A Day in the Life of the Dog Photographer

Welcome to Wegman’s Wild World of Weimaraners, where dogs bake cakes and lounge like royalty. Known to the world as the “dog photographer,” William Wegman has spent the past 45 years dressing and posing his canine muses in elaborate ensembles, finding whimsy in the absurd. His work is at measures droll and enchanting, evoking awe in audiences around the world. And, his pups have had their share of the limelight, making appearances on everything from “Saturday Night Live” and “Sesame Street,” to movies and galleries worldwide.

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I had one kid say,

"You're famous."

And I said,

"Oh, I'm not at all famous
compared to Michael Jackson."

And the kid said,

"Not that kind of famous.
Art famous."

I found that kind of fascinating.

I'm William Wegman,

and most people know me
as The Dog Photographer.

(upbeat music)

I've been working with weimaraners

for over 45 years.

If I had a better voice,

I'd compose a song about
all the dogs I've had.

♫ First there was Man Ray

♫ And then came Fay Wray

But I won't burden you with that.

Now I have two dogs:

Flo and her brother, Topper.

And they're really…

I love Flo.

They're pretty amazing together.

In my photographs,

what I like people to see is that,

yes, there is a dog.

And yes, it's a weimaraner,

but what has it become?

The dogs are always in a state

of becoming something.

They become characters, objects.

When they're lying down,

they're becoming landscapes.

They let you do it.

It's something special.

It's something unique that happens

only when we go to the studio,

and there's an arena
established for this activity.

I live in the Chelsea area of New York.

I have this really great studio

with tons of props stored in the basement.

I'm gonna need to go
down and get those vests.

Ball gowns and ugly stepsister outfits.

Doo-dads and crazy hats and wigs

and all kinds of things.

I'm seeing something on the floor.

Oh, I gotta use that.

We'll put that on the dog's head.

Some people are alarmed when they see

human hands attached to the arms.

I like that because it's
almost like a mythology.

You know, an Egyptian God with a bird head

and human hands.

Well, we really only need that,

so just try that.

I really need that energy of the lights,

the camera, the focus.

Good girl.

Stay.

My work sort of jumped
out of the art world

into everybody's world.

I've seen my work appear on
the whole array of things:

children's books, videos
for Sesame Street, films,

all kinds of things.

There was a time when I felt like I was

nailed to the dog cross.

I wanted to escape that.

Now, I'm kind of comfortable with that,

and I feel really lucky to have this.

I think these might be my last two dogs.

I'm in my 70’s, and I'll be
in my 80's when they're gone.

Do I really want to burden my family

with other dogs?

I don't know.

It's up to them.

When I'm 95 and they want another dog?

Okay, I'll get one.

(laughs)

Go for a walk?

Good girl.

Come on.

Stay.