Sandra Lording on the Dogs of Mansfield Book Project

Innovative photographer Sandra Lording has spent the past year taking portraits of dogs of Mansfield. It has proved a popular project, with over 80 dogs taking part, and Sandra has shared the results in a book. Read on to hear about the inspiration and challenges of project.

Dogs of Mansfield will be formally launched 6pm on July 12, 2025 at Sandra Lee Photography Studio, 1/12 High Street, Mansfield.

What inspired the Dogs of Mansfield Book Project?

The Dogs of Mansfield Book Project began after a simple model call for dogs to be photographed amongst autumn leaves resulted in 150 expressions of interest. With so many shapes, sizes, ages, breeds and personalities, what better way to enjoy them all in one place than in a hardcover, full colour coffee table book?

Can you give us an idea of the scope of the project?

I photographed 85 dogs – well, technically 84, given Gwen the Jackapoo was photographed with her siblings and again when she found her furever home. The project took 12 months, and I conducted 58 individual photo sessions in the studio, around the Mansfield township, at the Mansfield Botanic Park or at home/on the farm. Otto was photographed at Mt Buller (holder of a permit) and Ned, Connie and Toffee were photographed at the Delatite Pine Plantation. Each session took approximately one hour.

The book has 130 pages and over 160 images.

How did you transform these sessions into book content?

Book design started well before the sessions finished, with owners viewing the photos and helping to short list the images to appear in the book. They also supplied a written description to accompany their images. Their brief was to tell readers a bit about their dog and what they meant to them – to write as much or as little as they liked and there was no right or wrong way to complete the task. This resulted in a wonderful insight into the personalities of the dogs and their owners. There are some incredible wordsmiths amongst them!

Each image was edited and renamed before uploading to the book designer. I used a spreadsheet to track the status of each session and image selection, etc.

Once the designer had all the information, the book design took around two weeks. The most difficult part of this process was writing the introduction and the about me page.

How did you manage the book design part of the project?

For my last book project, Mini Farmers, I used a company who specialised in working with photographers. Unfortunately, not long after this project began, they closed down, which meant finding another way to get the book printed – and this one was bigger in dimensions and content.

I engaged Helen Christie of Blue Wren Books to design the book and handle the printing process. Her knowledge of the industry, efficiency and professionalism proved invaluable. While the final decisions were mine, Helen drew my attention to things like book size, binding techniques, paper stock, cover options, costings, ISBN’s and flow of the book. For photographers considering a book project, I highly recommend using a book designer to streamline the process.

One of my non-negotiables was to have the book printed in Australia. An overseas option would have reduced the price point by around 30%, however supporting local is important to me.

What were some of the project highlights for you?

Just having fun with these dogs! Each one left wonderful memories for me and I love running into them from time to time in town – Pup who plonked herself on my knee while I was on the ground trying to photograph Basil; Miss Frankie, the first dog to be photographed who gave me the false belief that all dogs would be as easy to photograph as her; Cydi, the most laid back German Shepherd I’ve met; Missy, who loved to lick my legs; Brooke, who destroyed a soft toy during her shoot; Kazi the leaner who was oh so soft; and siblings Gruffalo and Maisey, who are just a delight.

The project also allowed me to showcase the beautiful township of Mansfield with sessions conducted at the Mansfield Fire Station, Ink Bookshop, Mansfield Golf Course, Yoga in Mansfield and Wallaby Ritz, as well as in front of the Eisner Lane murals, and at Mansfield Botanic Park. I extended my reach to the whole of Mansfield Shire with home/on the farm sessions conducted in Tolmie, Jamieson and Merton.

I particularly loved photographing dogs who assist their human companions — Connie, a guide dog; Fleur, an assistance dog; Teddy, a service dog working at Mansfield Autism Statewide Services; and Gruffalo and Maisey, therapy dogs in training with Canine Comprehension. https://caninecomprehension.com.au/.

What about farm dogs?

When I began the project, I assumed (incorrectly) that I’d receive interest from lots of owners of ‘working’ dogs typical of a farming community like Mansfield – the dogs you see hanging out of utes in town or on a farm rounding up sheep or cattle. There were of course some of these breeds, however when Amelia contacted me about her seven kelpies who work at Delatite Station, I was very excited. Since moving to Mansfield, I’ve had the pleasure of photographing on various farms, including a 12-month project capturing the activities on cattle farm Davilak as part of the ‘Mansfield Farm Project’, and I was keen to do more.

The Dogs of Mansfield project focused on portraits rather than action, and I immediately had a vision of what I wanted to achieve for their session – a group portrait.

I spotted a dusty road with the sun setting in the background and thought it would make an awesome shot – and indeed it would except there were sheep in a nearby yard! You guessed it – kelpies – sheep – all the dogs wanted was get in there and round them up! A dismal failure!

We then headed to the old shed and used an elevated doorway to photograph five of the seven dogs. With the dogs elevated and the distraction of sheep removed, the shot came together very quickly. Confidence back, I upped the stakes and tried my other idea for a group portrait – studio lighting inside the new shearing shed. I dragged my gear up the stairs, positioned wool bales and bins and did a quick lighting test before Amelia worked her magic. We had all five looking like they were born to be models.

Despite the project being predominantly about portraits I returned briefly to capture the dogs while they were working.

What were the some of the technical photography challenges for the Dogs of Mansfield Book Project?

It was hard sticking to a specific style of photography. For outside sessions, I was after a specific look and feel where the dog is separated from the background through a combination of techniques – distance of the subject from the background and the use of my Canon 135mm f2 lens (shooting at f2). This creates a dreamy, out of focus soft background known as bokeh. It leads to a shallow depth of field and little margin for error.

The dogs were photographed either at eye level or below which meant I spent a LOT of time on the ground. Dolly’s portrait is a great example of this technique.

What did you learn throughout this project?

There’s an unusually high number of ‘Sausage dogs’ in Mansfield – either that or all of those who live here ended up in the book. Oh, and for a small dog they have BIG personalities – lol.

Knowing when to stop – as the project progressed, I shared images on social media, which led to more applications. Deciding to close applications was difficult, but I wanted to print the book within 12 months, so Goose (pictured on the cover) was the final dog to be photographed.

What’s next for Sandra Lording?

I love a good project, but it needs to be something that speaks to me – a subject I’m keen to shoot, a new technique or location, a new genre, something relevant to the area or something that hasn’t been done before.

I’ve been asked if I’d consider doing a Horses of Mansfield book so that’s something to think about. I’ve also taken up golf recently (and am thoroughly addicted) so you never know, I might get back to my sports photography roots and develop a project around golf/sport.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who participated in this project – Mansfield residents really love their dogs! I’m very much looking forward to the book launch to share the results with you.

You can follow Sandra on:
Website: http://www.sandraleephotography.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photographysandralee/
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/sandra_lee_photography/
Booksales link (pre orders): https://www.sandraleephotography.com.au/dogs-of-mansfield-coffee-table-book
See our previous interviews: Sandra Lording, Mansfield Photographer and Sandra Lording on the Mansfield Farm Project

Next time: Read about the publishing rollarcoaster … Jade Riley is Back
Next interview: the fabulous Elizabeth Worley on life in Panama and Chasing Tropical Ice