Jill Shantz is a good friend and former boss of Brittany's, and after being a photographer for 16 years she is at that exciting place in her career in which she gets to do what she loves most; pet portraiture. Her photographs are award winning and continue to gain accolades from judges and clients alike. After years of portraiture with human subjects, Jill has decided to focus mainly on the four legged kind. We sat down with her and her furry family to chat about her love of animals, her photography history, and the difference in photographing pets compared to humans.

What got you into photography?

I was at the University and in my final semester and I took a history of photography class. I thought, “Hey that’s kinda cool, I wonder how you make that your career.” So I looked around and NAIT had a program.

And you learned on film, right? Do you still shoot film?

No, I haven’t shot a roll of film since 2004.

Do you miss it?

No. I don’t miss film. I spent a lot of time in the dark, working in the darkroom after school so I don’t miss it.

What work did you do before you started your own company?

I did darkroom work for a photographer in Sherwood Park for 5 years and did portraits on the side. Then I quit there and did darkroom work in my own space for other photographers and shot on the side. Then I worked at NAIT for 3 years shooting and I shot stuff on the side. Then I finally just stopped shooting on the side and shot for myself finally in 2007.

And what were the main things you photographed then?

I did portraiture. Right from the get go out of school I had no interest in weddings. I did the odd one but I never marketed myself after them. It was just portrait work. And then in 2008, I got serious about the animals.

What made you get into the pet photography?

Paused interview to laugh at Jill's cat sticking her face in our shoes. Jill explains that her cat, Maggie, has a foot fetish.

I just always have loved animals. I have a bigger love for animals than I do people. I can freely admit that. That’s where my passion is. When I see a humane society commercial on tv, I become enraged and need to help them. I freely admit I like animals more than most people.

They are easy to like.

They’re fun to photograph. And nobody complains about being fat or looking too old or wanting to retouch everything. They’re just who they are.

Is that the main difference between pet clients and human clients, their insecurities?

Well, part of it. There’s just something about them. I could look at an animal portrait all day and not get bored.

Why do you think pet photography is so popular? Do you think it’s gotten more popular lately?

I do think it’s gotten more popular. There’s always been people who have included their pets in their family portraits or have sought a professional portrait of their pets but I think the pet industry is increasing in all areas. There’s more pet stores, different styles of training, pet daycares, more rescue societies. Rescue societies are a fairly new concept. There’s always been the humane society, but more within the last 10 years really is when you’ve been seeing rescue societies come up. The pet industry in general is booming. I think also part of it is not everybody is buying into that typical lifestyle of the get married, have kids and have this whole little picket fence dream. There are people out there that go a different route, maybe they stay single, or they’re a couple with a pet and they have them for companionship. Pets are becoming more than just an animal you feed and put outside, they're family.

What does a typical pet shoot look like?

The location depends on what the client’s looking for, whether they want the studio look or in their home, more of a lifestyle look, or outside.

Do you have a preference?

Animals respond better in their own environment so I’d say my preference would be their own home or outside. The studio kind of wigs some of them out. So you can get their true personality a little easier outside. Especially cats. Cats definitely are better in their own home, in their own backyard. They don’t want to go somewhere, you can’t make a cat do anything.

I feel like cats would be really hard to photograph.

They are hard because you can’t make them sit and stay. Some will get cozy in a blanket and stay, but cats you mostly follow, like a toddler in that sense.

What other animals have you photographed that aren’t your typical pets?

I’ve photographed a tortoise before, and a ferret, birds, and horses. There was a couple of pot belly pigs in a family portrait. I think that’s the most exotic, otherwise it’s mostly dogs really. I photographed a sphinx cat, you don’t see those very often.

Tell us about your own pets.

Molly’s a rescued shorkie (shih tzu/yorkie) and has been with us for 4 and a half years. She was 2 and a half when we got her. She’s very shy, she doesn’t really like people until she gets to know you. If you talk to her, she gets growly and afraid but she’s not mean. She enjoys getting her portrait taken. She does a good sit and stay and she’s cute.

Maggie, my cat, she takes a pretty good photograph. In person, she’s kind of a scrawny, slinky, awkward kind of cat, (as she sticks her face all over Brittany’s shoe again) but she photographs really well. She sits for her portraits. She’s 16 years old. We got her from a pet store we were walking by. She was the only kitten in the cage and she was quite a homely kitten, her ears were too big for her head. We felt bad for her and we bought her right there and took her home.

And our other dog, Charlie, has been with us 5 months. He’s going to be 2 this summer. He’s a bit of a handful, very smart, he likes to squeeze through the cat door and eat the cat food, get on the kitchen counter when you’re not looking. He jumps straight up. He seems so chill but this happens when we leave. He has some anxiety, we don’t really know his history. We walk everyday… separately. They get along fine, they play great, but walking them together is not possible. They feed off each other’s energy, they get amped right up, nobody’s listening, they’re pulling. It’s like squirrel! Bird! They are fine with it, I’m not fine with it.

Do you have any events coming up?

I’ve had some meetings with SCARS (Second Chance Animal Rescue Society) about doing some stuff with them for their calendar. They’re one of the rescues that don’t utilize professional photographers as much as other ones do. Probably due to the fact that a lot of their animals are north of St. Albert, in Athabasca or in the Busby area. Some are fostered in the city too. The hope would be to kind of change the calendar so that they can make more money from it and so that it’s not just dog people buying it. It would have quality images and we’ve got some ideas that incorporate different subject matters with animals so the goal would not just be awareness for them, but to make more money and raise awareness for the animals that have been in their long term programs. There are some that are overlooked and there’s no reason for them to be. I think the subject we’re considering appeals to many and people beyond animal people will buy it.

I’m also working on a personal project with fellow Mini drivers and their pets.

What’s your goal with your pet photography?

I would like to do a book of some sort at some point. I’m not sure what that is yet.

You’re main focus is on your pet photography now. Do you miss other types?

Mainly that is my goal. I have a large existing clientele after 16 years of shooting, so there’s some people I did not ever want to see go away. There’s definitely still some business headshots and some family portraiture that I will continue to do. I mean pet photography and family portraiture go together anyway, naturally, and I have a lot of experience posing people so I will continue to use that.

BB Spotlight Jill Shantz