Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello and welcome, Mindy.
I'm super excited to record this episode with you.
Mindy: Thank you so much for inviting me to be on your podcast.
I'm thrilled.
Anke: And I'm super excited because you have a very interesting and very
particular angle to come at this topic.
So, but I don't want to kind of take, take away any of the, of the thunder.
So why don't you just start out like, let people know where
in this lovely world you are.
And so what's your business, dogs?
Mindy: Actually, I just moved a week ago, and I'm right now in Martha's Vineyard.
And, um, so for, in Massachusetts.
And, um, my business is Dogs I Meet.
And essentially I am a dog photographer and um, I love dogs.
I love photography.
And I thought, Hey, I'm going to make a business.
And ultimately what was important to me was to be doing something that I
felt, um, was, was benefiting dogs and, and the people that love them.
Um, so from a perspective of just.
People who, who have dogs, photographing them, um, is something special
because people don't think about it.
They don't think about having professional photos or, or pictures of their dog.
And, um, I speak from experience.
Um, it's something you will never be sorry.
Having photos that do justice to your dog and show their spirit.
You okay?
And show their spirit and their, and their light.
Um, or something that is really priceless.
Um, and also, For dogs that need homes, photography is so important, um, because,
um, people need to see dogs for what they are, um, and be able to see a dog
that they can envision in their home.
So a good photograph of a dog looking for a home is really important.
It could be the difference between them getting adopted or not.
Um, Organizations doing great work without photos people don't know or
situations that happen in in other places.
Um, I had an opportunity to go to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria
to document what was happening.
Um, you know, you hear about it, but seeing it So I, um, have found
a way to bridge dog advocacy with brand marketing, as well as, uh,
photography, you know, for advocacy.
Um, and, um, I do my best to, to, to do good with my photos.
I
Anke: love that.
I love that.
And I think the thing is, It's not easy to get a good shot of your dog.
You don't know what you're doing.
I've tried.
Mindy: It's true.
It is a specific, you know, um, specific niche in photography.
Um, and the, the, the real key is patience.
Um, I work on the dog schedule.
Um, I work around a dog's personality.
And, um, if you think about it from a dog's perspective, so number one,
if you want to take a good picture, you want to get down low and you
want to be on the dog's level.
We, uh, we often call it owner's angle because people take pictures from
above of their dog on the ground.
Well, that's not on the dog's.
That's not their perspective.
So the pictures that you're really drawn to, if you think about it,
they're at eye level with the dog.
So just a few pointers and patience.
You know, people are just like, I'm ready to take a photo.
It's the same thing with your kids and dogs are like.
I don't think so.
So, you know, you need to engage them, you need to motivate them,
um, and you just really need to kind of go on their, their time frame.
Um, so that's not so
Anke: true for everything, right?
Mindy: Exactly.
You know, and, and especially like When I have a big camera, the dog is just seeing
not my face, they're seeing the camera.
That's scary.
So I, before, generally before I will start photographing, I'll spend time,
I don't ever pick up the camera.
right away.
I want them to get a sense of they're safe.
It's, it's, it's okay.
Um, and a lot of times I'll just keep the camera at my side and
click it and give them a treat.
So they get a connection.
You use it as a clicker, right?
Right, exactly.
To, to, this is fun.
Um, you know, and I mean, it, it, it, it varies.
It depends on the type of photo shoot that I'm doing.
Um, you know, if I'm doing more of a documentary, you know, I don't.
I'm taking pictures in the moment, um, but again, I still, you know, I usually
will maintain some kind of eye contact.
Um, I'll tend to use a longer lens so I can keep a little bit more
distance and I'm not in the dog's face.
When I'm doing that.
So, you know, assess the situation and, and go with it from there.
Um, but to me, I just, you know, when you can see the spirit of
the dog in those photos and, and capture it, it's just priceless.
Anke: That is beautiful.
And to use it to tell a story, right?
Because it's not just that particular moment, especially when you say you go,
you know, you go into these shelters and you go into these different spaces.
Then, or, you know, like, or the, the, the veterinary, like the hospital, and
it's like, that's telling a whole story.
Mindy: Exactly.
