events that took place inside the Halifax Shopping Centre; they gave us special permission to bring dogs inside, one at a time, just for these portraits. That all started in 2018.” For the past few years, over two weekends during the annual Evergreen Festival on the Halifax boardwalk, Cassie and the organizers give pet families a chance for a quick mini-shoot for free, in a staged shipping container, and ask that, instead of a price for the digital prints, a donation be made to the Nova Scotia SPCA. Funds raised from this event help with animal care costs in the shelter and through the programs the SPCA offers.
“I have a great relationship with the SPCA, and I am happy to help so the organization can keep doing the work that they do. I could not get through the approximately 300 pets I photograph without my awesome assistant Kim and the SPCA volunteers,” says Cassie.
The Evergreen Festival is a great no-barrier-to-entry event to get a photo, which many dogs, some cats, and even once, a pet chicken, have done. And the Nova Scotia SPCA is grateful to have Cassie as a supporter using their talent to help animals in need of care.