Floyd is celebrating Christmas with us this year while his dad is with his family, so we decided to honor the occasion with a holiday mini shoot. I’m including a few hints for getting the perfect pet photo.
get low
It’s important to get eye-to-eye with your pet, to see the world at their level. For this cover shot I was on my belly, and you can see my reflection in Jessie’s eyes. She was totally focused on me and what I was doing,
focus on the eyes
Make sure the eyes are in focus! It’s the most important part of any portrait. But, of course, for every rule there is an exception. This picture of Rosie from last Christmas focuses on her nose and her sleepy eyes blur into the bokeh. It works.
dress for success
Capture the mood with props or costumes. Floyd is sporting a festive bow tie and as a bonus, a funny expression. This summer we bought costumes for both dogs: a lobster for the trip to Maine, a shark for NatGeo’s shark week, and then a lion for Halloween. Floyd got a no-shed suit, which he hasn’t been wearing…
motivation
Snacks are very powerful motivators, but sometimes they are too distracting! We had to put the snacks away pretty quickly last night because there were bubbles of drool forming. A favorite toy, like Floyd’s tennis ball, can help keep his attention.
capture the action
Freeze the moment. you get a lot of pictures of splashes and a lot of less than graceful jumps to get the perfect launch. This was actually the first picture I took of Tank, and none of the rest were anything close… Sometimes you get lucky.
