May 8, 2014

Loose Leashes’ Dogs Ready to Fetch New Licensing Partners

There is no doubt that Ron Schmidt’s story-telling approach to photographing pups, mutts and purebred pooches is exceptional and distinctively his own. And with more than 450 licensed products in the marketplace today, including books, calendars, greeting cards, and Dog Art prints, consumers and retailers are increasing their interest in Ron’s work because the images are captivating and uniquely original. Photographer Ron Schmidt, and his wife and business partner, Amy, will attend the Licensing Expo, June 17-19, this year in Las Vegas to look for international agents, as well as manufacturers who are interested in their expanding brand.

Schmidt spends a great deal of time with his sketchbook, brainstorming new concepts for his photographic images. He shares, “My goal is to create images with stories, not portraits. I want a character in the image – one that has depth, humor, and an open-ended story. Then we build on this more in post-production as well – each dog has a name, a moniker and a bio.”

This humor and attention to detail is evident in their two picture books published by Random House, both of which include rhyming poems for kids (Ages 3-6) written by Amy and paired with Ron’s photographs for a double dose of doggy delight. Dog-Gone School, the team’s latest book release is another perfect marriage of their whimsical writing and photographs combined to cover all aspects of school, for dogs that is.

Schmidt shares that he sees each image as a tiny movie, which at times need a great deal of big movie production to pull them off and give them a cinematic feel. He always gets asked ‘How did you do that?” to which he most adamantly professes, so to keep a tad of mystery to the process, “With lots of treats!!”

Lewie & Clark, yellow and black lab adventurers, are two of Schmidt’s most in-demand characters. When he selects a concept to work on, he identifies the breed of dog that he thinks would work best for the image. While he ‘LOVES’ mutts, he uses purebred dogs for most of the photos because he’s found that people relate most to dogs that look like their own dog. When scouting for models, Schmidt contacts local breeders and even posts on Craigslist. “We literally ask everyone to send us pictures of their dogs, so I can select the best one for the concept I’ve envisioned,” he states. He has had models from Westminster, as well as dogs from the local dog park…and all are treated with respect and great care.

Current licensing partners range from Random House to Hallmark’s Sunrise Greetings, who recently secured distribution with the U.S. Postal Service and is expanding rapidly into all postal locations with a moveable spin-rack. Ron and Amy are now scheduling appointments at the Licensing Expo with appropriate US product manufacturers and international agents. They can also be contacted through their website to discuss U.S. products. With nearly 78 million dogs in 54 million homes in America (according to the American Humane Association), the potential for this brand is soon to be unleashed and ready to run.

About Artist Ron Schmidt:

Ron’s love of photography started at age 9 with an old camera that his Uncle Russ gave him for Christmas. That day, he snapped his first dog photos of his border collie, Niki, and he hasn’t stopped taking pictures since. Launched in 2006, Loose Leashes by Ron Schmidt’s whimsical and timeless images have captured the hearts of dog lovers worldwide. Ron’s work can be found on products throughout stationery, home décor and publishing categories. To see more of Ron’s work, visit his web site at www.looseleashes.com and to interact with Loose Leashes, join the company’s social media outlets on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.