10 Tips for Better Pet Portraits

Welcome to all the folks visiting from Camp Candid Carrie. Being a bus stop on a virtual field trip is an honor I never anticipated!

My husband and I operate a portrait studio in San Diego. While we do a variety of portraiture, we specialize in pet portraits. I know how much fun it is to take pictures of pets. It's what I do for a living and I LOVE what I do.

I get asked frequently how to take better pet pictures. I am happy to share what I have learned over the years. While I do know some tricks most of these tips are tried and true portrait techniques learned from years as a photographer. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Patience
Take a deep breath and lower your expectations. Chances are your pet won't sit and stay the way you want, so don't be disappointed or get stressed. Your pet picks up on the stress and no good can come from that. Be patient and have fun! You'll get much better pictures.

2. Get Some Help
I always have an assistant. My assistant [or the pet's owner] should be the only one talking to the pet. I am free to operate the camera setting and focus on composure. This prevents the pet from being overwhelmed with too many commands. My assistant holds treats/toys and directs the pet. Make sure your assistant isn't blocking your light or casting a shadow into your picture.

3. Treats & Toys
Great portraits are not on most pets priority list, so I resort to bribery. Use treats and toys that your dog likes....NOT loves. You want intrigue not insanity. My dog likes kibble and will be interested in getting some. However if I bring out the Pupperoni [we call it puppy crack], he turns into a deranged treat addict and the shoot is over. Use one treat/toy at a time, bringing out a new one as needed to capture your pets attention.

4. Time & Timing
Set aside time for your portraits. Grabbing the camera when your pet does something cute is great, but it rarely yields a masterpiece. Give yourself an hour to play and photograph. Take breaks, take lots of shots and take your time. Timing is also key. A good long walk or run will help your pet be calm for pictures.

5. Your Camera
Every camera has features and limitations. You can get wonderful photographs with ANY camera. The trick is to know what your camera will and won't do. I know you read your camera manual from cover to cover......what...you didn't? Well, no problem. I am going to give you a few features to go and look up. [tip: most camera manuals can be downloaded from the manufacturer, in case yours is as lost as mine is]

Features to look for:

• Exposure Compensation
• White Balance
• Macro
• Fill Flash
• Portrait, Landscape, Action & Night Shot Modes

Don't get overwhelmed, just see if your camera has these features. If it does, spend some time playing with them one at a time. Each feature has a real life application that will greatly improve your pictures.

6. Prepare
Dead batteries and empty media cards love to ruin a cute pose. Have spares on hand.

7. Composition
Composing a portrait means looking at the big picture. As the photographer you must be aware of what is in and out of the frame.
Be sure to look for distracting details in the background. Watch for things that appear to grow out of your pets head, like house plants and floor lamps. At the park, avoid parking lots and trash cans in the background. Simply moving a few feet left or right can often be all that is needed.
Don't be afraid to get up close. Close up shots are often the most meaningful and compelling. Show off your pets lovely eyes, fur or paws with a close-up. Spend some time looking at professional portraits. Notice how the image is composed, the angle of the camera, the lighting. Look for ways to use what you like in your own pet portraits.

8. Experiment
Break the rules. Shoot into the sun, play with camera setting, stand on a ladder, lay on the floor. If it doesn't work out, you can always delete it.

9. Light
The single most important consideration in any photograph is light. In photography school, I was taught that by learning to look at and manage the light on your subject you will get better pictures [my, that sounded serious!]. This just means that it helps to give a bit of attention to the light falling on your pet and not just the cute pose. If the light doesn't look right, here are some things you can do to change it.

Turn off your flash. Natural light is the way to go. At the studio we do use flash, big, fancy studio lights with umbrellas and softboxes. We still prefer natural light and use it any chance we have. The best light is defused sunlight, the kind you get from north facing windows, a slightly overcast day, or a shady area at a sunny park.

Use a reflector [a piece of white poster board or a white pop up car shade work great] to reflect light back to your subject. This will help put a spark in the eyes and fill in shadows.

A tripod will keep your camera steady for longer exposures in lower light situations and works great for cats and sleeping dogs.

Turn on your flash [I know I just said turn it off, here's the exception] Play with your flash outside. Sometimes using your flash in a sunny situation can give you those great popping colors and bright eyes you see in professional portraits. This technique takes some patience and experimentation but the results are well worth it.


