It is common knowledge that photos of dogs and cats are the most searched for on sites like Flickr and they certainly hold dominance on social media platforms like Instagram. But getting ideal photos of your pet can at times be a little tricky.
If you have tried to get nice photos of your pet before you may have experienced your cat being very uncooperative or perhaps your dog runs off or even tries to lick the camera thinking it’s a toy!
Follow these tips and you might have some luck in getting photos of your pet that you’ve been trying to get for a while.
Natural light is the best kind of light for any situation, pet portraits are similar to portraits of people. If you use flash you will find your images get shadows and the light may even reflect off the eyes of your pet.
If you are indoors try placing your pet next to a plain wall which would be preferably a bright colour, like white so that the light is reflected.
It can be very distracting if a photograph has lots of clutter in the background. A lot of the time we try capturing moments with our smart phones but they don’t have the capabilities of creating such shallow depth of field so this is why it would also be advised about photographing against a wall.
However, if you have a Digital SLR camera then you can shoot with a shallow depth of field which will blur all the background clutter when focused on the subject, being your pet.
Treats are a good idea to get the attention of your pet. Some say that even placing the treat on top of the camera gets your pets attention and they are likely to look directly into the lens. Some other methods have been tested and you can even attempt to train your pet that the click of a camera means a treat will be given to them.
If the treats aren’t working or you would rather try something else to get your pets attention then you could try the use of a squeaky toy for dogs or perhaps a toy that rattles for cats. Place the toy wherever you want and it is almost guaranteed your pet will be looking at it.
If it is a dog you’re trying to photograph and he or she is very energetic then take your dog out for a big walk prior to the photoshoot, this method is to try work off some excess energy first.
Posed shots can sometimes be quite difficult to capture but if you follow some of the previous tips with treats and toys it may work for you.
With posed shots, most dogs might be put off jumping off high platforms like tables so they best thing to do is to set up some props around your pet. It is also helpful to be aware of the surface of which you’re using the photograph on. If you’re using a slippery surface you might find your pet feeling a little insecure, so try using fabric or a mat to make it more comfortable.
Cats can sometimes be a little too relaxed so to get your cat into position it is worth considering placing a decorative box on the floor and allowing your cat to investigate. Many cats will naturally like a confined space to sit in. If your cat decides to sit in the box looking out to you then make sure you’ve got the right light and you should have yourself an adorable photo. You may even find cats love to sit on top of boxes which if this is the case with yours, may also provide some fabulous results.
If you found these tips helpful and intend on trying some of them out please feel free to share your photos with us on our Facebook page or Twitter.
