Linda Johnstone Photography

1.  Avoid treats to get your dog to pay attention – it might seem like the easiest thing to do, but actually results in your dog paying less attention to you and becoming completely fixated on the treat.   They also often become anxious as the treats keep arriving and produces a stressed look.  The resulting drool, doesn’t make for an attractive shot either.  I prefer to use words and sounds to get their attention, or a favourite toy. (Can be counter-productive for ball obsessed dogs!)

 

2. Get down to their level, so simple to do and can make a huge difference; also creates a more natural look as you’re shooting from their perspective.

3  Shoot from above Whilst a contradiction to the previous point it helps to get a different look, in fact shoot from all angles.  A lot of people take pictures from the position they are stood and at that level – get higher, get lower, move closer, take from a different perspective, just change it about and see what you get.

 

4.  A little bit of planning can go a long way.  Have an idea of what you want to achieve before you take the photo and then make it happen.  – it may not turn out exactly the way you hoped, but the outcome may turn out even better.

5.  Aim to capture their personality – as a dog owner you will know their strengths – play up to these.  If your dog is athletic, work with this, freeze the action (see next point).  If you have a more sedate or maybe an older dog, get some relaxed shots on their favourite chair, looking out of the window or basking in the sunshine in the garden.  If they have a cute look, you will know when it happens, make it happen and be ready with your camera.

6.  Know your camera!!  This is important whether you are using a compact camera aka point & shoot (P&S) or a dSLR.  Whatever camera you own, whatever level you are at, it really helps to know your camera – as tedious as it may be, but RTM is probably my best tip (read the manual!).

 

If using a P&S, rather than just use on fully automatic mode, use the creative modes – Sport Mode would be ideal for action shots.  The Portrait Mode will help blur the background and your dog in focus, which can make a very pleasing image.  This may take a bit more practice but worth the effort.

If you own a dSLR and haven’t got off fully automatic mode yet, a sleeping dog is an ideal opportunity to practice portrait style photography using Aperture Priority.

 

For those more experienced with their camera, use shutter priority mode (or fully manual) and shoot at speeds at least 1/500 (minimum 1/250) to freeze the action.   However, I do like slower speeds to produce a pleasing motion blur which done right I think is even better.  For action shots always use A1 Servo to focus in motion (Nikon equivalent is Continuous Servo AF)  A funny term but just means it will track focus and was developed for sports photographers – so a particularly useful feature for pet photography.

 

7.  Be aware of the background - a cute picture is going to be ruined if next week’s ironing is perfectly focused in the background. I know from experience that it’s not always possible to have a perfect setting, sometimes the moments just happen when something unavoidable is in the background.  This is when shooting wide open (or for compact camera users, shooting in portrait mode) is a huge advantage as the background is blurred and therefore less obvious.

 

8.  Have someone to help you.  It will be very difficult to handle your dog and take the pics,  So get somebody to help position them making sure it is someone who knows your dog – and more importantly someone who your dog knows.  Two people to help could be even better as the third person could be the one who gets their attention at the right moment, ideally stood just behind you so your dog is looking towards the camera.

 

To help get action shots, have your “assistant” throw a ball directly behind you, this way your dog is going to initially run directly at you and you can have your camera set and ready to catch the moment.  Make sure it is set on rapid fire to get a series of shots.  Always be aware though of your own safety, certain breeds are very powerful and run at great speed, younger dogs in particular do not have full spacial awareness and can clip you as they run past.  Always make sure you can get out of the way if necessary.

9.  Be patient, very, very patient.  It can take a lot of time to get the shot you want but with a bit of perseverance it is well worth the effort.

 

10. Finally, it is important to have fun.………….and even more important that your dog has fun too,  If you nag your dog into sitting and standing for too long when he wants to play, whilst he may co-operate up to a point, there is a risk he will get bored and the resulting image will also be boring.  Enjoy the moment, enjoy the time with your dog and not only will you capture some lovely images, you will create and capture beautiful memories.