How fun are hound dogs?! I absolutely adore them. My favorite thing about a hound dog's expression is the character that comes through their eyes and ears. I can almost hear them responding to their name, "huh?" and it cracks me up every time. 

I want to share with you a few tricks I use to catch the droopiness of hounds at the right angle. Every time I photograph a dog, I catch "expressions" and I catch "in-between expressions". An in-between expression could be them licking their mouth, half closing their eyes or half yawning. Whatever it is, there is potential for great photographs in both expressions and in-between expressions. 

When people are photographed and in-between expressions are caught, they often want those photos deleted. However, when animals are caught in an in-between expression, it's often hilarious or exemplifies how that animals owner sees them in real life. 

Because many hound dogs have a longer face, I prefer to catch them at an angle rather than straight on, if I'm trying to photograph their whole face. It's important that I catch the elements that the particular owner loves about the dog, which often include eye expression, coat color, ear positioning and common breed giveaways. Common breed giveaways such as the profile view of a terrier (with the slight lift in the nose), the focused look of the herding dog, or the drool of the hound. 

These nuances are so critical to catch if you're going to help your viewer understand the character of that dog. Can you guess this hound dog's breed? I'll give you a hint: he is Italian! 

Duke was a blast to photograph in his owners back yard, and these are just a few angles I caught of his beautiful droopy face.