Hello!
Many of you from Twitter have commented on how Dogopolis’ photos looks nice and professional, and have asked me about the camera that I use etc. Most of the time I use a Digital SLR but I also take a lot of the photos with my iPhone camera. I would agree that a good camera enhances the quality of the image, but there are other things that you can do to get a great photo of your dog, even if you don’t have a fancy schmancy DSLR.
So here is a short tutorial for ya:
1. Get your dog used to the camera
Trust me, I'm a Poofessional
The first thing is to get your dog used to the camera. Most of you have probably snapped hundreds of pictures of your pup so this won’t be a problem but some dogs might not be as familiar with the camera, they might try to sniff it or get close to it because they’re curious about it. If this is the case, distract them by giving them toys to play with or take them to an outdoor setting where they will be amused with plenty of other things and forget that the camera is there. In general, get them used to being in front of the camera by spending more time taking pictures of them.
2. Lighting
While Indoors, I find that natural lighting works best for the dog’s feature, try to look for indirect light near windows, pose your dog so the light is facing them and you are holding the camera with the light source behind you.
Outdoors, be aware of the time of the day and how that reflects the quality of the image. The best time to take photographs outside the house would be before 10-11 am and after 3 pm. I find that the afternoon sun is a little harsh but if you must take photos during this time, do it in areas where there are some shade.
3. Pose
Dogs are pretty photogenic, they are naturally cute and they don’t care if they look fat in pictures. Once you get them used to the camera, you will find that it’s pretty easy to get a good picture of them. It also helps to have a dog that LISTENS to your command because you can pose them to stay still and tell them to pay attention to you. You can also make it fun for them by giving them a treat after you take a picture of them.
4. Close up is good
My favorite photos of dogs have been the ones that are a close up to their face, showing their expression. Don’t be afraid to put the camera really close to them, or at ground level. Experiment with different angles and position of the camera.
Turtle, Smiling on cue
5. Be ready and aware
Be ready and aware because you never know when your dog might be sleeping upside down with his tongue hanging out, and you want to have a camera handy because they might not be in that pose for very long. I like using my phone camera for this situation because it’s easy to use.
6. Have fun!
Have fun! If you’re having a good time, your dog will have a good time and you’ll have a great picture. Don’t stress out if the pictures are not what you expected. Keep taking pictures!