Pet Portraits Photo Tips

This is not a difficult task and can actually be a lot of fun for you and your pet. Just take your time and plan on taking quite a few pictures. Devote a whole roll or two of film if you're using a traditional camera or just keep shooting with a digital until you get some that you like.

Read through the following tips and have fun. With a little patience you should be able to catch that special "look" with the camera. After all, who knows your pet better than you?

Location
Natural outdoor lighting is the best choice for picture taking, although modern digital cameras can do a lot of nice work indoors as well. Outdoor lighting tends to give truer color and nice shadows to work with. However, if you're handy with the camera and can pull it off indoors, terrific!

One word of warning, please...NO FLASH! Even if there is no "red-eye" in the photo, flash eliminates appealing shadows and generally creates a startled, stark look in the subject as well as changing natural color.

Bright overcast days are your best choice. Position your pet with the light coming from one side or the other. If the light is in their eyes, they will squint; if it is behind them, the subject will be dark and underexposed.

Getting the pose
Unless you are good at stalking around after your dog and snapping off candid shots, a second person as a helper is key to getting good photos of your pet. Have your helper hold your pet either in their arms for a cat or small dog or by their collar for larger dogs. Holding the collar as opposed to a leash keeps the dog in place and makes it a LOTS easier to get a clear focus of the face and not a tail because they're moving around.

Even if your pet is very well trained, it is better NOT to leave them on a sit-stay or down-stay as generally their ears will stay down in a submissive position and they will get very confused when you try to get them to perk up for the picture.

If your pet is nervous with someone else handling them, switch places and you can hold your pet while your helper plays the photographer. Either way, using a helper will make your task much easier and will result in better photos in nearly every case.

Position your pet where they are comfortable and the lighting is good (see the section on location). With your helper holding your pet, put yourself at the pet's level. If they are on the ground, it is best to kneel. This is especially important in full body shots. Remember that the portrait will portray the photo you provide. If you LIKE the look you get taking the shot looking down at your pet, then that is fine. But usually it is more pleasing to have a straight on shot taken from their level.

With your pet in position and your camera ready, be prepared with whatever it is that gets your pet excited and happy (unless of course you want a sad kind of look). It might be words like "wanna cookie?" or "wanna go for a ride?"

Some dogs respond and give a beautiful look when you or your helper toss a toy. Just be ready to snap the shot as the toy goes out!

Other dogs or cats respond best to an actual food treat or dangling a favorite toy just out of their reach. Experiment and use whatever works best with your individual pet.

Be certain to get a minimum of two close-ups of your pet's face where the face fills most of the frame while still being in clear focus. Even if you're getting a full body portrait, it is your pet's face that really identifies him or her as your own.

	Side Note: Don't you just know that the dog pictured on the left is a real character? Look at that pose!