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Never in history has it been easier and more convenient to take great photos of our dogs–we almost always have a camera in our pocket or purse! Cell phone cameras take sensational photos but, just like using a conventional SLR, they require some basic composition on your part to create an image that highlights your dog.
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Get Close
One secret to shots that make great canvas prints like this photo from CanvasDiscount.com is to get close to your dog. Stepping closer to your dog and really filling much of the frame with him makes him the focal point of the shot.
Don’t rely on your phone’s digital zoom for this kind of shot or you may wind up with a grainy photo. Unless you are shooting with a telephoto lens on a DSLR, the best way to get this shot is to physically step closer to your dog before you take the shot–or, do like we do and take one shot from the first distance then keep shooting as you move closer.
Follow the Rule of Thirds
Imagine that you are superimposing a Tic Tac Toe board over your potential photo. The points where the lines intersect are the most visually interesting points in the frame, ones that will improve your photo composition.
The center square–the place where naturally many of us want to put our subject–is less interesting than those intersecting points so play around with the composition before you take that shot!
Use Natural Lighting
If the interior of your home is dark–as ours often is, don’t fall back on your camera’s flash. Instead, look for a place with natural lighting: your front porch, your yard (watch out for mottled light through trees, though) or a place near a window in your home.
Natural lighting will give your photo more depth than flash photography, which can flatten your dog’s features and give you that dreaded eyeshine that makes your dog’s eyes appear to glow!
Consider A Variety of Angles
Take a few minutes before you grab your camera and your dog to plan out your shots. What photos are you especially wanting to capture? To get these, which direction should you be looking? Where should you be standing? (It’s often best to shoot with the sun at your back.)
Should you be kneeling or standing–or standing up on something to get a different perspective? Consider different angles of the same shot to make it interesting.
Focus on the Eyes
With the long snout of many dogs, it’s possible that, depending on the depth of field in your shot, either the eyes or the nose may be out of focus.
Take a moment to focus on your dog’s eyes (either by focusing your camera or by touching the point of focus on your cell phone screen) to produce a better image.
Lighten Up
For all your efforts, there will be times when images come out dark–but a good image can be fixed with some digital manipulation.
On my phone, I use the free Snapseed and Adobe Lightroom apps to lighten images (especially a problem with black dogs). These can lighten your shot without reduction of image quality.
If you don’t have Photoshop, online services like PicMonkey and Canva can manipulate images on your desktop.
Make Eye Contact
Photos in which your dog is looking directly at the camera can’t be beat! Get your dog’s attention with unusual sounds (or the promise of tasty treats!)
Photos with your dog’s eye contact make great MIXPIX® Photo Tiles from CanvasDiscount.com; the tiles are easy to stick, remove and rearrange as you add more shots!
Clear Out the Clutter
Have you ever taken a photo that looked great as you were taking it–but then later seemed cluttered with details? Your photo will be more impactful if your dog is taking up more of the image, like this shot of Barli graduating from his training class. I moved in close to crop out training equipment, chairs and other dogs.
Get Down on Your Dog’s Level
So often, we take photos of our dogs from our vantage point–up above their heads. Try getting down on your dog’s level.
Kneel beside your dog–or sit your dog on the edge of the porch as I did for this photo of Barli, which actually allowed me to shoot from slightly below his level. Simple, clean photos like this are ones that make great photo products like a custom blanket.
Use a Contrasting Background
To make your dog stand out in the photo, look for a contrasting background–light backdrops for dark dogs like our Barli or dark backgrounds for white dogs like Tiki!
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Shelley P says
Great tips! And awesome pics as well 🙂 I think I’d spend my prize on a printed blanket or pillow.
Ashley P says
I’d spend the gift card on a canvas print
Leela says
A custom blanket.
Sam says
I really like the idea of both the metal prints or glass prints, but blanket would be nice too. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Cheryl Chervitz says
I would love a blanket with a pic of my Rainbow Bridge girl, Rozy.
Ashley Mains says
I would love a framed photo!
Kim N says
I would buy a custom printed blanket
katsrus says
I think I would get a blanket.
Sue B
Dawn Rasor says
I’d get an acrylic print with my gift card if I won. In fact, I’d have to order 2! One of our sweet collie Murphy who passed away and we miss terribly and one of our 7 yr old collie Izzo with our newest adoptee collie Harper Lee. Izzo is black (tri color) and Harper is white with blue eyes…they look great together!
Theresa Spaid says
I really like the blankets and pillow
Carolyn says
I would order canvas prints, if I won.
DailyWoman (Lacey) says
A custom blanket
Tracie Cooper says
I love the blanket and the metal print!
Catherine Guzik says
So precious….love!
Jill H says
I would use the gift certificate to print my dogs on canvas or metal.
Helga says
I would like a premium plush photo blanket.
Karley Moore says
I would get a pillow for my bed with my dog on it!
mami2jcn says
I’d love a photo blanket!
Melanie D. says
Canvas prints of my pets would be my choice.
Jean Nowak says
Printed pillow!!
donna (@shanjerm29) says
Id want to spend the gift card on pillows.
marilynnawara says
I would spend the $50 on canvas prints.
Kayla Harmon says
picture!!!
Linda Szymoniak says
I started getting small canvas prints of each of my furbabies – both current and past. I still need a number of them, so I’d likely use the credit towards those if I’m lucky enough to win. The blanket is tempting too, though.
connie says
I would probbably give a gift to my friend who just lost her dog
Tonya Mcminn says
A custom printed blanket.
desitheblonde says
i would do a pic of my dogs the one who passed and his sister i am thinking the snata pictue
Cathy Keisha says
All good tips even for a cat except we have no natural light which means I can’t focus on the eyes or they’ll come out as laser eyes. I think I’d get a canvas or maybe a blanket since we have a pillow.
Kris says
Thanks for the wonderful article and tips! I would love to get a pet print on canvas. 🙂
Veronica Bohan says
I would spend a giftcard on a canvas print
Ruth Epstein says
A Blanket
Tina Holley says
I’d probably do a canvas print of my little Luna.
andie says
I might get a photo on metal, seen here: https://www.canvasdiscount.com/wall-decor/metal-photo-prints.jsf
wen budro says
I would get a nice canvas print of my pooch. Although the metal prints look pretty awesome as well.
Veronica Adrover says
I’d love to have some nice canvas prints of my dogs for my entry way!
LeAnn Harbert says
I will get a printed blanket.
Lisa F. says
I think I would get a Star Mao of my birth date. That’s such a cool idea!
Sandra Preti says
I would get pillows or a blanket. – Sandy
Marshall says
I have some beautiful photos of my elderly pom that my wife would just love to be transformed into something special. She(and I) is/are having a hard time with our little baby aging, and declining. We love our little baby so so soooo much.
Laurie Nykaza says
I would buy a custom printed blanket and put pics of my family and pets on it so cute.
VALERIE says
I would like to make a printed blanket
Cassandra D says
A custom printed blanket.