Top 10 Tips for Getting Your Pet Camera-Ready
Good Photos are Necessary for a Successful Adoption
Make sure your photos are well-lit, clear and close enough to show your pet’s face. A good photograph of your pet makes all the difference in how many Adopters will view your pet’s profile. The more views, the better their chance of adoption. To help you, we have gathered up some tips on how to get those adorable photographs!
Make your photo shoot a fun experience for both you and your pet, and your shots are likely to reflect it!
1. Treats are Just the Trick
Use food to get their attention. Holding a favorite treat just out of view will keep your pet focused on looking into the camera. Keeping treats on hand will also let you reward your pet for being a good “subject!”
2. Be Playful
Make your pet’s playfulness a central feature of your image. Include their toys, or if your pet is not too large, take a picture with them sitting on top of you. Also, don’t use shots that show too much of the whites of your dog’s eyes: it tends to make them look sad.
3. Lighting Matters
Lighting makes any photograph what it is and, when it comes to pets, it’s especially important. When photographing dark-colored pets, avoid back-lighting, such as a bright window. The light source should be behind you or to the side. Avoid a white background. With white pets, too much light will cause you to run the risk of over-exposed shots, so try to find a location out of direct sunlight and definitely avoid a flash.
4. Consider the Angles
Have a male dog? In this case, a degree of modesty may be called for. Make sure you’re not revealing too much. If he’s “over-exposed” in your photo, it’s all anyone will see.
5. Tell the whole story
Make sure to get a photo of your pet’s face looking straight at the camera. Then, a photo from the side to show the whole animal’s body. Mix up your framing. Take some tightly cropped facial shots but also make sure you take 3/4 body shots as well as full body shots. This way, you end up with photographs that give potential adopters a full perspective of who your pet is.
6. Neatness Counts
Make sure your dog or cat is the center of attention with no distractions. A simple background without clutter is ideal. Sometimes the best locations are the plainest ones – a large patch of green grass, for instance.
7. Get on their level
For the cutest and most appealing photos, get eye-level with your pet – even if that means lying down on the floor to get the shot! Getting down on your pet’s level means the viewer enters their world and gets a glimpse of what life looks like from their point of view.
8. Get in Close
The closer the shot, the more intimate and personal it will feel. It’s not always easy, especially with pets who are active and always on the move, but it’s worth making the effort to capture their personality and facial expressions. It is likely that what you find most lovable, adopters will too!
9. Ready, Set, Shoot
You cannot take great photos if you do not have a camera with you. As long as you have access to your smart phone, you are able to capture those spontaneous and unique moments you might have otherwise missed.
10. And…. Action!
Use burst mode on your smartphone during action shots. Burst mode takes several quick photos, instead of just one. This lets you choose from a few photos to capture an un-blurred, sharp shot of your pet in motion. This can also lead to a wonderful sequence of shots that work well together.