What makes a great dog photo? Capturing the true nature of dog is top on the list. Since 1999 Lisa Croft-Elliott has been doing just that. She’s a household name in the professional circle of the top breeders, owners and handlers. Croft-Elliott, known as ‘Woof’ to colleagues and friends, is an official photographer for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the U.K.’s Crufts and several other prestigious dog organizations and events.

In addition to her profession, a camera, a roll of film and a love of dogs are Croft-Elliott’s passion. It took convincing by others in a rather forceful manner for her to resign herself to living out what has now become her philosophy:

WOOF Patrol: You worked for 23 years in the restaurant industry and decided to go back to school. Why?

Lisa Croft-Elliott: I went back to study computer graphics at Rhode Island School of Design. My professor hired me to be the Art Director for his ad agency.

W.P: And at the same time, were you showing dogs as well as photographing them?

LC-E: A friend who knew I was going to Crufts just to watch asked me to photograph for a rare breed dog magazine and I said ‘sure’. I decided to get a really good camera and read the how-to manual on the plane to England. Years ago I worked in front of the camera and figured I had enough common sense to reverse the role. When I came back everyone went nuts over my coverage. Then one day my boss took a look at my photos and fired me. He said, “This is what you need to be doing instead of sitting in front of a computer. You should be out there shooting.” I explained to him that I was in my 40’s and couldn’t start over again. He ignored me. That was the beginning of my career.

Lisa Croft-Elliott loves her work. It’s her passion not her job. Whether on assignment or on a shoot of her own choosing, she’s there on her terms. Don’t think tough and determined. Instead, Lisa, aka ‘Woof’, is inspired and innovative. On March 10, 2002, Lisa captured her own best of show with the award-winning Crufts 2002 image. The photo garnered prized recognition on 7 continents and won the prestigious Dog Writers Association of America’s Maxwell Award.

LC-E.: When I shot the Crufts photo I thought, ‘did I’? It was film not digital at that time. You didn’t have a chance to look at the frame and instead had to keep shooting. But I felt it. The photo captured the spotlight on multiple levels. When I got home I went straight to the negative, not the print. I loved what I got and was running around the house like an idiot — screaming, crying and knowing I nailed it.

WOOF Patrol met up with ‘Woof’ at the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York. Almost everyone with a camera took their cue from Croft-Elliott. By nature she’s a pack leader. She dominates not with a sense of alpha authority, but with one marked by harmony. She’s kind and doesn’t hesitate to offer a ‘what-worked-for-me’ angle to those that are in the midst of a challenging pooch shot. Four legs and a tail subjects often have a great deal of their own ideas as to what creates the perfect composition. The opportunity to gain knowledge from someone with almost 40 years of dog photography experience is invaluable.

Croft-Elliott’s style is one that finds the opening with her lens as well as her mind. Nothing about her is intrusive. There’s no mistaking her talent. The work is on-level with her subject in an organic and in-tune sensibility. Champions, like Lisa, reach their status not because they try but because they are.

W.P.: In watching you work ringside I notice you never seem to worry about what anyone else is doing. You’ll offer also advice to someone taking a similar shot as yourself. What’s your thoughts on that?

L.C-E: There’s more than enough work for everyone. If there are 20 or more photographers in the media pit, I may be metering one way while someone else is using a flash, another a strobe. The reality is that I may have one focus and somebody else has another. You’re photographing something that is sometimes only 13 inches long and you will never get the exact same shot or moment.

'Woof' displays confidence in her eyes. Lisa lets them see a defining quality best described by Ethan Wheeler as sheer clarity.

Ethan Wheeler (Professional handler and photographer): The intricacies matter to Lisa. She sees everything you need to know about a dog. Her work visually provides the strong competitor nature of the show dog, accentuating what’s needed. Her photographs in dog ads allow judges to take in what they want to look at in detail ringside. She’s a household name in the dog world. And, yes, she’s always making introductions for others. The only thing she requests is that you don’t copy her ads. Though that is impossible. A Croft-Elliott ad is its own signature.

Canines have been in Lisa’s life forever. She began showing in 1969 and had made up many champions in different breeds. She’s shows and owns cardigan corgis and toy poodles. Currently her canine family consists of Jeremy and Evie - both Cardigan Welsh Corgis - and Flo, a toy poodle. Her nickname ‘Woof’ carries special appeal to Lisa being as it carries various meanings in a similar way that the word ‘Ma’ does. ‘Woof’ can convey numerous expressive qualities within a global scale. Whether ‘Woof’ represents a thousand words or one it compliments and serves Lisa as a warm and friendly greeting to others.

Croft-Elliott’s work stands out and apart from others because of its poignancy that captures the intimacy, drama, spontaneity, mood, light and shadow of the subjects in her focus. There’s a luminosity, realism and always a human-canine interest that draws the viewer into her frames. She invites the dogs to play and work with her in a natural environment that provides insight into the way an individual dog thinks.

The accolades for Croft-Elliott come easy. Yet on a personal side she has had to start over many times which is never without its challenges.

LC-E: I love what I do. I’m very blessed. It’s the best job on the planet.

Lisa resides in Wales, living in the countryside with her dogs and her life-partner Carrie. She spends half her life in airports as her work takes her to the States at least once a month and all over Europe at the drop of a leash. When asked by dogchannel.com for a New Year’s wish for 2008 she responded: “48 hour days.” Perhaps the phrase ‘working like a dog’ was coined for her as it certainly wasn’t by Pomo, WOOF Patrol’s mascot.

Croft-Elliott’s work has been featured in the following publications: Canine Chronicle (US), The Kennel Club Gazette (UK), The AKC Gazette (US), Crufts Official Show Guide (UK), Westminster Official Guide (US), The New York Times, USA Today and many others. She’s a multiple-award winning photographer, journalist and a dog’s best friend.