Achieving that precious shot that will last a lifetime may not be as easy at it seems. Here’s the K9Online.com Guide To: Taking The Perfect Pet Photograph

A dog is like any other subject in terms of photography technique – composition, focusing and exposure being the three main areas to perfect, the fourth and most problematic, is getting ‘subject participation’.

Try to photograph your dog in a natural environment, like, for example, whilst you are on a walk, or you are in the garden or when he is alert and he is interested in the things around him.

Use a background that will contrast with the colour of your dog. Don’t photograph your black Labrador in a coalbunker at night, and don’t photograph your white poodle in the snow.

Use the available light wherever possible, and try to avoid using a flash as this can unsettle any nervous dogs and also give the dreaded ‘red eye’ effect.{+++}

It is important that you stay calm and most importantly of all, try to be patient, if you are barking out orders left, right and centre this will only unsettle your dog. They have no conception of what you are trying to do, be patient with them.

Take lots of shots to ensure that you can choose the best one from a selection rather than relying on your one and only shot to be the perfect photograph.

A good way to get a good picture is to concentrate on your dog’s eyes and ears, aim your camera at your dog and hold a squeaky toy above your head and level with the camera, (better still, get a friend to hold the squeaky toy above your head). By using the squeaky toy behind the camera, this should make him look up at you and prick his ears up and, voila, you have an actual picture of an alert dog looking straight at you.

We all crave for those opportunist pictures, those pictures of your dog that are so cute, that when you show them people they go “awwwwwwww”. A great technique for setting up a shot is to have your camera around you you’re your dog is asleep, wait until the right moment, and just as they are about to fall asleep squeak that squeaky toy again, and you will get a moment of alertness, one eye may open and one ear may prick up and you will have a cute picture, usually looking straight into the camera.

For action shots you may need an assistant to entertain your dog whilst you walk around taking the photos. Try to keep the person out of the frame as a shot of a hairy leg somewhat reduces the impact of your dog jumping in the air to catch a Frisbee. However, with the invent of digital cameras, the hairy leg can be erased, it is more time consuming but worth the time if you want great pet portraits.

When photographing dogs it bodes well to focus on the eye for those attention grabbing shots but don’t forget a dog with a long snout will need more depth of field when shooting close up to prevent the tip of the nose being out of focus. A tip to avoid this would be to take your shots using a small aperture or, better still, shoot when their head is turned to one side.

In case you are wondering an aperture is a small and often narrow opening, and in camera terms it is to allow light into a camera.

Flash can be the ruination of many a well intentioned photo. It has the undesirable ability to make the cutest Yorkshire Terrier look like a cross between Cerberus, guardian to the gates of Hell and Zoltan – Hound of Dracula thanks to the dreaded redeye. Dog’s eyes sometimes appear like bright green marbles when the flash has reflected. It’s worth investing in some touch up photo software if redeye is a constant problem. Digital photographers can use the selection tools and colour saturation to banish the glaring colour.

Achieving the perfect pet picture is not an exact science and sometimes the slightest head turn or showing of teeth can actually produce a picture worth a thousand words (rarely a thousand £££’s though!)

How to Photograph Pets by Nick Ridley is a recommended read if you are serious about capturing the priceless pet picture moments that will live with you for ever

How to Take Photos of Dogs is a post from: K9 Online