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Want to Take Better Photos of your Pet?

5/31/2023

Tips from a Pro Pet Photographer
by Heather Sansone

If you're anything like me, you probably have hundreds of photos of Fido or Felix on your phone, perhaps even uploading to their own Instagram account. Maybe you took it once step further and just bought a fancy new camera (congratulations!).

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but many of us would like to improve ours without a thousand hours of study! Therefore I've compiled a quick, and easily to execute series of tips you can read right to improve your photo-taking skills immediately. Let's dive in..

TIMING IS EVERYTHING
A well-exercised pet is often the most easiest to work with, so keep this in mind when planning photos. Avoid asking much of your dog on a very hot, sunny, or windy day. Dogs often do better than us in the winter months compared to the summer, and snow is a beautiful, although challenging shooting situation.

Be aware of the special needs of your individual pet: flat-faced (Brachycephalic) dogs need special consideration in the heat, short, single-coated dogs need consideration in the cold. Certain pets, like guinea pigs, do well in only specific climate conditions.

Quick Tip: Keep your finger on the shutter so you're ready. "You snooze, you lose!" rings true when photographing moving creatures!

Border Collie Labrador cross peeks through a blanket in the snow

Many dogs do great in cold weather.

LET THERE BE LIGHT
If there is only one takeaway here, it's Learn your Light! Lighting is one of the single most important aspects of capturing a great photo, and it's something that cannot be easily changed via editing.

A window with indirect soft daylight, or sunlight filtered similarly through sheers, makes for some ideal lighting when indoors. Bonus; make sure you can see "catchlights" (those little white reflections in the eyes) before clicking that shutter, and your pet's eyes will sparkle with life.

Outdoors, aim for soft evening light when the sun is more filtered and even, for a dreamier look which avoids both overly bright spots and shadows on your pet. "Golden Hour" is the lighting just prior to sunset, which can be ideal for this, as well as give a pretty golden halo effect around your pet with the right placement. Have fun experimenting with your pet's position to the sun - golden hour is great for many angles! A slightly overcast day can be very forgiving as well.

With a dark coloured dog, have some light on their face. This will better show the details in their fur and facial features, and of course get those beautiful catchlights in the eyes.

Quick Tip: When using a digital camera, you can select Matrix/Evaluative Metering mode so that the camera will try to prioritize the correct exposure for you automatically.

Have a dark dog positioned towards the light.

SET THE SCENE
Something to be aware of is your scenery around the animal. Indoors, you may not notice clutter in the background until the photo has already been taken. Try to clear an area or just slightly change the angle you're shooting at. Outdoors, posts and tree branches are common offenders, as they can look as if they're sprouting out of your pet's body in the final result. Small areas such as littered garbage or someone's shoe can be edited out on free phone apps or software.

While we're on the topic, be aware of other animals in the vicinity of yours. Safety is the #1 priority over the perfect shot. Besides which, some pets are nervous around potential threats of any kind, be it other people or animals around, or even certain weather conditions. It pays to do some hunting for the right spot before you pick up the camera!

Quick Tip: Setting your camera or phone to Portrait Mode, or a wide aperture like f2.8, can blur the background, effectively getting rid of some of these distractions in camera.

German Shorthaired Pointer poses in the forest.

Be aware of your surroundings when photographing your subject.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET..
Getting down to your pet's level is still one of the best ways to get a great result. Not only will the animal look properly proportioned, but it makes the viewer feel like they are part of their world. If you don't have a fancy tilting screen on your camera, fear not, you can always get down on your belly - it's the way I still shoot most of my session images!

Quick Tip: If your pet is highly active or tends to come straight towards you, tie them to something stationary, or put them up on something such as a picnic table or log (you may like to have someone within arms-reach for safety).

Get down to your pet's level!

STRUT YOUR STUFF
Now that we have some of the technical bits out of the way, it's time for getting some of your pet's character to shine (or at least look in the direction of the lens!) Some of the tricks I use:

Squeaker toys (save those plastic squeakers from the larger toys as they can easily fit in your pocket to pull out at just the right moment!).
Another person the pet is attached to. Have them stand over your shoulder and snap their fingers, clap, or make a silly sound to attract their gaze. The finished product will seem as if the dog was looking into the camera.
There are even dog toy sound apps for your phone you can download for free!

Quick Tip: Avoid over-use any of these or your clever subject will learn to ignore them. Give your pet a treat, favourite toy, or lots of praise to motivate their great participation for next time!