You may not be new to photography, however; you are new to photographing your dog as your main subject. Photographing your dog for social media, especially for Instagram, can be very discouraging and sometimes downright infuriating. You have the equipment (or your phone), your dog, and what you think is going to be the perfect photo in mind and you head out.
However, nothing turns out the way you anticipated. You look at your photos and are quite disappointed overall. Here are 5 things you may be doing wrong that is causing your frustration.
#1 thing you’re doing wrong when photographing your dog
Your photos do not look like everyone else’s because you’re not getting on your dog’s level. The world is using to seeing their pets from a top-down perspective. Do you know what they are not used to seeing? Their dogs at their level. I guarantee your photos will look different if you bend your knees or lay on your stomach. Taking photos of your dogs in public like this can cause you to attract a crowd so if you don’t particularly care for attention, maybe try this in an empty area.
#2 thing you’re doing wrong when photographing your dog
Have you ever found an awesome location only for your dog to not look at you long enough for you to snap a quick shot? This is probably because you’ve brought your dog to a place that they are not familiar with. I recommend that you get to your location about 30 minutes prior to your ideal shooting time. This will allow your dog to smell the local gossip from the other dogs and really get acquainted. This will also let your dog become desensitized to their surroundings, which in turn will allow you to be able to grab their attention while taking a photo later.
#3 thing you’re doing wrong when photographing your dog
So, you’re all set up with your pup. The lighting is perfect, there aren’t any stray people to wander into your shot, you place your pup in their spot, you take a couple of step backs to take the shot, and then…….. your dog pops up from their sit and starts trotting towards you. Some dogs don’t know simple commands outside of the home.
Most dogs know sit, but do they know to sit outside? Teaching a dog a command inside and practicing it inside causes a huge pain point when you ask them to do it outside. The inside of your home has minimal distractions, while the outside world is full of them.
My recommendation is that once your dog has mastered a new command inside, bring your dog to the back yard or front yard (securely with a leash) and train with them outside. I bet you’ll find it’s like starting all over again. The more comfortable your pup gets with doing them outside, the more likely they’ll do it in a new location.
#4 thing you’re doing wrong when photographing your dog
I hate to say it and you’re not going to like it. Sometimes you’re just too focused on getting the perfect shot. Off days happen. Whether the elements are working against you or you’ve had this certain photo in your head for days and want it to be “perfect”. Your dog may not be the most cooperative this day or your gear isn’t up to par.
You start to get increasingly frustrated but keep pushing for that shot. When this happens, you have to snap yourself out of it. Dogs can’t be empathetic towards your emotions and your frustration can affect them making them associate bad experiences with your camera. Put the camera down, enjoy the time with your dog, and make it an overall good experience. Even if you don’t get the shot you had in mind.
#5 thing you’re doing wrong when photographing your dog
You’re too close to your dog. Plain and simple. You’re so close to your dog for the photo their entire face takes up the frame and you wonder why your feed or photos all look the same. Take a few steps back (only if your dog has a good sit-stay) and allow your photo to tell a story with the background. Snap a photo of your dog, even if you don’t think it looks good for whatever reason.
A pulled-back shot allows your viewers to see your dog in a different composition. A mixture of tight frame shots with the pulled back distant photos creates some diversity with your social media feeds.
Items to note:
Please always be conscious of leash laws when taking photos of your dogs. Do not put you or your dogs in any harm or danger for the sake of a photo.
As always, if you find my tips helpful do not forget to tag me in your posts @jaxandthepack on Instagram!