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Rachel D’Oro

(c) ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS

01/11/99

   David Jensen's customers often lick him and jump around in excitement. He responds in grunts, squeals and whimpers.

   ''I get down on their level and they accept me as part of their pack,'' Jensen said about his unusual work. ''I'm there to have fun with them.''

   Jensen is a pet photographer who uses squeaky toys and special voices to put his subjects at head-cocking ease. What began as a hobby gradually grew into Alaska Pet-ography, an Anchorage business he's owned for 10 years. Because families frequently wind up in his photos, his company slogan is ''Portrait photography of pets and their people.''

   The public might know his work from the pet-of-the-week photos featured in the newspaper by Friends of Pets. Besides dogs and cats, Jensen's portfolio includes ferrets, guinea pigs, horses, mules, iguanas, snakes, birds, rabbits and even a Christmas card featuring a family and a pet potbelly pig named Sweet Pea.

   Two years ago, Jensen had enough customers to quit his public relations job at Alaska Pacific University. His wife, Carol Jensen, helps out with bookkeeping and other administrative duties.

   The business has grown as Jensen added pet products, nonpet photography and Lower 48 clients. He just landed one of his four-legged subjects -- a light rust-colored Hungarian pointer known as a Vizsla -- on the February cover of Dog Fancy magazine.

   But Jensen is not getting rich, he said, because much of his income goes to pay for film, camera equipment, newspaper and Yellow Pages ads, two-color brochures and a van painted with his logo. In fact, he netted only $2,000 in 1997, the first year he showed a profit, he said. In 1998, he had 60 percent more business, but he doesn't yet know what his profits were.

   ''I feel I've done enough business to justify the risk of going with this full-time,'' Jensen said. ''And I like the freedom of being where my passion is.

   ''Last week, Jensen shared some of the tactics he's learned about running his own business:

   * Networking is important for entrepreneurs. At least twice a year, Jensen makes the rounds to Anchorage animal clinics, pet-supply stores, groomers, trainers and animal organizations to introduce himself to new employees and leave his brochures. As a result, he gets his marketing to the most likely customers and sometimes gets invited to participate in special events.

   In early December, for example, he participated in the Alyeska Canine Trainers annual party, where he held mini photo sessions and distributed brochures. That led to orders for enlargements and more photos, and drummed up additional holiday orders, Jensen said.

   * Make it easy for people to become customers. Four years ago, new parents Kathy and Rodney Schock were looking for someone to take their first family Christmas portrait. But they didn't want the hassle of taking their infant daughter, Samantha, and white Labrador retriever puppy, Andrex, to a studio. So they checked the Yellow Pages.

   ''When I saw an ad that said they would come to our house, I said, 'That's it,' '' Kathy Schock said. ''Then I saw the business was called Pet-ography, and I said, 'That's even better.' ''

   The Schocks have hired Jensen ever since to take their holiday photos to send to relatives in the Lower 48, she said.

   ''He's so patient. He always does a fantastic job,'' she said. ''In between us yelling at each other and the dog, he always manages to get us all with smiles on our faces like we're this great big super happy family.''

   * Turn one-time buyers into repeat customers. From his Hillside home studio, Jensen sells products to go with his photos, including pet-theme frames, refrigerator magnets, mouse pads, key chains, buttons and gift certificates. He also sells calenders and day planners featuring his work. Every fall, Jensen sends out mailers to hundreds of customers. He tells them their photos can be used for calenders, greeting cards, gifts and stocking stuffers.

   ''This is the best way to remind people I'm still here,'' he said.

   * Find ways to fill in slow seasons. Jensen averages up to 150 photo pet and family shoots from September to December. But the rest of the year can be a drag. He's found ways to compensate: photographing graduations, weddings, communions and confirmations. He also writes newsletters for Catholic Social Services.

   Last year, Jensen took his pet pics to other Alaska cities. He enlisted shelters and animal groups in Kodiak, Valdez and Seward to host fund-raisers, using mini photo sessions as a lure. It's an idea that has worked for him in Anchorage. Although the money goes to the organizations and photo processing, his efforts always pay off with larger orders and later holiday business, he said.

   ''Going to markets that don't have this kind of service has helped me increase my business,'' Jensen said. ''And having lived in Alaska since birth, it's an opportunity to enjoy other parts of the state, and meet new pets and their people.''

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