Things have changed a lot since I started my photography business Mutley’s Snaps 8 years ago.   The original idea was to take advantage of the beautiful Scottish scenery and capture dogs in it.  Who in their right mind would want to photograph dogs in the studio when you had lochs, forests, mountains and castles all on the doorstep?  Only problem was not factoring in the unpredictable weather, all four seasons in one day really isn’t that uncommon and you never know when it will hit.

After a year of struggling against the weather and on the verge of quitting, an offer of small studio space turned up. Taking on the studio space seemed like the last hope of keeping Mutley’s Snaps alive. So full of reservations and no formal training my boxer dogs, Bukowski and Aurora, were put in front of the studio lights and in that instant my life changed! 

Studio lighting made sense to me instinctively.  Keeping everything simple meant I could concentrate on the dogs’ personalities. Sure, when I started to work with other dogs in the studio I’d come across nervous ones, but I quickly learned ways of making it easier on them and how to make the experience fun for everyone.  Strangely I was at ease in the studio. I'm a worrier, life stressing me out, but in the studio I was completely at peace no matter what a session had in store for me – I found my happy place.

I quickly developed a style that was clean, bright, and contemporary. At this time Mutley’s Snaps really took off with a full diary and a worldwide following – which I still find really surreal.

All these years later my approach is even simpler, but the dogs are still firmly at the heart of it. Putting the dogs’ needs at the heart of everything I do allows the personality to shine through and that’s the real secret to studio dog photography, not the lighting!

The lochs and mountains still call but the studio will always be home, now more than 95% of my sessions are studio based.  Before when I said putting Buk and Aurora in front of the studio lights that first day changed my life I wasn’t exaggerating… I’m on my way to Vegas to teach others what I have learned!