Easy How To Take Portraits of Your Pets

People love their animals. Learning to take good pictures is another way to show love for your cherished pet. There are so many good reasons to have good pictures. First and foremost, we love to show off our pets, and having a wallet sized photo that shows our pet at their best is always a sure sign of a pet lover. Having that same photo as an 8”x10” glossy, hanging on your wall, is just expected of a devoted pet lover.

Another very good reason you’d want a good photo, is in case you ever have to make those dreaded ‘Reward’ posters to hang up in the neighborhood, or post on all the pet finder sites. This happens when you least expect it, and if you’re lucky, as I was, a good photo got my dog home by the next day. A neighborhood boy saw the picture on his way home from school, and called me. He knew which kids took my dog. I got him back within the hour. I can never stress enough how important having a good photo of your dog can help identify your pet.

All the reasons you should have good photos of your pets? Well, those vary from pet owner to pet owner, and as the list is endless...all are good reasons. You'll want to get pictures while they’re young, it goes so fast, puppy and kitten pictures will be treasured a lifetime. Pets get old before we do, and you’ll want to have their photo to remember them for your lifetime. Pet photos remind us that even when we’re discouraged with our pets, we still love them, and thought enough about them to take good photos. These are all good reasons to try to get a good picture of your beloved dog or cat, or whatever animal you’ve chosen to cherish.

Set the Stage

Get the area you are going to use ready, before taking your pet in for their photo session. The ‘stage’ can be on your bed, on your couch, or even on a table for small pets. Any area that will make it comfortable for you and your pet and still be able to take pictures and adjust backgrounds, lamps or lighting.

The background can be any solid color blanket, spread, sheet, or material. I used what I had, then went to the fabric store and got some ‘backgrounds’ to use for taking more pictures of my friends and families pets. Spread the background up the front of the pillows, or the back of the couch. Make it the entire background. If you want to have a ‘split’ background, and make the background two colors, then cover the pillows or back of the couch with a different color. Or, get some poster board colors. Even foam board will work. They come in great colors, and for a small pet, these are easily changed. I would suggest getting black and white, and a color that contrasts, with your pet. Colors that blend make it hard to see the ‘star’ of the shot.

Lighting

Natural lighting is best, but if that is not possible, use lamps. You can get great shots just setting up lamps. Yes there are many types of light bulbs, for now, let’s just try using what we have. A light lesson is definitely for another story. If you have any of those garage lights that focus the direction and have an aluminum shade, those work great too. Set up one to shine on the background so you don’t get any shadows. Setup another light to shine on their face, which is what you really would like to capture, those amazing pet expressions we all love. If you have a third light, set it up a little further away than the first two, to light up the area. If you can avoid using flash, you’ll get more natural pictures, and you’ll be able to take more pictures more quickly, since your camera doesn’t have to recharge between shots.

Most cameras have what is called ‘White Balance’. This tells the camera what type of setting the picture is. Whether it is outside, sunny, shady, cloudy, or inside, with fluorescent lights, tungsten lights, incandescent lights, there are just too many to include. We’ll leave White Balance for that other lesson on light. So if you are so inclined and if you know what kind of light bulbs you have, change the setting of the White Balance. Otherwise, leave it on the default, AWB, for Auto White Balance, and let your camera do the guessing for you.

Camera Setup

Set the camera on a tripod, or if you don’t have one, set it on a hard surface at the end of the bed or table, or on a chair or table if you’re using the couch. Focus it on the entire area you’ve setup. That way you can just push the button, get the shot, and crop it down later. Getting shots to work with is the first priority. Making them perfect is for your photo program. Even the do-it-yourself stations at the department stores have cropping and lighting, so for now, just get pictures you can fix later.

Of course, having a wireless remote is the best option, but if you don’t have one, just be sure you can work with your pet, and reach your camera to press the button. You’ll be able to take multiple pictures of your pets, without having to rearrange the camera.

Set your camera on ‘Auto’, if you just want to get some quick shots. Most cameras have a ‘Portrait’ setting that could work nice too. Use 'Sports' if you have a pet that moves a lot, and can't stay still, even for a second! :) Have your camera zoomed out all the way, or to where just the area you setup is in the shot. Put an item in the shot about where your pet will be, and press the button to focus, and you’re set. Take a practice shot, to be sure, and check to see that it got all the area in, and the lighting is right on the object, and then go get your pet.

‘Smile for the Camera!’

Ok, so we can’t get them to sit just right, look at the camera, and be still for a second. But you can! Pets nap a lot. Get them when they’re ready for a nap, or wake them up once they doze off. They’re much more sedate, and will be willing to see just what it is you might be wanting. Pets are wonderful, aren’t they? So be sure to have something for them, for dogs have their favorite treat, for cats have their favorite toy. Well, some cats respond to treats too, so whatever works the best for your pet. By holding the treat, or the toy, in just the right spot, you can have your pets looking up, down, left, right, wherever the treat or toy is, that's where they'll be looking, just be ready to shoot!

Set them in your staging area, let them look around, see what’s new, and get comfortable with the ‘new’ stuff. Pets are curious, and they just want to be sure everything is ok. So once they’ve decided it’s safe to relax, that’s when you can offer them the treat, or for cats, start teasing them with the toy. You’ll get their attention, and they’ll be ready for their close-up.

It helps to have two people, someone taking the pictures, and the other person handling the pet, so you can get the most shots. I do this alone, so it can be done. Check the slideshow, and you’ll see how I did it.

Taking Pet Pics is So Worth It

This is playtime for your pet, so enjoy it. The more you enjoy it, and are playing, too, the easier it’ll be for your pet to realize you just want to play, and they will be more than willing to cooperate. When hasn’t your pet wanted your attention? So enjoy the ‘photo-shoot’ and most of all, enjoy the amazing pictures you’ll treasure forever.

Here are some cute Chihuahua pics if you just like looking at dog pictures! These were not taken in one day, so be patient, as you get used to doing it, your pet will too.  You'll both get better at taking great pictures to frame with just a little practice.

Use a stuffed animal, or object, about the same size as yours to take a few practice shots, and get the lighting and focus right.  I used a piece of foam board for a flat surface at the end of the bed to set my camera on.  Using different backgrounds gave totally different looks to the same subject. Notice the one with the gold background, although not a bad shot, it doesn't really highlight him since its gold, and he's close to the same color. But it 'matches' enough to make it a nice blend. Use different colors to see what turns out best, and what you like the most.

I had a table top tripod to steady the camera, and just had to press the button between shots. (My new DSLR camera has a remote, so much easier!)  I knew the pictures would need to be cropped, but getting him to pose, while waiting for a treat was the most fun. He got to be quite the ~pozer~ and it made for a fun time, I think, for both of us.

Ok, you should know, his name is Oso, Spanish for bear. Well, he used to look like a little bear cub when he was a puppy, but he obviously grew out of that. So now I tell the kids, because he's "oh~so" cute! :) He was about 1 and a half when we took all these shots, and now he is two and a half. He still gets lots of pictures, but I probably need to 'setup' and take some more. I get the candid shots around the house, but none like this, so maybe it's time to re-shoot the dog!