People love animals. They’ve been used in all kinds of advertising: WW2 propaganda, selling tacos in the 90s (remember the Taco Bell chihuahua?) and now, they have been steadily taking over social media. Cute dogs exist in abundance on the internet. If you googled “how to make my dog Instagram famous”, you will have no doubt found hundreds of guides. This is not one of those. These are 5 solid tips from a non-influencer, non-photographer dog mom. Want to make sure your dog looks decent…or hilarious? If you are that crazy dog lady taking candid shots every occasion, check this article out.
How To Get Your Dog’s Attention During the Photo Shoot
Call your dog by its name, make a sound they love or talk to them to get them to look at the camera. You can also yes treats or toys. I recommend you get an assistant if you are having trouble. Tell your lovely assistant to hold the treat up to where you’d like the dog to look. After you take your photo, reward your dog for its modelling prowess. We tried something else entirely. We found a cheap dog selfie stick at Flying Tiger in Barcelona. The Instagram shot above shows that it works incredibly well. Mocsing was a puppy when that shot was taken. Puppy + Rome + tourist season…not the best setting to get a clear photo. Enter dog selfie stick!
Decide on the Photo Environment
Whether it be indoors or outdoors, you can always figure out what you want as a background. But if you are indoors, you can fashion specific backdrops for your pictures. A nice piece of fabric can be turned into the perfect back drop with a little DIY magic.
How to Get Your Dog to Smile
If you want your dog to look like it is smiling in the shot, have them take a quick run or play with them a bit. If you do a 5 minutes play-time with your pooch, they will flash that huge doggie smile.
Change Your Perspective to Capture the Perfect Shot
See the world from their point of view. Get down to your dog’s level and take pictures from different angles. Above, below, in front, behind: use your creativity to show your dog from all angles. As an amateur photographer, the first thing my husband did was to get on Mocsing’s level to take her photo. The amazing benefit is that he can capture her much better which in turn results adorable pictures.
Photo Editing Makes a World of Difference
I’m not a specialist so I simply use the “auto” button on Google Photos to fix my images. 10/10 it fixes everything wrong with my photo’s lighting.
