Meet Pat Gump | Animal Behavior Consultant and Portrait Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pat Gump and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pat, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
The power of authentic performativity. Even if there isn’t a stage in sight, even if as the photographer I am not the “talent” in the image, even if I am alone with one person, performance is powerful.
When I say authentic performance, what I mean is unabashed, transparent, and vulnerable performance. I’m fairly confident most of what we do is a display and an act – I don’t know many people who behave the same way alone at home vs. at dinner with friends. The key problem, in my experience, with performativity arises when we try to conceal it. Would you rather a friend text openly while you talk to them, or do so under the table, in the manner of a high school student who is sure teacher hasn’t noticed?
When I am able to be a performer behind the camera, it breaks the fourth wall. By being a genuine actor, I am able to watch and laugh at myself be a human. Oftentimes, this simple act of not taking myself so seriously, folks feel invited to join me. II am the performer – so they can safely remain an audience member, dipping that first toe in the water. By the end of the shoot, most of my clients are giving hair flips, twirls, spins, and modeling like they’ve been at it for years. That is to say – they are willing to break down their own fourth wall, and join me on the stage as well as the audience. Hearing things like “Wait…do I really look like that?” is one of the most gratifying things I’m blessed to experience.
It’s a blast to help someone realize they are a superstar, and I hope to continue exchanging those moments with folks for many years.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
While I have always had a unique and creative way of thinking, the forms of art I dabbled in when I was younger never became reinforcing enough to continue. I tried drawing, painting, even photography – I would be excited and passionate for a while, and eventually would reach a plateau. The work would stop giving my brain dopamine – and I’d move on to something novel. There is a rigidity in the way we are expected to behave – and dopamine-less, without any setups for accommodation or modification that might keep me interested, that expectation was nigh impossible for me. I can imagine my mom’s concern at this development in her child, because she knew how the world expects us to work – on a 9-5, Monday-Friday schedule.
As an adult, I became more and more disillusioned with the way I was expected to do things until, reaching a breaking point after years of sobriety following a stint of houselessness and drug addiction, dropping out of high school the same month I received a near perfect ACT score, shifting colleges everytime I got close to a degree, and running myself into the ground working in an industry that left me unstable, I decided to find out if there might be an easier, softer way.
Good news! There was. I dropped out, pursued several dog training mentorships and animal behavior education, and eventually started consulting. Current science teaches us that the best way to assist a learner is to reinforce positive decisions, create room for safety, and show someone that nothing bad happens when they’re wrong (confidence, in my opinion, is truly the ability to remember that you are the same person 5 seconds before you make a mistake AND 5 seconds after.). It teaches us to move at a pace the learner can handle, to listen and respond humanely to what a learner tells us, and that every failure is another piece of the puzzle that helps us win.
That attitude, translated to portrait photography, gives me the privilege of creating a space where my clients can cry, be open and honest, and be vulnerable. It gives me the privilege of having a client who was dreading the session, requesting that we just “rip off the bandaid,” and after our shoot had started be with them while they wiped their eyes and said “We can still keep shooting right? I don’t care if I’m puffy. I’m enjoying myself.”
What sets me apart from others is my ability to put the “personal” in professional. I am proudest of my growth – within a year of being intentional about my photography instead of just taking selfies on my phone, my photography has become distinctly stylistic and recognizable, conceptual and thoughtful, and *toot toot* quite technically impressive for a self-taught newcomer. It hasn’t been “easy,” but I also don’t know what it’s like to live someone else’s life for comparison. My life has been what it has been and losing any part of who I am today is too great a risk to take any of it back.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If a friend was visiting, I’d probably be obnoxiously “Colorado” about it and start with a hike at Berthoud Pass along the Continental Divide Trail. I’d bring my dog, and my Colorado-flag-adorned Chaco’s, and my hydroflask. We’d get there in my subaru, and I’d bring vegan brunch and a beer to share at the top. Then we’d go to coffee at Bardo Coffeehouse – either the Broadway location if we just want coffee or the location on 38th if we also want some wine!
We’d grab dinner – either grab and go from Make it Vegan in Lakewood or sit down for a cocktail and some yummy food from So Radish.
We’d check out a drag or burlesque show – Lulu Alnite hosts trivia at Illegal Pete’s Park Hill on Thursdays, which is a favorite! The Clocktower Cabaret also usually has fabulous programming.
Either we’d both be home by 10, or they’re on their own for the rest of the night!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Womxn and femme folx deserve my shoutout. I was raised by a single mother. While it’s true I have no real comparison – I can still say with confidence that my mom pulled her weight, my dad’s weight, and then some. I was an extremely difficult child to understand and navigate, and my mother did it in a way that made space for me to grow into an adult I can be proud of – all while raising my two younger brothers (who are also incredible).
I was raised by the women at the grocery store who brought me water judgement free while I sat there reading for hours in high school (as an adult I found out this was a weird place to read, but I get comfort in lots of strange places.)
I was raised by the women who saw my passion and drive and weren’t scared (or maybe they were, but I couldn’t tell!).
I was raised by the femme teachers I had in school, who rejected hardness and distance in favor of an open mind and patience.
I was raised by the maternal figures in all our lives, the ones who smile and nod, not in ignorance but instead by CHOICE.
I was raised by the trans women who taught me that the louder and prouder you are, the sooner people turn and run (at this point, I usually don’t even notice the detractors were ever there!).
I was raised by people who are laughably gentle in the face of looming pressure, who are kind in spite of their circumstances, and who have everything to give to people who are brave enough to ask.
Also, my dog Clementine who did most of my early 20s parenting. She’s perfect, knows her worth, demands clarity and consistency, and would give the world to the people she loves. She sits directly in front of me each night so that I will pick her up and perfectly place her into little spoon position. I may have spoiled her a bit, and I will continue to do so. She inspired the inception of my animal behavior business, and also often serves as my muse in photography – the first six months I had a camera I took 11,000 photos of her.
I will spend the rest of my life trying to pass these gifts on to everyone I meet!

Website: www.PatGumpPhoto.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mxgump/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/koltanpn

Other: A guest blog post I did for Zazie Todd, PhD, and her blog Companion Animal Psychology, about the concept of respect as it pertains to animal behavior! https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2022/05/the-real-meaning-of-respect-in-dog.html

Image Credits
Pat Gump