Mini lesson: Photographing pets.

Let's face it, we LOVE our pets. We think everything they do is adorable, and as photographers we want to show the rest of the world how cute our pets are. But more often than not, our pet photos don't do our furry friends justice. Instead they end up looking something like this:

This past weekend I was given the last minute task of

taking some wall-worthy photos of my brother's puppy, midnight.

I did my research and have a few tips and tricks to share with my friends. =)

By following a few really simple tips, you can get photos that are 100% adorable.

1) Flash = FAIL!!!.If you try and use your camera's flash on your puppy or kitty, chances are you'll get a photo similar to the one above. Their eyes are very reflective, and their fur gets washed out.. making your cute little fuzzball look like a horrid blob with eyes and teeth. So do yourself a favor and switch that pesky popup flash to 'off.' Instead try to stick with natural light. Besides, I'm sure your puppy would love a romp around the park. Even the light from a sunny window will flatter your pet far better than your harsh flash will. That being said, check your camera settings. Adjust the shutter speed and aperture and take several test shots before you start shooting. You want to get your lighting right before you try to get that perfect shot. Which leads us to...

2) Be Trigger Happy.With pets or children you ,the photographer, have to be able to capture that perfect moment. To freeze time as it were, and snap the shutter at exactly the right time. Well no matter how you time it, truth is sometimes we miss that once in a lifetime shot. That's why when it comes to pets, 'continuous shooting mode' is your new best friend. With your flash already off, you're free to hold down the shutter button for as long as you need to. You can't miss. =)


You can always look through your shots and pick the best one- but remember:
THE RULES OF COMPOSITION STILL APPLY!!!

Below- Example of continuous shooting mode using light from a nearby window:
If I had waited for my flash to recharge, I would have completely missed this shot.



3) Get in my face. Try not to worry for a minute about puppy licking your camera lens. Get down on their level, and fill the frame with that cute fuzzy face. The closer you are to the subject, the less distracting the background will be. The closer, the better.

4) Let them play.Heaven knows we've all tried to pose our pets. To make them sit perfectly still with some unnessecary prop, trying to get the perfect posed shot we've had in the back of our head for days but will probably never get. The best shots you'll ever get will be shots of your pets playing and having fun. Follow them around and let them do what they do best- play! Keep your camera handy for those spontaneous shots. You'll be glad you did.



I promise to start blogging more regularly. Been sick for awhile now, but finally starting to feel like myself again. I have loads more to share, but until then, I hope you guys can use some of these tips! As always- Happy photographing. xoxo =) -Mrs. Hayley Harper