Work With Me, Puff -- Pet Portraitist Emily Rieman Treats Her Clients Like The Family Celebrities They Are

What makes a truly great dog-and-cat photographer? Emily Rieman, proprietor of Best Friend Photography, thinks it takes a large dose of special skills intersecting with serendipity.

Rieman should know. Before she started her current career she worked as a social worker, a rock musician and a hairstylist.

Most people have some grasp on each of those jobs. But not everyone understands Rieman's current work. "When people ask what do I do and I say, `I'm a dog and cat portraitist,' they always say something like `Oh gee, that's cute.' But when they see my pictures, their whole attitude changes. It becomes, `Hey, these things are really good.' "

The converts are correct; Rieman creates elegant, formal, beautifully lit portraits. Many things go into her art. But central is her philosophy - that these are members of a family. "It's like taking any portrait for posterity. It's got to be formal and classic, yet appear to be fresh and candid."

It helps that Rieman treats her subjects like celebrities.

Equipped with a portable studio that can fit inside two suitcases, she travels to the client's home for every session. Additionally, unless an owner "has to see their cat in the garden," she works indoors: in her own mini-studio. Her setups need to vary with a subject's physical size, and with the nature of the owner's living space. But in a couple of hours, using her own secrets, Rieman can manage communication with even the most temperamental of pets.

The result is a shot of Mitzi or Buddy that is stunningly special, exuding dignity as well as personality.

The quality of Rieman's portraits can surprise the proudest owner. "People have real preconceptions when it comes to pet photography. They think it has to be either silly or sentimental. But I'm not interested in little kittens and balls of yarn. You don't have to put a funny hat on your cat to get a great picture."

But you do have to be a photographic printer. Rieman custom-prints every final portrait she produces. And, in fact, that's what led her to this offbeat choice of job.

Born in Seattle, she studied photography in 1989 at New York's School of Visual Arts. A year before graduation, however, she moved to Los Angeles, to apprentice with printer Leor Levine. His work behind the scenes had helped create many national reputations. Levine schooled her in the techniques of specialty toning, which Rieman now uses in her pet portraits. "That's great for fur and hair. It brings out any kind of texture."

Then, on a visit home to Seattle, Rieman crashed her car. With no transport and with her tripod back in Los Angeles, she took a job as a teen probation officer here. Time passed, and Rieman grew more interested in social work. "I found the kids and the families involved pretty compelling."

In 1995, she volunteered for a project called Youth In Focus. There, her task was teaching photography to disadvantaged kids. Explaining different lenses, Rieman felt a twinge of envy. She realized she missed her old vocation.

Nevertheless, she led a busy life. It was the height of grunge-mania, and she was playing in Softy, a four-piece band. By 1996, she was married to Mudhoney singer Mark Arm. Plus, Rieman had followed another interest into the '90s - she had become fascinated with hairdressing.

But one day she got a phone call from girlfriend Shelia Cloney. Cloney had just taken a trip to San Francisco. There, she stumbled into a ritzy, upscale pet boutique, with diamante collars, gourmet biscuits - and an in-house photographer.

"I came home that day," says Rieman, "and flipped on my answer phone. There was Sheila's voice, just incredibly excited. She said, `I've discovered this completely untapped market. And you, Emily, are the perfect person to fill it!' " Rieman saw the concept as a photographic challenge. So she tried shooting some promo photos, made them up into cards - and waited.

The response was almost immediate, and Rieman plunged in with enthusiasm. "I spent a lot of time crawling on my stomach. I'd be literally pulling cats from under people's sofas. But, pretty soon, I began to find what worked best."

She learned to keep her focus on the "client" - as opposed to an owner or that owner's vision.

"Nothing," she says now, "about this job is predictable. A lot of people say, `Look, my dog is awful! He'll never sit still!' But he'll be perfectly fine. Another owner gets embarrassed: `But she's normally really so good!' " Cats have broken out in fights; one dog barked back at her strobe light. But Rieman has never had a serious problem during a session. Nor has she ever been afraid of someone's pet.

She does make it clear she is not an animal trainer. "But I've developed a pretty good selection of tricks. With cats, for instance, a little catnip will work wonders. You need to treat cats individually; cat psychology can be pretty strange. Dogs have more of a human level of consciousness. They know that something's going on and it's all about them."

Cats, she says, make tougher clients. "With them, you really have to get your light right into their eyes. Otherwise, they look just like dark little buttons. I spend a lot of time making noise from behind my camera." (Rieman also sometimes stands an owner just behind her.)

Eyes, however, are only one in a range of problems. Black dogs or cats must be "really, really blasted with light." Wrinkly dogs require a special cosmetic diffusion of rays. And multiple-subject shots provide a wonderful occasion for fights. "Probably the worst cat experience I ever had was a pair of little gray kittens. I had to chase and chase and chase them around the house. Drag the whole studio setup as we went room to room."

Best Friend Photography has changed Rieman's life. Now she has to struggle to keep up her hairdressing - it competes with a growing list of smaller clients. Still, she keeps her strange vocation in perspective.

"I know they're beautiful pictures but I know they're corny, too. But people don't always understand what's satisfying. You can find a lot of beauty and soul in an animal's face."

Best Friend Photography sessions cost $80 and up. Rieman can be reached at mnem@nwlink.com.