real talk // gone to the dogs
I get asked all the time how I get such great photos of pets. And to be honest? It's not that tough! It requires a little patience, a little training and, most importantly, GOOD LIGHT. Are you seeing a theme in these posts? I hope so.So today, I'm going to break down the easiest way to get great shots of your pets. You don't need a studio or anything fancy, you just need a large window and some stinky cheese. Here we go.1. Get your animal in the room with the best light. For a refresher on lighting, go here. If you see your dog doing something cute at 10 pm by the light of your television, dear sweet jesus do NOT take a photo and post it online. No one else will tell you this, but I will: Photos taken inside at night? They usually suck. For it to be worth it, your cat better be hula hooping. Sorry to rain on your parade.2. Get the animal up a little. They are less likely to move if perched on something (a bed! a chair! a radiator!). Plus? This creates a more interesting angle.3. Remove all unnecessary clutter/color from the background. Keeping your shots clean is key. Below is an example of me doing this in my everyday life. Also? Shot on the iPhone.
This was Magda looking all sassy on my messy bed. So my first step was to (somewhat) make the bed and shoot it from an angle where you couldn't see my messy hampers/background. The middle photo is a little better, but by no means does my bed look like it's straight outta Pottery Barn (even though it is, ahem), so I changed up the angle in the last photo to really make the focus my dear, sweet girl. Much better, eh?4. If your animal is pretty good at sitting/staying, then you'll need a high value treat (bleu cheese is Magda's favorite) to draw their attention. You want to hold the cheese right below (or above) your camera lens. They will hold their gaze wherever the food is.5. If your dog will not stay and is instead lunging at you for the treat, maybe watch this video. (Yes, the effects and type are horrendous, but I really like this guy's technique.)See? Simple.