Tips for Photographing Dogs with Your Cellphone
If like me, you’ve taken up 95 percent of your cellphone’s memory with dog pics, then you know how important it is to capture candid moments with your phone camera in the day to day—even if you go to a professional (pick Wild + Ruff!) for the more polished albums and epic wall art portraits.
Whether you’re looking to get your dog to sit still for more than a nanosecond or you want to capture them in action, there are lots of tricks you can use to take better dog photos.
Recently I wrote a blog post for FireFly Books, to share tips on outdoor dog photography with your smartphone, so that anybody can take their pics to the next level. Below is a sneak peek… click on the link at the end for the full set of tips.
Get down to your dog's level
The perspective you get off a dog, while lying on your belly or crouched low is so much more flattering than the one you get snapping from human height. You can even make little dogs like chihuahuas look small and mighty from down there, and it's more visually interesting to get immersed in any dog's world from dog level.
Catch your dog in action
If your dog can safely be off leash, throw a stick or a ball in the direction you want them to run, or have someone call them from behind you to get the dog running in your direction. Dogs look fantastic in motion: running, jumping and playing. And for puppies and more active (or not so well-trained) dogs, it's easier to keep things natural than try to wrangle them into a stationary position. If your dog does not have perfect recall, it's important only to let them off leash in a safe and enclosed space.
Work those puppy eyes
If you get your dog into a sit, then hold a treat up near your phone camera or call the dog's name to get their attention, you can stand right above them and use an extreme top-down camera angle to capture their eyes looking wide and their gaze, adoring, in a "puppy-eyes" shot. Tip: use treats to keep your dog focused—or a favourite toy if your dog is more play driven.
Pop your dog on a log
It's easier to get a dog to sit still for their beauty shot if you have them sit or stand elevated off the ground. Logs, big rocks, boxes, walls, and park benches, can be used to get your dog up on something and buy you a few extra seconds of stillness to take your shot. This is especially effective for puppies, who are still too young to sit very long. Just don't force your dog into an intimidating situation that will make them feel (and look) anxious. Coax them with a treat, so they can get up themselves and find their balance in a natural way.