The gift.
It's the beginning of February, Murphy is moving in with us in the next few days, Martina calls me and says she has a birthday present for me. Normally we don't give each other gifts, but it's a big round one, she says! And she can already guess how thrilled I'll be:
a photo shoot with Paul Croes and Inge Nelis.
I nearly jump out of my skin on the phone and gasp for air, I'm that excited! Martina has already pencilled in a date: the Tuesday after Easter in Weiz. Vienna would be closer, but is already fully booked.
That's the only appointment where we could both make it work, and our wish to have our darlings professionally photographed in the best possible light is huge.
All 4 at once if possible!
The preparations.
Scheduling the appointment.
I check the calendar and: "Oh my God, I can't make it. My colleague is on holiday!" I explain the situation to her and because she's my dearest Andrea, she comes back to the office a day early. I get the time off and can book a hotel room for the six of us. The shoot takes place at Hotel Ederer in Styria, so I send an email straight away and get confirmation that we two girls are welcome to stay there with our four furry boys.
The worries.
Murphy will be exactly 4 months old at the time of the photo shoot and it will be his first overnight stay away from home. Questions like "Will he let us know in the hotel when he needs to go out?" and "Will he enjoy the shoot or will it stress him out?" run through my head beforehand. Martina is also wondering whether Tiago will warm up to Paul, since the little Spaniard can get quite intimidated by certain men. We just don't know what he's been through in the past.
Atlas and Che are practically seasoned model pros by now, so we don't need to worry about our two "seniors" at all.
Read about our 1st animal photo shoot here.
The packing list.
What do we need to bring? Quite a lot, even though we're only away for one night.
Starting with our own outfits, which naturally take a lot of time, thought and money to sort out, then there's all the dog stuff — beds, food, collars, harnesses and leads. For Murphy we also need to pack a travel crate for the journey; Che can be buckled in with his harness. Atlas and Tiago travel in the spacious boot.
The journey there.
On Easter Monday Martina picks me up in Baden in the morning. Once we've packed everyone and everything into the car, it looks as though we're heading off for at least a week. Martina drives at a comfortable, safe pace along the southern motorway and we arrive at our destination just before noon.
The accommodation.
Hotel Ederer is beautifully situated on the Weizberg hill next to the pilgrimage church. We're greeted by a black Labrador, whom Che naturally has to bark at straight away to make it clear that he's now the one in charge. We manage "nevertheless" to reach reception without any incidents and can check into our modern room on the first floor.
Since a private function is being held at the hotel on this public holiday, we only get to enjoy the excellent hotel kitchen on the day of the shoot itself (both at breakfast and at lunch the dogs were allowed to join us in the cosy dining room).
The surroundings.
So we stroll through the area in search of a restaurant. Unfortunately, at lunchtime every pub that's open is fully reserved, so we wander past cows, peacocks, little streams and green meadows with slightly rumbling stomachs. We refuse to let it dampen our spirits and really enjoy the scenery of the green Styrian countryside. After exploring the village we decide to grab a snack from the nearest petrol station and eat it in our room while the dogs also munch away contentedly. Then we relax for a while, even if Murphy and Tiago have other ideas and would rather play. Atlas is simply relieved that Murphy is distracted, and Che enjoys being fussed over by me.
For the evening, Martina has already arranged a meet-up with her friend Petra in Gleisdorf. Together with the dogs we drive to a restaurant and round off the evening with lovely conversation.
The shoot day.
Getting acquainted.
We start after breakfast at 10 o'clock in a room with natural light, where one section has been blacked out and converted into a photo studio. Inge and Paul ask us to let the dogs loose so they can explore the studio on their own terms. The two Belgians are a wonderfully warm couple who work together seamlessly and come across as completely authentic. Paul explains that we as owners should stay in the background so we don't influence the four dogs' expressions and body language — the animals' characters should be captured as naturally as possible. Inge engages with the dogs, builds trust with them, and gently guides them into the right poses and positions. All kinds of treats are used to work with: cheese, sausage, and spreadable sausage for the little gluttons.
The models.
As expected, Atlas and Che behave like two old hands at the shoot, completely unfazed by the constant barrage of flashes. After the first few rounds, Murphy truly blossoms into a born performer — he keeps wanting to push to the front, right up to the studio light and to Inge and her wonderful treats! I have to keep him on the lead during his breaks so he doesn't crash the other scenes... Tiago is a little wary at first. Not because of Paul, who spends about 95% of the time working flat on the ground, but more because of the sound of the flash. Since Tiago keeps looking to Martina for reassurance, she gets a seat right at the front by the set-up. With that in place, even the Spanish rescue finds his confidence, and some truly lovely shots come together.
The Schedule.
The photo shoot spans the whole day — the dogs are photographed on their own, but also paired with flowers, soap bubbles, a tree trunk, a chest and a board. A few breaks on the dog meadow in front of the hotel let everyone clear their heads and keep the pups relaxed and having fun. At lunchtime we treat ourselves to delicious food from the kitchen of Hotel Ederer. We learn more about Paul and Inge, share plenty of laughs, and feel well-fuelled for the afternoon session.
The Result.
The shutter was pressed several thousand times. Since Paul and Inge still had more stops on their tour and, of course, countless images waiting to be edited, we too had to be a little patient.
But the result of hundreds of photos more than made up for the wait! We'd love to wallpaper our entire home with them.
Here we go: all 4 together!
This "family portrait" took quite a few attempts! When the Frenchies were sitting nicely, one of the two Galgos decided it was time to step back off the board. And when the sighthounds were perfectly in position, Murphy stood up and wanted to wind up Atlas. In the end, though, we got the shot!
Behind Eyes Animal Photography in Studio
Paul Croes, the photographer.
Inge Nelis, the creative assistant.
Animal photographer since 2010.
15 years in fashion photography before that.
Photo shoots at his personal studio in Belgium.
Studio on Tour in Austria, Germany, Italy, USA etc.
You'll find the tour dates on the Facebook page.
In the albums you can see more of Paul and Inge's work.