The tagline, and I, I am obsessed with storytelling, um, so it's a big part, you
know, I, I don't consider it just a photo.
I consider an opportunity to tell a story or at least with photos,
what's interesting is you get to pick the story in your mind.
So you lead them to a place and then people see a photograph and it's,
you know, they finish the story.
in their, in their minds.
Um, but the tagline of my business is because every dog has a tail.
T A L A.
And I believe dogs have many, many tails.
Um, and they have their stories, they have the stories that they bring to us.
Um, just so many.
different things.
I recently did a project, um, for an organization called Paws for Patrick,
which is a wonderful organization that helps young people, um, with,
um, some mental health problems.
And they help them get ESA, emotional support animals, whether
it's a dog or a cat, and they sort of help them through the process.
And, um, Having these dogs or cats for the young people is a real lifeline.
Um, and I photographed one of their, their clients, which was a
young woman who had adopted a cat.
Um, and, um, the cat itself had, uh, it's a common known, it's a disorder
amongst, cats, but she loved that, that the cat also, you know, had,
had a problem and that she could help the cat, um, with that problem.
And it's just brought so much, she's just a great, Like so much calmer
and she loves the cat and I wish I should show you a picture of it.
I'll send it to you.
But I was able to photograph them and capture that bond along with the
whole story of, of the relationship and of the organization that
facilitated, you know, coming about.
And that was all, you know, through the lens of my camera.
It's
Anke: really one of those, you know, where, where you, where you think
of this, uh, you know, the picture, you know, is a thousand words or
like, I think that really just pops to mind because it illustrates or
it's that it gives that story that.
So what, what would you say was your favorite project or, you know,
where you think like, what was the most heartwarming, uh, client or
story you've ever, you've ever done?
Mindy: There's been so many, there really has.
There is one, well, there's more than one, but that, that
stands out in, in, in my mind.
Um, one was a woman that hired me to, uh, as a, to photograph her and her
husband's dog was really her husband's dog and she knew that the dog didn't
have long and that she didn't think he was going to do well the husband was
going to do well when the dog passed so she wanted me to photograph for the dog
and uh it was December and we actually the dog's favorite place was the beach
Massachusetts so it was cold but it was like the stars aligned that day and it
was a beautiful spring like day and um the dog You know, kind of like perked up
and I, I got these magnificent photos.
Like you could just see the love, um, between the family
and them carrying the dog.
And, and I did the best I could to make sure that, um, the dog, I, I
honored the dog and made him look as.
strong and healthy, uh, you know, as possible.
And, um, the dog passed away a couple of days after that photo shoot.
Um, and the people were just so grateful, um, you know, for, for the photos.
And, um, so that one in particular stays in my mind.
And honestly, so many, I went to a neuter clinic once and, um, in
Mexico and They, they neutered like 1, 500 dogs over five days.
And there was one dog that wandered in.
It didn't have an owner.
It just, I guess it smelled the food and saw the people and the veterinarians
realized the dog needed to be neutered.
So the poor dog wandered in for a snack and wound up getting neutered.
But it came back every day.
to the, and hung out at the clinic.
And I don't know, there was just something about that dog.
It was just like such a connection that, that I had with the dog.
And then it was crazy because, um, one of the days I wasn't at
the clinic at the time, I was in town that wasn't even close to it.
And I saw the dog.
And I was just like, I actually ran in and tried to buy food and feed
the dog, but the dog stayed with me.
And that dog has honestly been my inspiration, um, to
work with spay neuter clinics.
And I have gone on working with nonprofits and so forth to raise
probably tens of thousands of dollars.
And it was that dog.
Wow.
Anke: That's incredible.
That's incredible.
And so, so tell me a little bit about these adoption photos, because I
don't know, like that's, Like I've seen it makes such a difference.
Like there is an Instagram account that I sometimes come across
where they kind of taste this.
They often have these before and after pictures, you know, like
this was the intake photo and you see some scared creature in some
cage, you know, some ugly cage.
And then you see this little goofball like, you know, when they have this
Professional photoshoot and it's like it makes, I mean, are there any,
uh, numbers or, I mean, I don't know if we even need numbers to say like
how much more likely it is for a dog to get adopted with a decent photo.
