Documenting Daisy: One Photographer’s Search for a Dog… on Set
When I came into work Wednesday of last week, I could tell something was up. One photographer was setting up for a shoot and seemed to have misplaced one key element: the model.
I quietly sat at my desk at the back of the studio, not wanting to infringe upon the photographer in her natural habitat. And out of the corner of my eye, I observed. At one moment, she seemed hopeful. Amongst the shag rug, furry scarves and blankets — is that a paw? Perhaps. But perhaps it’s just a fold in the rug. There’s no way to be sure.
Minutes later, hopelessness. Once again, Daisy the well-documented wheaten terrier was nowhere to be found. I noticed the photographer comparing herself to the dog moms on Instagram who have no trouble photographing their pups. What on earth could be going wrong with this simple photo shoot?
As the day wore on, I could sense the photographer’s bewilderment at her own apparent loss of vision. How she could lose sight of her main subject? Her entire calling in life centers around the fact that she, and she alone, can best capture her subject, no matter what setting.
Onlookers stopped into the studio every so often, complimenting the photographer on her ability to capture Daisy so beautifully. And yet that very photographer still could not see this dog.
Though I could see the wheaten from my desk, I knew better than to intrude. This search was one that the photographer needed to resolve on her own.
