Ferret Photography: The Chaos behind the Cute

While uploading some of my pictures to Boomertowne,  I had an ephipany.
My ferrets look like they are well behaved, orderly critters who just sit up and pose for me, who just beg to have one or two shots taken that turn out perfect.
Now, while some of you may think. . well that's a good ephipany to have Heather.  However, it's entirely out in left feild from the reality of a typical photo shoot with the carpet sharks.

Should I just let everyone believe my weasels are angels who are also camera hams?  No. . . doing so would be contrary to the essence of ferret.   Ferrets are chaos in the flesh, little imps with four leggs, kelptomaiacs in fur coats. 

Anyone who is not a ferret person would be quick to give up on getting a picture of these guys.  They are constantly on the move.  There is always Serious Weasel Business™ that needs to be attended to.  Socks need to be stolen and shoved into the box spring , shoe insoles need to be removed and hid in the closet,  books need to be pushed off the desk. . .wallets and keys need to be stashed in the couch really a ferret's day is too busy to spend much time with this human concept of 'attention' and 'stay still'

But as a ferret parent, I am constantly amused by their lack of concern for my desire to get a picture of them. 
"Oh look they ran off with the eggs!"  "Where'd Koko go? Oh he's in the bathroom destroying a roll of toilet paper?  Well I suppose it had it comming. . . "

Which is why group shots of my guys are limited to the single 'three in a row mug shot' I posted a while back, with Slinky giving me a senile "can I have a treat" expression and Koko and Chookie looking throughly unamused.  And it also so why I have to share some of my out takes from the Easter / Ostara photo shoot I did the other day.

"What basket? I don't see no basket. . . this material smells funny. . it's new. I have to smell every inch of it before I even THINK about looking at the basket. .  oh whats that? Aiden is in the corner? I have to go chase him. .. be back later"



"I give up.  I think I'm stuck."  (and he just sat there until I picked him up and moved him, after "un stucking him" he promptly stole an egg and went behind the couch)


Koko: "Yep. . this one looks good to take too"   Slinky: "I wonder whats at the bottom of the basket"

Slinky: "Koko and Chookie are youngins. . . they are being much too slow at taking the eggs.  I'm going to just take the whole basket. . . "

Slinky "Yep. . gravity still works."

Of course once Slinky pulled the basket off the chair, Koko and Chookie were happily waiting at the base of the chair to run off with the contents.   I picked a pile of the crinckle paper out of my shoes today before I left for class.   Paul said they had some in his boots, and in the bathtub.

Pet photography possibly my favorite 'section' of photography.   It's not just the perfect, cute shots I love, its the whole process.  The out takes, the way my pets interact with the props (and by interact I mean run away with and destroy heh) and it has just taught me to expect the unexpected, and that sometimes the not so perfect shots, tell the best stories.

For those interested, I just created a group that will focus on Pet Photography.  Not just candid snapshots, but rather planned photo shoots, and articles related to photographing our fuzzy friends.