10. Wonderful and Unexpected
Now that you are prepared, know your camera, have the time and the patience, it's time to have some fun. Don't get to hung up on a certain poses or tricks. Some of my favorite shots come when a cat yawns or cleans it's face, when dogs hear a car horn and gives me a perfect profile shot as they look for the sound, or when a puppy lays down out of complete boredom with the shoot. By giving your pet a little wiggle room you will get wonderful portraits showing off all of your pets character.

I hope this has given you some tools to improve your portraits and a good excuse to get on the floor and play with your pet. Please feel free to send me specific questions about pet photography and/or request our monthly newsletter to get more tips and techniques.

Happy Camping,
Tee Taylor
OH MY DOG! Photography

info@ohmydogphoto.com
760.479.0553

Zucco

Yes that's right, he is named after the dark and handsome character from Grease. He's looks tough, but he's really a sweet heart, just like Danny Zucco. He is still a puppy, but the looks of those paws he'll be giant in no time.

Zucco is a spectacular Seal and White boxer. He is the new little brother of Bruno the Big Boxer in our portfolio. He tortures Bruno like a pesky little brother should. You will notice tome "Bruno Slobber" on his fur. He kept running off set to go have a quick wrestle with Bruno. Wrestling is more fun than modeling when you are a 12 week old boxer. I can't wait to picture them together when they are both grown.

Miss Avila and Big Dog

We love dogs [they don't have to be real!] and little girls and sun dresses and hats. This little lady has it all.

Betty Birthday Pawty

We attended Betty's Birthday Pawty at Camp-Run-A-Mutt. Betty is the Dog we all know from the logo for Pawyard. You can see all of the pictures from the festivities here. [This would include pictures of our very own Gus making a sloppy frosting pig of himself!]

Betty Looked lovely!

We had cake. It is a safe for pooches from Paw Pleasers Here is the birthday girl herself enjoying cake and sharing it very nicely with her big sis, Princess

The folks at Camp Run a Mutt were amazing. Really friendly and knowledgeable. If you haven't been over there yet, drop by. There is a waterfall in the doggies swimming pool. SWANKY! [or check them out on the pup cams at their website.]

We got Puggle blogged!

I had the opportunity to photograph a most adorable puggle named Max. He lives in Irvine. Lori [Max's Human Mom] is a blogger. Lo and behold we showed up on Max's blog. You can see a photo Lori took duing the shoot at My Puggle Max. I am so glad they had a good time here. We certainly enjoyed them. Here is a photo from my shoot with Max the Puggle.


Lori is a graphic designer and did a very cool "Che" style graphic of Max for a tee shirt. We are talking about offering these to our customers for their own dogs. Stay tuned!

The Lovely Lilly

OK, so I know I have been a bit obsessed with the addition of the amazing Gus. I have been neglecting the amazing dogs and kids that visit our studio everyday. So I want to start honoring our wonderful clients by recognizing the Lovely Lilly.

Monica, Lilly's Human Mom, told us about how sweet and wonderful Miss Lilly is but we could not have imagined just how sweet! Enough words, here are some pictures. Oh! two more words ~ Soulful Eyes.

Our Founding Dogs

When Thomas Jefferson crossed the Atlantic in November 1789, he brought to Virginia a small band of foreign emigrants. On board the Clermont with Jefferson, his two daughters, and the slaves James and Sally Hemings, were over sixty European trees and three French dogs.

The day before he left the French port of Le Havre Jefferson had been "roving thro the neighborhood of this place to try to get a pair of shepherd's dogs. We walked 10. miles, clambering the cliffs in quest of the shepherds, during the most furious tempest of wind and rain I was ever in." He had stumbled on a suicide in his ramblings, but found no dogs. The next day, however, the mission was accomplished, for Jefferson recorded in his Memorandum Book the payment of thirty-six livres (the equivalent of six dollars) for "a chienne bergere big with pup."

Bergère, as she was thereafter known, whelped on the transatlantic passage, and she and her two puppies were installed at Monticello early in 1790.

I found this t-shirt online and I love it. I am ordering one today for Gus!

Media Thomas Jefferson Dog T-Shirt

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be. ... When the press is free and every man can read, all is safe." (Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826)

$19.99

Dog Days of Summer

"Dog days" begin, heralded by the appearance at sunrise of Sirius, the Dog Star

Can you see the dog?