Dog photography with Flick’s three working cocker spaniels

November 2020 update: The above portrait has just been given the Silver Award by the Master Photographers Association (MPA) in the most recent monthly pet photography competition.

Ray Lowe, Chairman of the MPA, commented, “This one I think is absolutely gorgeous. I love the composition, I love the whole layout and feel of this image, I love the bright, airy feel, [and] the environment.

“You’re showing me where it’s taken, you’re showing the expanse, you’re giving me a feeling of being there and I love the way the path drifts off in the background to give it that depth. [Yet] there’s nothing in the background that’s distracting… all I want to do is look at the dogs and appreciate how much control you or the owners have got over the dogs. The sharpness on the dogs is beautiful – an absolutely gorgeous Silver Award this month so well done.”

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Flick’s three working cocker spaniels are the true loves of her life. Maggie, 13, is the founder of the trio. Flick got her after having so many good experiences of growing up with a cocker spaniel in the family. They are an intelligent breed, Flick tells me, with plenty of energy and affection. Maggie is also incredibly loyal, following Flick closely like a shadow throughout our dog photoshoot together.

Then there’s Ruby, Maggie’s daughter. She loves nothing more than cuddling up on the sofa with Flick, nudging the other two out of the way so she gets all the attention. Scarlet is Ruby’s daughter. Both of them were bred by Flick, who works as an equine breeder, creating the next generation of race-winners (when she’s not busy winning GT3 competitions, that is!).

At three years’ old, Scarlet is still puppyish, full of energy and the cheekiest of the three. Flick tells me that having her has been double the work compared to the other two! Luckily she’s cute enough to be well worth it, tilting those big eyes and silky smooth ears to get out of trouble.

Flick’s last photoshoot was when only Maggie and Ruby were around, so she wanted to update her portraits to include Scarlet. In addition, Flick has albums full of photos of the dogs, but very few with herself in, too, capturing the connection between them.

That’s because Flick is a keen photographer herself. She invested in a Canon 70D a few years ago, just before an epic safari trip, and hired a top spec zoom lens to enable her to crop in close to any wildlife she spotted. The tour guide showed Flick how to control her camera, and the trip resulted in some of Flick’s favourite wildlife portraits. She captured crocodiles, giraffes, and leopards; even a matriarch leopard shooing her daughter out of the mother’s territory.

There are no territorial disputes between the girls in Flick’s gang, however: Ruby and Scarlet spent most of our dog photoshoot running alongside each other, shoulder to shoulder, occasionally scampering off into the undergrowth together.

Meanwhile grandma Maggie is the disciplinarian, keeping young Scarlet in line while Ruby takes more of a laid-back approach to parenting.

That maternal instinct continues even when the gang get home: Maggie licks Ruby’s paws clean and Ruby licks Scarlet’s.

Then it’s off to the sofa to snuggle up with their absolute favourite human, Flick, who they are just as madly in love with as she is with them. 🙂

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If you’re interested in dog photography in Bicester or Oxfordshire, please get in contact.

Sarah Plater LMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional portrait and dog photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire. She is the Master Photographers Association Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire).