6 Pet Photography Tips – How To Photograph Your Furry Friends
If you have a pet, chances are you have dealt with your fare share of blurry photos during their cutest moments. It’s not easy to keep their attention long enough to snap a photo, let alone have great lighting, eye contact, and a good angle. There’s a reason the professional pet photography industry exists!
Here are 6 pet photography tips that are sure to help you capture the true cuteness of your furry friend!
1. Models don’t work for free
Unless your pet is sleeping, it’s best to motivate them with a treat or toy so they don’t get distracted. This not only keeps them still and attentive, but it usually creates a very wide-eyed, excited expression. You know what your animal loves, so take advantage and get creative!
2. Lighting is everything
Taking an image in a low-light setting is only successful with very high-end cameras. With most cameras like smart phones and small lens cameras, the shutter speed—or the speed at which the camera’s shutter is open to take an image—is much slower in low-light so the camera can capture all available light and the image doesn’t appear dark. As a result, your camera along with whatever you are taking a picture of must remain completely still for a longer than normal to get a clear photo. For an animal, that’s usually asking too much.
We recommend having your pet photography session in a nice outdoor area or in front of a window that brings in a lot of natural light for a faster shutter speed and a clearer photo.
3. Find their setting
The best place to take pictures of your pet is where they are comfortable. If you move them to an area of your home or outside they have never been, they will likely be very distracted. If you frequently find your pet on a window seat, lounging in the sun, or they love being outdoors, you are in luck as the lighting in these places is on your side. Outdoor settings are even better because they are usually the most colorful and clutter-free. Remember to pay special attention to our previous tip about lighting, but try to remain in a setting they are used to.
Bonus tip- overcast weather is the BEST. There is no harsh direct sunlight, very subtle shadows, and still a lot of natural light.
4. Remain calm
When taking pictures, if you’re stressed and especially being louder than normal, this might confuse or concern your animal, causing them to disengage or act differently themselves. Remaining calm and natural around your pet will help them stay still and relaxed for the best pictures.
5. Scan old pet pictures
This tip might seem different, but it is one of the most important tips we can give you. Many people have printed photos of the animals they lost. Up until recently, that was the only way to get your pictures. It’s very important that you scan your old pictures to protect them from loss and keep your memories alive. We can do this for you! Click here for more info.
6. Collect and preserve
Once you have a collection of adorable pet pictures, don’t just keep them on your camera, phone or computer! The best thing to do is print them, hang them up, or best of all, create a custom photo book of all your pets so you can flip through them whenever you want and share them with friends and family. Just like photo scanning, we can create custom photo books for you. Click here for more info.
Make sure you don’t keep them in one place. It’s very easy to lose printed and digital pictures in the blink of an eye. Check out the article below for tips on how to safeguard your pictures.
