The Monday Herd | Free Education

I’ve been getting a lot of email and a few facebook messages here and there about how to photograph a dog and make it look ‘cool’ or ‘interesting’.

I am going to first point out that I can’t make a dog look cool or interesting!  They are pretty cool and interesting all ready, all I do is follow a few guidelines.

So, I figured I would post 5 of my rules I follow when photographing.

Rule One.

Eye level.  One of the biggest ways to connect with a dog through a photograph is to be on their same level.  Now this does not mean you have to have eye contact with the dog, it just means you should be on your knees or laying down for a good portion of the shoot.  Unless of course you are really short and the dog is really tall in which case you both could probably be standing

Rule Two.

Patients is key.  I’ve found that most dogs can clue into whether or not your irritable.  Trust me, you’re session will go a whole lot smoother if you relax and realize you’re photographing an animal rather than a person.

Rule Three.

Let nature takes it’s course.  This sort of ties into rule two.  If your plan is to have the dog sit in a bunch of different locations and then have them stand and stay in a bunch of different locations, you’re going to fail.

Follow your subject around, let him/her sniff around, let the dog go do dog stuff.  You’ll be happy you did as will the dog

Rule Four.

Location. Location. Location

Put some thought into your choice of location.  It shouldn’t overpower your subject but it should compliment.

Rule Five.

Dont’ be afraid to step back.  The dog doesn’t have to fill up the entire frame on every shot.  Let the location that you carefully planned take some precedence.

Have a rad Monday!!