Tips on How To Take Great Photos of Your Pets

There’s nothing cuter than pet pictures - they make for great memories, brighten up our social media feeds, and add sunshine to our days! At Happy Hounds, we have a reputation for being super communicative during our pet sitting and dog walking. Sending pictures of our fluffy clients to their families is a big part of our day, and we've learnt a few tips and tricks along the way. Grab a camera or your phone, and get ready to play pup-arazzi! 

Setting Up 

📸 Lighting: Natural lighting is always best, and golden hour isn’t just for Golden Retrievers! Avoid harsh lights and flashes directly in your pet’s eyes, as those can scare your pet and give them red eyes.  

 📸 Setting: Pet safety should always be a priority. For example, tether your pup away from traffic, and make sure your cat isn't posing next to toxic plants, such as lilies.  

 📸 Props: Have your pet wear the costume or accessories they’ll be modelling at least a few times before the shoot. These tests will ensure the costumes are safe for your pet. It will also make them more likely to stay comfortable and calm while you snap away! 

📸 Treats: Compensate your models for their hard work; lots of positive reinforcement and treats help make this a fun activity. Practice poses, such as sit, lie down, and sit pretty before incorporating them into the shoot. Clicker training helps here, because you can click to reward, take the picture, and then give a treat.  

📸 Assistant: A helper can be useful to keep your pet calm. Action shots, such as jumping for a toy, performing a trick, or even being kept safe, is easiest done in pairs. 

How to Take Great Photos of your Pets

🐾 Get down to their level - Unless you’re planning a cute puppy-face look, focus of the camera at your pet’s eye-level. Teach your pet the ‘stay’ command when kneeling to avoid the likelihood they'll come running to you for a close-up when you're looking to capture a wide angle.

🐾 Use a faster shutter speed - Some fluffy friends won't stay still for much longer than a few seconds. A faster shutter speed and a longer lens on your camer, or burst mode and focus tracking on your phone, can help you capture that purr-fect moment in a heartbeat! 

🐾 Portrait mode: Portrait mode on your phone is great for professional-looking closeups of your pet, focusing on their face and blurring out the background a bit. 

🐾 Get their attention: Make high pitched sounds or bring a squeak toy to get a cute head tilt. For an attentive, happy expression, dangle a high value treat or a toy just above the lense. The ‘Look at me’ command is a great trick to teach your pup (and even cats), and comes in very handy during photography sessions. 

🐾 Detail shots: Try out different shots, such as just the tip of your pup's nose, their paw, or a profile picture. Try different poses, such as having them lay down, sit facing away from you and looking over their shoulder, or posing on things such as a park bench (all the while respecting public property, of course!).  

Experiment!

Taking great photos of your pets should be fun for both of you! You can introduce new experiences to your pets in an enjoyable manner, just remember if your pet feels uncomfortable, pause the photo shoot and come back to it later. 

🐶 Bubbles: Pet-safe bacon flavoured bubbles are a hit with some pets and a really fun photo op for those who like colourful action shots. 

🐶 Paw Beans - Pictures of kittens or puppy’s little paw pads always make our hearts melt. This fun and easy trick is great for our feline friends; all you need is a glass table and some tuna or chicken paste.  Spread a little bit of paste on the glass table and start shooting pictures from underneath for a cute and fluffy shot! 

🐶 Fairy Lights - Fairy lights are a great way to create soft, festive lighting for cats and dogs alike! Bunch them in front of your pet on a blanket (or even in a large ‘cloud’ of cotton wool), dim the lights, and have your pets lie down on them for an angelic look. 

🐶 Running in Water - If your pup loves the beach, running in the shallow water towards you can create an awesome effect! If they don’t like the water, but still love the beach, you can get some fun effects of their reflection from the wet sand., or even some lovely sunset photos 

🐶 Photo Stand In - This one is a great activity for kids and kittens! Cut a circular hole on the side of the cardboard box, just big enough for your cat to poke their head out of, and draw a fun scene around it. It can be anything; the Mona Lisa, a Fun picture frame, a flower; once your cat is inside the box, wiggle a feather wand just outside and when they poke their head out, take a picture of them! 

At Happy Hounds Dog Walking and Pet Sitting, we love taking pictures of our furry superstar’s smiles; we’re known for sending lots of pictures of your pets to you, so you’ll feel close to them, even when you’re away. 

Give us a ring or send us a message to see how we can help put a smile on your fluffy best friend’s face, and yours too! Check out our other blog posts for more pet advice and tips.