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Recently I was asked to share some tips on taking good pet photos during the holidays. I am a proud dog owner of a 15 year old dog (that’s 105 dog years!) that my wife and I adopted from a pound in California when our dog was was only 12 weeks old.  So needless to say, I have been taking pictures of my girl Maggie for a very long time.

Despite taking a lot of pictures of my dog over the years, I am not a traditional pet photographer so I decided to do some research online on the topic of pet photos and thought vetstreet.com summed up some really great tips for pet photos:

10 Ways to take perfect holiday pictures

Get your pet familiar with the camera – don’t scare your pet.

Be mindful of lighting – turn your flash off.

Minimize distractions – you know how easily your pet can be distracted by the smallest things.

Let your pet be him or herself – natural photos are always the best!

Get on your pet’s level – you’ll need to lay flat on the floor.

Use the proper attention-getter – use an attention-getter like making a noise that does not mean “come” for all you dog owners.

Keep sessions short and comfortable – this rule goes for pets AND humans!

Be patient – good pet and kid photography require a lot of patience.

Get in the photo – your pet will look so much more comfortable in the photos with you by their side.

Don't forget the final touches – For seasonal pictures include props that set the scene (i.e. Christmas tree background).

Below are some photos I found in a recent blog post by Carolyn Gracie which featured some really fun examples of good pet photography

Above: Taking pics of your dog when they are puppies gets them comfortable with the camera for future great photos for years to come.

Above: Shooting outdoors delivers plenty of light coupled with the perfect outfit make this a great Christmas photo! 

Above: This little kitty cat probably required the photographer to be ready to snap this great moment. I also can tell that the flash was kept off which allowed the Christmas tree lights to provide the perfect glow. Always use available light!

Above: It is always a lot easier when your dog will allow you to dress them up and sit  patiently while you capture that cute moment. Make sure you give your dog treats for playing along with your need to capture their photo!

Above: I'm guessing these little pups have been in this situation before. Otherwise I don't think they would have been so cooperative for the final photo. So funny!!!

Now it Was My Turn

With the Canon Rebel T5 DSLR Camera and the Canon 18-55mm lens I took the following photos of my old girl Maggie. I was very impressed with detail that this Canon camera was able to deliver despite my decision to shoot at 3200 ISO.

My sweet dog Maggie has been in my photos for 15 years so she is very comfortable with the camera. But I must admit it this was probably the easiest photo shoot I ever did with her because this poor old girl can't stand-up on her own once she is sitting down. Don't worry, I made the shoot really quick (less than 5 minutes) and then I rewarded her with some dog treats because she was the perfect model.

I hope you enjoyed the photos and found these pet photo tips helpful.  

Please reply to my blog with your photography questions and I will do my best to get you an answer.

Merry Christmas to you and your four-legged friends!

CG