Top Tips for Dog Photography

Take your actual camera with you (not your cell phone!) and plan to take pictures. Choose the location & time of day to give you the best advantage. Better photographs happen early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Get eye level with your dog more than any other angle.
But also take your time to look all around your dog, photographing from all angles - left, right, in front and behind, above and below. Pull back out so your dog is small in the landscape, and get close close so you fill the frame.
With dark furred dogs, make sure they are facing the light. With white dogs, make sure you photograph NOT between 10am-4pm summer hours.
Always use 'burst mode' to take multiple images back to back.
Use Aperture Priority for still subjects, use Shutter Speed Priority for moving subjects.
Use treats but not balls as they create a more 'crazy eye' look! Use squeaky toys only if your dog is not bonkers for them! Just use it once per setup, not incessantly.

Sandprints Pet Photography Gallery

Shoot in Aperture Priority (A or Av)

Dog Portraits & Details

The aperture number (f/stop) controls how many things are in focus in relation to what you have put in focus using your focus tool.
The higher the aperture number (f/8 +), the more 'things' in focus.
In other words: you choose to focus on a chihuahua nose (f/2.8) or the whole face (f/8)

Shoot in Shutter Speed Priority (S or Tv)

Dog in Action

Fast Shutter Speed captures Fast Action = 1/1000th second (see the droplets of water flying)
Slow Shutter Speed blurs the movement creating mood - a great trick to practice. How slow your shutter speed depends on how fast the subject is moving... Aim for 1/40th if they are trotting.

Find your ISO button on the body of your camera

ISO

The higher the ISO number, the more sensitivity to light. So, when it is darker, you can raise your ISO number to allow you more latitude to photograph at a faster shutter speed (because faster shutter speed means less light), OR using a higher aperture number (for example if you have more than one dog in your picture).

Sunny Day - ISO 100 // very late sunset - ISO 1600

Get your dog's attention in surprising ways

You know how to whistle, don't you?

The classic head tilt is such a crowd-pleaser. It shows interaction and personality. It never fails to make you chuckle. Achieving it is as simple as finding an unusual noise - a fake sneeze, a cockadoodledoo, a whisper or a whistle.

Posing tip 1

The Regal Sit

Sit your dog slightly sideways to you. Step back carefully and in a boring way. Then make a single strange noise. This sideways angle makes them appear all the more regal and upright.

Posing Tip 2

Running towards the camera

Choose Shutter speed priority & a high speed - 1/1000th or higher. This works best with a friend to hold your dog until you are in position. Down low, fully zoomed and facing the dog. Make sure you are in burst mode.

Posing Tip 3

Details & Close Ups

iPhones have a feature called High Dynamic Range, or HDR. HDR allows you to take pictures that have high contrast light sources (for example, a bright s

Posing Tip 4

Owner & Dog

Make a trade with a friend & photograph each other with their dog. It is a surprisingly fun activity if you are game for a laugh!

Walking to & from the camera (make sure the background is nice and clean, no trees out of the head, no cars, no fences)
Seated cuddle so both arms are around the dog. Encourage the owner to look at the dog, not at the camera.
Ask the owner to touch their forehead to the dog's head and close their eyes.
If the dog knows 'paw' this can be a sweet picture, in profile only.

Posing Tip 5

Silhouette

Get down very low to the ground - even lying down on it makes the image vastly superior.
Make sure the sun is on the other side of the subject.
Make sure the horizon line in the distance is lower than the subject's head.
Adjust your settings to expose for the sky, not the subject.

Gallery

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