Pet Photography: Top Tips

Everyone loves to see photos of pets–whether it’s a cat, puppy, parrot or even goldfish. Getting a great shot of your pet isn’t as easy as you think. We’ve got 5 pet photography top tips:

1. Trickery With Treats
A tried and true tip–hold up a tasty snack. Work with a second set of hands and have that person wave the snack a little over the pet’s head so eyes are up. Don’t place it so they are squinting into the sun, but instead position to catch lots of light on fur and face.

2. No Flash, Turn Shutter Off
Most pets are a little jumpy around sudden noises and surprises. Turn off your flash and maybe even the shutter sound. Turning off the flash also helps you avoid the equivalent of ‘red eye’—which is actually white or yellow eye in animals—as well as unwanted reflections. Try to shoot outdoors. If you cannot shoot outdoors, bounce a source of light off of a wall or ceiling.
4. Look into their Eyes
9 times out of 10, if your mutt’s mug is squarely in the frame you should position the focus point over one of the eyes.

3. What’s Their Purrsonality?
We bet your pet has purrsonality. Capture that and you’ll have a winning photo. Determine what makes your pet special, then stage your photo accordingly. Patience, plenty of shots and perhaps more than one session will eventually help you nab that perfect image.

We managed to capture our cat taking a late afternoon nap. We’re wishing we had set out a contrast color blanket for her bed.

5. A Short Leash
Nice thing is that candid pet photography can be done whenever the mood strikes. Sneak up on the bird when it’s asleep, or when Fido is resting after a big meal. Short sessions are best for any sort of posed pet photography. Animals get bored, distracted and become wise to the situation–which means you may not get the most from their personality.

Got some great pet photos? Share some with us on the Winkflash Facebook page.

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