We love our dogs and we want to take amazing pictures of them that we can cherish forever! Plus, we know that other people would love to see our dogs too, so we need great pictures to share on social media. Not to mention you might want to have a social media account for your dog so that you can get free or discounted products! But to do that you need great pictures to attract people to your dog’s account.
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Recommended Basic Training
Now you can take some great pictures of your dog without doing any training at all, but a bit of training is helpful. Teaching your dog to stay can be one of the best options. If your dog isn’t running around but is holding a stay instead, it’s easier to get a great picture.
Training your pup to sit, lay down, and stand can also be great options. Depending on the situation you may want to have your dog sitting on a bench, laying on the beach, or standing in front of a fountain. If you can teach him to stay in all of these positions even better!
As always, a good recall is essential to have in your dog’s training tool belt.
Other fun things to teach your dog that could be helpful are things like: having your dog turn his head to the side, look at you, look away from you, or put his front paws on something. For instance, training your dog to put his paws up on the railing of a bridge so it looks like he is looking at the water below. Or having him look straight at you and the camara. Of course, what you train your dog to do is only limited by your imagiantion!
Have Treats Handy
Dogs will do almost anything for a reward! So, have some tasty treats or a toy ready when you head out for a walk or intent to have a photo shoot. If the dog knows you have treats he will be a little bit more likely to want to participate in the photo shoot. Make sure to keep the treats pretty small in case you need to use a lot of them! Use treats to reward your dog for staying and to lure him into the position that you want him in.
If your dog likes to play then a quick game of tug or fetch after the photo is a great option! Especially since a lot of dogs get very excited and impatient if they have to “stay” for very long.
Pay Attention To Your Surroundings
You should pay attention to your surroundings for two reasons when it comes to getting a good picture of your canine. Reason one, is that you want to keep your eyes peeled for a good spot to take the picture. Perhaps there is a cool stump, fallen log, bridge, flowers, fountain, meral, or fall colored leaves. Keep an eye out for interesting, strange, pretty, or cool places to take a pic of your pup. Also, make sure that it is a safe place that is stable and not near anything that could prove dangerous.
Once you find a place to take the picture, before you attempt to put your dog in position for the picture, you should look around for things that may distract him. Are there dogs or people walking toward you, is there a squirrel running by, are their pigeons close at hand? Try to wait until the distraction is gone or try to find low distraction areas. This will make it much easier for your dog to hold his position.
Let Your Dog Sniff
One thing that you must do is allow your dog to sniff first. If you try to take a picture before your dog has had a thorough sniffing of the area he will likely be more wiggly when you try to take the picture. Let him sniff first, and then the area will be boring and he will be more likely to sit still for you.
Get On Their Level
The best picture of your dog will be take on their level. This means that you need to crouch, bend, sit, or otherwise get the camara on the level with your dog. Making it so that you camara lines up with your dog’s head.
It is also fun to get slightly below your dog and aim the camara up to your dog. This is particularly nice if you are posing your dog on a rock, fence, or anything that is elevated. These can turn out to be adorable pictures of the dog looking down at the camara.
One other option that can turn out nice is to take the picture from above and have your dog look up at you. This is a good option if there is a cool ground cover, flooring, or fall leaves. You can get what your dog is sitting on and his sweet smile looking up at you!
Be Fast
Even if you have checked your surrounding and your dog has a solid stay, you don’t want to dilly-dally when taking the picture. Most dog’s dislike having to sit for ages waiting for you to get the perfect shot. So, take a few pictures, reward your dog, and move on or at least re-arrange him abit so he won’t be as board.
Picture Burst For Action Shots
It can also be super fun to get some action shots! This is where you would use the picture burst feature on your camara. Just hold down the picture button and take tons of pictures all at once. You can get some great pictures this way. Crouch down and try calling your dog to come to you from a distance. As he runs to you hold the button down. You are sure to get some great pictures of his ears and lips flapping about!
You can do the picture burst anytime your canine is being active. This will certainly give you some interesting pictures!
Make It Positive
As always make sure that your dog is having a good time as you take pictures of him. This means give plent of praise, treats, and maybe even some play time after. And be sure to be fast!
Dog’s hate it if they are in the middle of enjoying a good walk and you suddenly whip out your phone for a picture by a gorgeous vista. The picture is interupting their beautiful walk! So, the less time you take the better. Being fast is a good way to respect your dog.
Conclusion
There are lots of different options for taking pictures of your dog on his level, a little below his level, above him, or in a picture burst! All of these can produce great pictures of your dog! It is a good idea to be fast but also take lots of pictures and don’t feel bad if you only get 1 good picture in every 5 or so that you take. Dogs can be wiggley and that’s okay!
What will you do with all the pictures of your dog? You can use them to cover your walls, for you or your dog’s social accounts. You could even create a calendar with your dog on every page and then gift it to people for Christmas! Have fun!
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