Step into Jen Semmler’s photography studio and you might be greeted by a curious chorus of squawks and squeaks. Over the course of the three years she’s focused solely on dogs, a methodology has formed that she’s dubbed “tricks and treats.”
Those squeakers and squawkers allow her to get her subject’s attention so she can get the picture she wants. “It’s all done very fast, and the dogs have no idea what’s going on. But they’re happy. They get lots of treats, they just have no idea why,” Semmler says.
Before Semmler made dogs her primary focus, she spent 10 years photographing children and families, particularly high-end couture photo shoots featuring little girls in handmade designer gowns. But the niche was hard to market, and when a cheaper competitor entered the space, she pivoted.
As a passionate dog lover, who has three of her own—a Great Pyrenees named Apollo, an older female hound mix Adrian (after the love interest in Rocky), and Odie, a coon hound-labrador mix—Semmler decided to turn her focus to canines. Since no one in the area was doing dog photography, and she'd already taken portraits of dogs through the years for herself and friends, she decided to put her fine arts background to use.
Having worked with children previously as an educator and photographer, she started by trying music to set a calming mood. But she quickly realized that wouldn't work the same way for dogs. "I had to find that catching the dogs by surprise made them look better than when they were overly relaxed," she said. "The dogs are so happy, but they're alert, they straighten their bodies. When the dogs are feeling relaxed, they're hunchy, and it's not the best aesthetic."
"Getting that moment of excitement has led to the best results from them," she said. "I figured that out pretty quickly."
You wouldn't know it from the finished product, but while Semmler is shooting, the dogs' owners are usually right next to them, feeding treats and helping keep them entertained. Unless they want to be in the photo themselves, Semmler edits them out.
Semmler has four touchpoints with her clients, a process that takes time and care. First, there's a consultation, then the photo session itself, followed by an ordering appointment where she sits down with clients and guides them through the images, even showing them what the final artwork will look like to scale in photos of their own homes. Once the artwork arrives, Semmler delivers it directly to her clients.
Given her profession, Semmler gets to see and play with a variety of dogs during her sessions. "It's always so funny and so cute to see the different quirks dogs have," she said. "I had one come in where the owner had taught her to sneeze on command. It was a little dog with hair down to the floor, so when she sneezed, her hair was just whipping through the air." Another dog, a greyhound, knew how to bow on command.
But Semmler is also realistic that not all dogs are friendly, and she's open to working with them anyway. "Your dog just can't actively try to attack me," she said, noting she's held sessions with dogs who wear warning vests not to be petted. In those cases, the owner stays close by, along with another dog familiar to the subject, who serves as a calming intermediary.
This is one reason her pre-session consultation is so important. it's where she learns about a dog's personality and temperament ahead of time. "In between those barks and growls is a dog that's smiling," she said. "Those owners that have dogs that are more aggressive, that aren't able to do things they wanted to do with their dog in life, they get to see these portraits of their dogs being happy and friendly, the dogs they know at home. That can be emotional for them, which is very sweet. I like when I can help them with that."
She also does end-of-life sessions with dogs and their owners, which can be highly emotional. "A lot of times, the dog has passed by the time they come back in three weeks. They haven't seen these photos, and seeing those moments again helps bring them back to that time with their pet. It's very sweet to be able to give that back to someone," she said.
Semmler's business has grown largely through partnerships with local businesses and community spaces. She got her start doing a general model call at the Clothesline Festival three years ago, seeking out interesting breeds to photograph. Each year, she curates an art show at the Webster Public Library, now in its third year, displaying 17 canvases on the library's large art wall before the collection travels to the Henrietta library, and Junction361 in Fairport. Eventually, the art is disseminated to local veterinary offices and animal organizations, including Perinton Vet, Rochester Emergency Vet Services, Ruff Day Pet Resort, and The Village Vet.
Recently, she's also been working on a permanent display at the Fairport Public Library, themed around dogs and books, including a session with an elderly dog named French Toast styled with cookbooks and a pot, another dog wearing headphones to evoke an audiobook, and a "classics" shoot featuring leather pouches and public-domain literature.
Semmler has also partnered with ROC Dog, a therapy dog training organization, photographing four sessions of certified therapy dogs to help decorate their new training facility, a connection she made after noticing the space's bare walls on social media and reaching out directly. The collaboration inspired her to certify her own dog, Apollo, as a therapy dog. "I never knew there were so many places that used therapy dogs," she said.
The dog photographer also lends her talents to charitable causes. She's worked with Operation Freedom Ride, a dog rescue, over the years to help dogs that were struggling to get attention on social media. She also raises money for the rescue at local festivals like Canal Days, Clothesline, and Purple Painted Lady, where she hands out stickers made from her dog portraits, with any donations going directly to Operation Freedom Ride.
Semmler may run a business, but at her core, she's still a people person, or, more accurately, a dog person, whose first passion is working directly with her clients. “My goal isn’t to make perfect pictures, it’s to make a perfect picture of your dog,” she explains. “I’ve had some people ask me about buying artwork, but it’s not really the goal or the focus. The goal is to make art that people will have in their homes that they’ll cherish and love.”
For more information, visit jensemmlerphotography.com.