Pet Photography RSS

If you are taking a portrait look for natural frames that isolate your subject and guide the viewer.  In this picture Olive stopped for a minute to check on me as she poked around the bush.  It was a golden opportunity to use the surrounding foliage to frame and draw attention to her face.

While it is tricky to get a puppy to sit still long enough to get a good picture if you are quick their expressions and joy can be caught.

A sense of mystery can add a significant amount of interest to a pet portrait.  By not showing what the pet is looking at viewers are drawn to speculate on what is capturing this its interest.  This leads them to dwell on the picture longer and enjoy the mystery.

A black and white dog needs soft light to avoid overexposing the whites or underexposing the blacks.  This picture was taken in the evening during golden hour to take advantage of the soft warm light.

While an interesting perspective creates interest and grabs initial attention it's the eyes that make a pet portrait memorable.  The feeling of a picture changes dramatically if the subject is engaged with the camera or focused on something off-camera.  Looking at the camera the subject engages us directly but, if they are looking away, they create interest by making us guess at what is just off-camera that is engaging them.