In order to tell the story of pets and their unique behavior, I identify their routine. Every pet has one, no matter how small or normal it may seem to the pet’s family.
Usually there are one or more interesting things a pet repeats regularly. Once we figure out what that interesting activity is, I break it down further into little steps, then work on making pictures of each one. That way I distill behavior in single pictures.
Let’s make it more clear with an example.
Identify Interesting Activities
I watch the pet and listen to the family tell me about their behavior. Once a family starts consciously thinking about it, you’d be surprised how many little routines happen during everyday life.
For our example I will use Scout. When I arrived, we went out in the yard and Scout started running around the pool. So I watched her and asked her family about it. Turns out:
Scout loves to chase the pool sweep around the pool every day.
Okay, I thought, this is interesting but how can I tell that story in a way that is true to Scout specifically? Simply having Scout and the pool in one picture isn’t enough to tell that story. So I needed to further break down the action.
2. Break Down the Activity into Phases
I watch the action until I identify solid steps the pet repeats. Once I find these, I can start working on making photos of each of the steps to tell the story. The questions I ask myself to break down an action are:
What is the activity?
She runs around the pool.What is the goal of the activity?
To get close to the pool sweep, so she can catch the water whenever the sweep sprays some out of the pool.
In this example, the activity could go on and on but often there is a break or reset phase that is still part of the routine. So the next question is:
What happens during the break/reset phase? When Scout gets tired from running around, she finds a shady spot to watch from and rests before starting over.
3. Visualize each phase of the action
To tell the story, I quickly name each phase of the routine, so I can easily visualize them.
Running around the pool to get close to the sweep
Catching water
Watching/resting before starting over
These are the pictures I then work on making.
Quick Summary
Identify Interesting Activity
Break down the activity in individual phases
Name each phase for yourself to visualize possible photos
Work on making a photo for each phase without being too literal