Terri Saunders asked: "I have a 19 month old Weim "Gunner". Got him when he was 6 weeks old. Loves the camera. When you were filming the Weims what age did you find it easiest to work with them and what did you use for motivation? How long are/were their attention spans when filming. They are such an intelligent breed."
WW answers: When I photographed 6 week old puppies for my Cinderella book, I went crazy trying to get them to behave. After a few days of frantic attempts it dawned on me: puppies at this age all fall asleep and awake at the same time, together. If I set them in position just before or right after sleeping they stay right in place.
With adult dogs I find most of them easy to work with, but occasionally one's patience is tested. My dog Candy is very agile. She likes to be chosen to pose but finds a way to alight just before the shutter is snapped.
Film and video require different strategies. For instance it is very difficult to get multiple dogs to look in different directions simultaneously. When one is called they all look in the same direction. There was a scene in the Hardly Boys where Batty and Crooky were called upon to do this while inside the evil caretakers cabin. They hear a sound. They look up down this way and that. What they actually were responding to was pebbles rolling down the roof on four sides.
--WW
Do you have question for William Wegman? Leave your question in the comments!
Check back tomorrow at 3pm eastern for an exciting announcement from William Wegman studio!
Hedy Pardey asks:
Dear Mr.Wegman,
do you only strictly keep to weimaraners? Are you tempted by any other breeds?
Do you find the females easier to handle/photograph than the males? Is there much difference in the sexes?
What are your opinions on long tails?
thanking you for your blog.