What a face

I shoot alot of dogs; all breeds, mixes, shapes and sizes.  One thing that I can consistently be heard saying is "what a face."  I say it about my own dogs and whenever I happen to see "a face."  Dogs can have very animated facial expressions.  Some have more than others; while some rarely give you anything other than stone face.  I love when I get home; open the files up and see that I did indeed capture "the face."  "What a face" can mean many different things.  For me it is an extreme facial expression which portrays an emotion; or what we see to be an emotion.  The emotion part of  "a face" is typically a human one; one that we see in a dogs eyes, head tilt, mouth and or tongue. 

Dude; you're ticking me off!

Freezing time at the exact moment of full expression is a hit and miss type of thing.  I'm always looking for "the look," but often I miss it.  When I've seen it but didn't capture it; I'm ticked off. 

So much can be read into a canine facial expression; sometimes what we see is simply soft and angelic.  Other faces are just funny; calling out for a one liner.  While many "faces" are just too cute for words; the ones that stir emotion in us just at a glance.  Awwwwwwwww; how cute is that face?  Honestly you would swear that some dogs are just trying to be cuter than belief. 

"This is disgusting;" gag looks are common.

I almost always catch the big bored yawn.  Right in the middle of the shoot; yep being a photo model is one tough job. 

There are the smiling faces; just happy to be.

I'm a little shy but would love you to throw my ball.

Then there are the tiny sleepy faces.  These ones don't need any work to be adorable; they are just as adorable as can be all on their own.