A picture is worth a thousand words, but taking pictures of our dogs doesn't always work that way. Oftentimes, we have awfully timed photos and our pet just don't cooperate. But with these 10 tips, you can take stunning, professional-looking photos worthy of being hanged in a wall or winning in a photo contest.
Get your Dog's Attention
This is perfect for taking portraits of your dog. Call him, make sounds they respond to to get them to look into the camera. Give them treats to get them to look at the camera longer. Dogs will almost always look into the treat.
While this may sound easy, the truth is it isn't. It takes more than just waving the treat around to get their attention.
One trick is to give him a few treats first until he gets comfortable. Once he knows that you have the treat and is freely giving it out, keep the treat in your hand then take the shot. This works better if you have an assistant holding the treat while you are taking a photo.
You can also tape the treat on top of the camera. This method will make your dog's eyes face towards the camera.
Make Them Smile
Have you ever wondered how dogs smile for the camera? The trick is fairly easy - all you have to do is play with them, take them for a quick run or have a play session with your pet.
Then bring them back to the spot where you want the photograph taken and during this time your dog should be panting. This panting creates an illusion that your dog is smiling at the camera.
Level with Your Dog
If a shot from above doesn't look good, try taking it at your dog's eye leevel. In this way, your pooch won't be distracted from you taking a shot from above. Also, if you level with your pet, they'll start to get more comfortable with the camera. Don't forget to take pictures from different angles for more interesting shots.
Try Candid Shots
If your dogs gets too distracted when you are around, try taking candid photos. These work best when you don't use flash as using it can grab your dog's attention.Sneak shots. Keep your camera up to your face so as not to startle them with any sudden movements. Sneak up on your pet and try not to get their attention. This is probably the most difficult as dogs have keen sense of hearing and smell.
Zoom it. If your camera has a zoom feature, use that to your advantage. Using zoom will let you take shots away from your dog without them even noticing it.
Use faster shutter speed
Dogs like to move around so it would be difficult to take the best shot if you don't have a camera with fast shutter speed. DSLRs won't have problems with regards to shutter speed, but most high end smartphones have fast shutter speeds as well.
Post-processing is essential to a perfect photo
If you know how to post-process photos, then it would greatly help in getting the perfect shot. Sometimes there are great shots that either too dark or too light and post-processing can fix that.
You don't need to learn Photoshop to post-process photos. There are apps like Snapseed and Instagram that can edit photos for you in a pinch.
Tips
- Make them be familiar with the camera first.
- As much as possible don't use flash. The flash will bother your pup and sometimes it will scare them away. Either you take shots in daylight or use higher ISO.
- Don't think that you need a high end camera to take perfect shots. Even a smartphone can take professional-looking shots if you know the right technique.