Pet photography has become extremely popular, as many pet owners are looking for photographs of their fur babies. One photographer took his talents to help shelter dogs find new homes and is giving tips to other photographers to do the same.
Getting an animal re-homed can be a great reward to a pet photographer, knowing their work helped a dog or cat in need. Matt The Dog of Foreverhome Photography has his top ten tips for helping to bring a dog portrait to its best. His first tip, which is always the one of the most important, is to get low, on eye level. Have a favorite squeaker toy, but use it sparingly, so they are not bored with it after a few tries. Treats are always a great way to reward the dogs to keep them engaged.
Other tips are to bring in a small off camera flash in order to sculpt lighting to create a more dramatic image. Along these lines is another tip to capture the dogs' character. It is important to show the dog as who they are in order to match them up with the perfect home. A last tip that will help your day is to keep it fun. Just as with humans, if the shoot has lost its luster, the model will not be interested in your camera any longer.
Hmmm It's easy to show how the tips work with your own dogs. Shelter dogs are something else entirely. Many have problems. Most of them won't listen to you like your own dogs will. I have done it for a while, and there are many more constraints.
Dogs should be hungry and tired; children should be fed and rested.