Richie Schwartz didn’t set out to become one of the most recognized pet photographers in the country. What started out as casual snapshots of dogs evolved into a lifelong journey that would grow into one of the largest pet photography operations in the country.
Schwartz began working as a vet tech and dog groomer in the late 1970s. Photography was always his passion and after buying a new professional camera, he began taking before-and-after photos of grooming clients and hanging them in the waiting room.
“People started asking if they could buy the after pictures,” he recalls. “That’s when I thought, maybe I should be doing this instead of working at the hospital.”
His first step into the field was a job photographing newborns door-to-door.
“I’d knock on 10 or 12 houses a day, five or six days a week,” he says. From there, he expanded into school portraits, weddings, families, and commercial work, eventually opening his own studio in Long Beach in the early 1990s.
A decade later, he was approached about doing pet photography for Petco and PetSmart.
“I’ve always been a dog lover, so the idea really appealed to me,” said Schwartz. The business exploded, expanding to 300 PetSmart stores and then 300 Petco locations. “To service 600 stores across thirty states, we had to hire photographers, train them, and build entire systems. It was exciting, but it meant a lot of time away from home.”
In 2006, he scaled back to start a smaller tri-state-based company. In total, he’s photographed more than 100,000 pets.
As time goes by, Schartz has watched the culture around pets shift dramatically.
“Years ago, having a pet in a family portrait was unusual. Now it’s normal. I’ve even photographed dog weddings,” he said. Dogs remain his primary subjects (about 90%) simply because they’re easiest to work with. And no matter the species, the job isn’t without challenges.
“Animals are unpredictable, and you still have to deliver perfect shots. Patience, patience, patience,” he said. “And stay calm.”
Schwartz is also a longtime member of HeARTs Speak, a nonprofit that uses art and photography to increase the visibility of shelter animals. Through this work, he has helped countless animals get adopted by providing professional images that highlight their personalities, which is something shelters often struggle to capture on their own.
Whether you’re chasing a photography career or your furry companion, Schwartz shares one essential bit of wisdom: “Pet Photography is as much about empathy and flexibility as it is about camera skills. The photographers who can tell the story of the bond between pets and their people are the ones who will really be successful.”
