How to take pet photograph

No matter what your pet is, every animal is unique and, in your humble opinion as his or her ‘parent’, yours is the most beautiful animal to ever grace this planet. And that’s exactly the way it should be. However when it comes to trying to photograph your pet, how do you capture that spirit, that personality, that ‘special something’ about them in a photograph that you can treasure? Thanks to affordable digital cameras this task has been made easier than ever before – no more wasting rolls and rolls of film trying to catch that elusive ‘perfect portrait’…

The skills needed to capture a stunning image of your treasured pet are much the same as needed for taking photos of any kind of wildlife – bucket loads of patience; willingness to be flexible over lighting and exposure; being aware of the feelings of your pet; and lots and lots of shots! Thanks to digital cameras it doesn’t matter how many images you take, you can snap away to your heart’s content and the more shots you take, the better your chances of catching that elusive image you are looking for. Even so, it can be made easier still – here are some handy tips you may want to consider…

Plan your shot

Before you even pick up your camera, think about what it is about your pet that you want to capture for posterity. For instance, is it the way your pet manages to take over an entire bed when they sleep? Or the way they look so adorable when they eat? If you have a certain shot in mind make sure you time your ‘photo shoot’ accordingly and wait for the moment to present itself.

Use the right equipment

When you are getting ready to take your pet photographs, it is best to check you are using the best lens for the conditions and shot you are trying to take, and also that your camera is set to the right ‘shooting mode’. For example, if you’re using an SLR camera, you may want to use a higher magnification zoom lens to enable you to take detailed ‘close-up’ shots from a distance without being in your pet’s face which may distract them from the shot you are attempting to get.

Your camera should be set to a fast exposure time otherwise you’ll end up with a series of motion blurs every time your pet moves – especially if you are trying to get pictures of them running or playing. On an SLR, choose the ‘shutter priority’ mode and opt for a fast shooting speed - 1/200th of a second or faster if possible and allow the camera work out its own exposure setting.

If you are using a ‘point & pray’ camera, if you choose the ‘sports mode’ setting, this will be pre-programmed to capture fast-moving events. Some camera have the ability to shoot continuously, if yours does, make sure that you set it to this option as well – as you could be lucky and manage take a whole sequence of fantastic shots of your pet in action.

Patience is a virtue

No matter how intelligent they are, your pet doesn’t understand that you’re trying to take their picture – that’s why even the best trained pet will refuse to obey commands like "That’s perfect, hold that!" or "move just a little to the left". So you will need every ounce of patience you possess to wait for them to strike that perfect pose in their own sweet time. The worst thing you can do is chase them around with the camera, let them relax and you will get a much better photograph. If you want a picture where they have to look at the camera, try holding a favourite toy above your camera to grab attention.

Remember your Focus

Don’t forget, camera’s auto focusing systems will be more successful locking onto a solid object (like an eyeball or a collar) than a clump of fur. And if your pet is moving and changing their distance from the camera, remember to keep focusing and refocusing to compensate, that way when that perfect moment happens, you are perfectly placed to capture it in ‘pin-sharp’ resolution.

Watch your lighting

As a general rule, animals don’t mix well with flash photography - some animals are alarmed at the sudden bright light, and flash has a tendency to ‘bleach’ out any rich colours of an animal’s markings. Where possible you should attempt to use natural light as this is not only far less worrying for your pet but also gives far better results in terms of bringing out the best of your animals beauty. Don’t panic if there isn’t quite enough light, one of the many benefits of digital photography is that you can always artificially brighten the picture on your computer later on.

Keep your composure

No matter how good a photographer you think you are a good photo simply doesn’t happen by just pointing the lens at your subject and hoping for the best. You need to consider everything that you want to be in the picture as well as your pet.

Give some thought to the backdrop, do you want the sofa or favorite blanket, maybe a tree in the garden? Its possible you just want the focus to be solely on the animal. If your camera allows you to set the lens to a wide aperture (with a low f-stop, maybe 4 or lower), you can create some very artistic effects using ‘depth of field’ to give a blur to everything behind your pet.

Another thing to think about is camera angles. Do you want to capture your pet looking thoughtful, shot from the side; gazing off into the distance, or maybe shot from behind; perhaps looking straight into the lens? Get down to their level on the floor – not only will this give a better perspective than shooting down onto the top of your pet’s head, but it will also help them to relax.

Don't be people shy

Don’t be afraid to have people in the photograph with your pet. Just think how much more special that photo will be in the future if it also features another loved one. It need not be the whole person, for instance the simple inclusion of a hand stroking your pet is enough to lend some additional emotional warmth to your picture (as well as being a ‘sneaky’ way of keeping an overactive pet still long enough for you to get your shot).

If you decide to incorporate a person in the image, watch to see how the human and the cat interact with each other. If you’re really lucky, you might just capture that perfect, candid moment when a look passes between them or when the pet relaxes and breaks into that beaming smile or show of affection.

However the best tip of all is the age old saying "If at first you don't suceed, try, try again!" - the more time you spend around your pet with your camera, the more relaxed they will become and the more likely you will get your perfect pet photograph as they will ignore the camera completely, giving you a nice natural shot of you pet you can treasure forever.