Mindy: It's, it's, it's huge.
It literally is the difference between life and death.
A photo like that, um, I, I use the example of not everybody has the
ability to, to, to visualize, um, you know, a dog that's sad and scared is
gonna be that same dog that they're gonna love more than anything.
Um, just like if you walk into a house, some people can say, oh yeah, I
know, I can do this and I can do that.
And they see it.
And other people just say.
That they just see what they see.
Um, so that's why it's so, so important.
These photos make all the difference to these dogs.
Um, and what one example, um, I recently did a photo shoot, um, for, um, a hotel in
New York and I used as my dog models, um, two, uh, different dogs that needed to be.
had been in the adoption system, so to speak, for six, seven months.
One of the dogs, um, was, was a senior dog and the rescue was doing great work.
It was being fostered, trying to get the dog adopted, and it was the sweetest
dog with a wonderful personality, but it just wasn't getting And I took photos
of it, um, you know, in a dog friendly hotel and it was, they, they were, you
know, funny, sweet and, and you can really kind of see the dog's personality.
And the dog still didn't get adopted right afterwards.
Um, but there's an organization called Susie Seniors.
I don't know if you know about them.
Um, they also do wonderful work and they feature dogs that.
need to find a home and are senior dogs.
Um, so the rescue reached out to Susie Senior and asked them,
actually that was where I found the dog, was on Susie Seniors.
So they reached out to them again and asked them to please, you
know, do another, um, feature of the dog, and they used my photos.
Um, and the story was, was that the dog, Huck was his name, didn't get
adopted the first time around, but a photographer saw it and used the dog
in the, you know, for this photo shoot.
And the dog got adopted, and someone said, I saw that photo, and it spoke to
me, and I knew that that dog was for me.
And I, Recently, uh, the rescue sent me a whole batch of photos and
just said, can't thank you enough.
You know, um, and I was just like, oh, that's what it's
Anke: all about.
Isn't that like, it's that that piece is like, oh, and it is like that, you know,
once sometimes like you see it, look at a photo and it just speaks to you.
And that's, yeah.
Oh, that's, that's so beautiful.
And it's funny that you kind of like this.
When people walk into a house, I experienced that with the dress making.
You know, some people would go and, and see a roll of fabric,
like, you know, obviously like me.
Yeah.
But sometimes clients as well, they see a roll of fabric
and we'd go like, oh my God.
Because in, in your mind, you already see the dress and all
the things you can do with it.
Most people Oh, okay.
Until they see the thing almost finished, they cannot picture it.
And it's the same thing.
Right.
Mindy: So the power of photography is just a very, very powerful, um,
medium and, and more so, I mean, I, I know, and, and video is wonderful.
Um, video is sort of the rage.
Now, more so than stills, but there is something about a still
photograph that just draws you in and, and, and speaks to you.
Yeah.
I
Anke: think that I don't think photos and videos really compete.
It's just a different medium.
True, true.
There's nothing
Mindy: just like that one moment captured, you know.
Yeah, it does it.
That's the thing about it.
It's a, it's a moment in time that gets frozen and even children, if you sometimes
children have their early memories.
It's not them.
They don't have a memory.
It's the photo.
That they've seen as they got older becomes their memory.
Um, you know, so it's, it's really interesting
Anke: Yeah.
That, that, yeah, totally.
Totally.
So where can people go and find out more about you?
Where can they connect with
Mindy: you?
Where can they hire you?
Um, so it's pretty simple.
The name of my business is Dogs.
I meet MEET.
Uh, my website is Dogs I meet.com.
Uh, my Instagram is at Dogs.
I meet.
My email is hello at dogs.
I meet and my Facebook is dogs.
I meet my LinkedIn is under my name Mindy Dutka reach out Email me
direct message me call me you know and Love to talk with you work with
Anke: you Thank you, thank you so much for coming Yeah, that's
just It's just heartwarming to see what can be done and when it's
all applied in this beautiful way.
I just love it.
Thank you.
Mindy: Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me on your show.
Thanks so much for listening.
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Email me at Anke.
That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.