Jim Dratfield Art

Jim Dratfield (Born 1960) is the founder of Petography, a photography service that specializes in fine art-style photos of pets and their owners. Petography has attracted a remarkable client base, including the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Barbara Walters and Elton John. Originally from Princeton, N.J., his first career was as an actor, but photography was always a central part of his life. He had always loved photography and played with it. It was a nice outlet for him. It was his career in acting that led to the creation of Petography in 1994. While he was trying to catch the attention of casting directors, he decided to distribute shots of himself with his dog, as a way to stand out. When he saw the results, he was inspired. When he looked at the pictures, he thought he’d seen a lot of really bad pet photography in the world. He wondered if there was a market for more of a fine-art look to animal photography. It sort of just took over his life and he found himself focusing on this and phasing out his acting career. Dratfield admits that working with animals ha been tricky because he mostly work with untrained animals. On several occasions, for example, he's had to persuade a cat out from underneath a couch. He doesn't expect them to listen or to necessarily respond to everything, but he’s very patient with them. The animals are very unpredictable and they don't necessarily take direction. He’s learnt that if he’s patient with them, they eventually give him something. Today, framed Jim Dratfield art are very popular among pet lovers.