Dana Cubbage Photography of Charleston, South Carolina offers fresh, funky and fun pet photography and brilliant industry insights. Keep reading for more from her beautiful portfolio and her awesome business tips!

1) Who are your pets?
Camden (Golden Retriever), Brady (Golden Retriever) and Beckham (Lab/Pit Bull Mix)

2)  What did you study in school?
Bachelor of Science in Business Management, MBA with a concentration in Business Management.  I am a self-taught photographer.

3) How long have you been a professional photographer?
For 2 years. I started my business in January 2011.

4) What is your favourite camera and lens?
Canon 5D Mark III and 50 1.2L lens. (Pssst! Dana runs an amazing photography gear column on her blog!)

5) What has been your most memorable pet photoshoot to date?
I recently did a photo shoot at Folly Beach here in Charleston, South Carolina with a miniature dachshund puppy named Oscar.  He was TINY – only three pounds or so. It was a challenge to keep his attention and move myself into the right position to capture some great shots of him, but finally, at the end of our session, I got the PERFECT photo of him that his parents adore.  It’s one of my favorite photos of all time now!

6) What is your greatest professional challenge or triumph? 
My greatest triumph is that I am able to help other photographers who are just starting out in the pet photography industry.  When I was first starting out, there weren’t a lot of resources and information on pet photography, so a lot of what I’ve done with my business was learned through trial and error.

I love to blog and so I use that as a tool to talk about what has worked for me, what hasn’t, and anything else I can think of that might help someone else out.  I’ve gotten such positive feedback and support from fellow pet photographers and it makes me feel great to be able to help grow the pet photography industry.

7) What has been the greatest lesson taught to you by a pet?
My pets have taught me the value of patience and loyalty.  They are my pride and joy, my therapists, my best friends.  Pet photography is all about being patient and waiting for great moments to unfold naturally, so I have learned great patience through living with and photographing them.

8) What advice would you give to someone wishing to start a pet photography business? 
Practice, practice, practice until you are confident enough in your skills to charge money for your services.  Read anything and everything you can about owning a small business.  Do things right from the start and set yourself up for success – get legal, set your business practices early, and be professional.  Ask questions of industry leaders, consider hiring a mentor if needed, always be willing to help others, and pay it forward.  Together, we can grow this industry!

9) Presently on Dana’s wishlist…

10) Do you have any new year’s resolutions?
To find a better work/life balance and to really take time to enjoy my first full year as a full-time photographer!


11) What is something you would like to see happen/change in the pet world in 2013?
I’d LOVE to see BSL become a thing of the past.  I am a big time pit bull lover/advocate and it makes me so sad to see such ignorance and hate towards this breed.  There needs to be a crackdown on animal abuse and dog fighting, as these poor animals cannot defend themselves or speak up about what they go through.  It’s time to start focusing on the real problem — the people who do this to the dogs.

12) Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you so much for interviewing me!

Thank you Dana for taking the time to chat with me and for running such an informative blog! Be sure to follow Dana’s latest work on Facebook and Twitter!