Better Portraits For Pets

Online Photography School

Better Portraits For Pets

Today’s photo tip is about pet portraits and how to get the animals attention! Pet portraits can be some of the most fun photography you do. As an added bonus, it’s a great photography training ground!

“Never Work With Kids or Animals!”

Or so says the old show business expression…Why, because they steal the show every time! While that may be a bad thing for an actor – for us it’s great! We want our pictures to be seen, liked, commented on, and so forth. So, the rule of thumb here is to ALWAYS include the family pets when you are shooting portraits. It takes more work, but after you’ve done it a few times you will quickly realize it’s worth the effort. Even better, do shots of each of the kids with their pets! Whether it’s your own kids or you are doing some photos for a friend… parents love ‘em! But, like everything else, pet portraits have their challenges. You won’t be doing pet portraits very long before you run across a dog or cat that simply won’t cooperate.

Why, and What Can You Do About It?

Dogs are basically pack animals and there is a distinct hierarchy in the pack. Alpha dogs and so on…There IS a competition between you as a photographer and the dog to determine who the Alpha dog is. Generally, it is no problem and the shoot goes smoothly, but sometimes you run across a dog that is shy. It is not only content in second spot, but WANTS to let you be the boss.
This becomes a problem because among dogs, eye contact (staring) is the first stage of a fight. The winner of the fight is the Alpha. The loser isn’t. A fight can be avoided by one of the two dogs breaking off eye contact and “surrendering.” In addition to breaking off eye contact, they will often lay on their back, exposing the stomach. This is a vital, easily damaged area and to expose it signals complete surrender.

In your pet portraits, you don’t want a dog that looks like it was just beaten! You want one that looks alert and vitalized. But, the dog sees the lens as an eye staring at them and if it is a shy dog, to avoid a fight, it won’t look back! There is your “why” a dog won’t look at the camera. BTW -If the dog has been abused in the past (which is often the case for rescue dogs) you really have your work cut out for you. Allow a lot of extra time to get to know the animal and get them comfortable with you.

Cats won’t look at a camera for the simple reason that you want them to. They’re obstinate. Cats will be your nemesis. But if you succeed it is worth it. To get pets to look at you… for dogs, sound is the key. For cats use visual stimuli. As a visual stimulus for cats a peacock feather flicking around the lens will get their attention for a while. For dogs, get a dog toy with a “squeaker” in it. Keep it hidden from the dog – and when you are ready to shoot, gently squeak it. This unusual, hard to hear, hidden source of sound will immediately get the dog’s attention! It will look at you, put up its ears, look attentive and so on. Don’t let the dog see the toy. The longer it takes for it to figure out what is making the sound, the more shots you will get. When it starts to lose interest in the squeaking, flick it into the air.
Needless to say with both the squeaker and the feather, you have to be ready to shoot the instant the animal looks at the camera. You will only get a split second to capture the ultimate moment.
Shooting animals is the best photo training I know to learn how to shoot fast! Give it a try… animals will drive you nuts, but good pet portraits are definite contest winners!
About the Author:
Dan Eitreim