11 tips to take better photos of your dog
By Denise Rigler on 01/03/2025 13:00
1. Don’t make it a big deal that you’re taking a photo, refrain from pointing your camera or your phone camera at your dog too much. Some dogs become very suspicious and anxious, you don't want to ruin your relationship for the sake of a quick snap. Trying too hard and firing commands like sit, down and stay repetitively will bore dog or stress him out.
2. Use natural light, a window or go outdoors is just as good as artificial light.
Depending on what type of photo you are after try and remember this saying. “Nose to the light”
Try to avoid midday as the Sun is really high in the sky and will blow out your photos and make it really hard to capture details. Cloudy days are actually perfect as the light is diffused by the clouds.
3. Observe what your dog likes to do during the day, maybe sleeping in his bed? Why not leave your camera close and setting ready to capture a cute moment.
4. If your dog is running after a ball, make sure your settings like shutter speed is fast enough to capture fast movement and be prepared to crouch down low.
5. Get down low, and go lower.
Photos that are taken from human perspective are often unimaginative and boring in the animal world. Get down on their level you are then instantly transformed into their world.
6. Make odd noises to get their attention for that perfect head tilt and perky ears but be warned, use a noise the same time more that a couple of times they will be desensitised to that noise.
Wait till they are looking away, make that strange noise and be lightening fast with your shutter button.
7. Be calm, patient and trust the process.
As soon as your dogs sense you’re frustrated you won’t get that beautiful moment.
It’s best to try again the next day
8. Be mindful of the surroundings. You don’t want an ugly council bin or a tree branch sticking out of your dogs head.
It takes practice to be aware of the background scene as well as trying to capture a fast moving dog.
9. Don’t rely on treats to get your dogs attention, they are good for the last resort but if you get those treats out as soon as you go out on your photo capturing mission you might find your dog won’t relax and will keep coming back to you especially if you don’t normally take treats out on your daily walks.
10. Take photos of other subjects on your walks or pretend to take photos of trees, rocks, your shoes ect.... So your dog sees you behind the camera as a normal thing. When you come to pointing the camera at your dog they won’t be so spooked.
11. Take a friend with you on your walk. They could help you by keeping your dog on lead and pose if you have a particular photo in mind.
