My Pet Chicken Blog

It was time for my hens’ first official chicken photography session.  My good friend, Laurel, who does not own chickens, stopped by to photograph my lovely flock of adult hens and my newest arrival of baby chicks.

Perdy, posing pretty for the camera – photo taken by Laurel

My hens were very happy to see her that morning, not because they were getting their pictures taken by an experienced photographer, but because they were free to roam the backyard early in the morning.  They are not used to being let loose to eat grass, weeds, and bugs till late afternoon.   What excitement and joy to be free so early!

Laurel, trying to gain the trust of a pretty Wheaten Ameraucana

I left Laurel alone to complete the chicken photography session, after she assured me she would be fine and would just follow the hens around the yard on her own.   Our backyard is quite large and she did a lot of following.  Laurel discovered hens are much more difficult to photograph than the roosters she had previously photographed at a local historic park.  Hens are in constant motion and don’t stand still for photos, while the proud, vain roosters had posed nicely for her.

When the outdoor chicken photography session was over, I decided to give the hens a reward for a job well done and called them over.  Poor Laurel.  When she saw the chickens start running towards me in excitement, she exclaimed. “You didn’t tell me chickens will come when called!”

Reward for a job well done

My happy flock enjoyed their treat of scratch and Laurel and I went indoors to conduct a photo session for my new baby chicks.   I had just received my 4th order of chicks from My Pet Chicken (and my first silkies ever!) the day before, so these babies were less than 1 week old.

Laurel had brought with her a little studio and props.  We made sure to keep the chicks warm and comfortable during their photo shoot by placing a warm light over top of the makeshift studio.

These little girls didn’t like to cooperate with the camera any more than the hens did.  It was quite difficult to keep them still.  When they stopped moving long enough for Laurel to take a photo – many times, we had a great view of a little fluffy butt instead of the chick’s face.  I was also kept busy removing little poops from the studio floor.  My 2 new Easter Eggers and Dark Cornish chick seemed to be the most photogenic that day.   All in all, it was a fun day and I learned a bit more about photography during my hens’ first chicken photography session with someone other than me!

My Pet Chicken has great tips for photographing chickens on their website, since Derek is also a photographer, and you can see his helpful chicken photography tips by clicking here.

Notice the warm light above – No baby chicks were harmed in the making of these photos

Cute little chick photo taken in the above studio by Laurel