10 tips for photographing puppies
Monday 31 January 2022, 20:02 by An Smedts | 8,383 views | 8 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
What could be more fun than welcoming a puppy or kitten as your new housemate? It brings life into the home, and anyone who enjoys photography will soon be tempted to capture this young life on camera!
In practice, though, this can be disappointing. Puppies and kittens don't know any commands, and sitting still is obviously not on their agenda. Exploring is much more fun!
As an animal photographer, I have plenty of experience photographing young animals. The tips below will help you create the perfect picture of your new housemate!
1. Use a raised surface
Puppies and kittens don't know any commands, so they have no intention of sitting and staying neatly in place for your photo!
It helps to use a raised surface to put them on, so they can't simply wander off. This also puts them in the right position for your lighting setup straight away! Always keep an eye on whether your setup is safe!
For Rumba the sheltie puppy, I used an old radio as a raised platform. The colour of the radio goes perfectly with her coat and the background, and the puppy was in the right position straight away!
These British Shorthair kittens were perfectly happy to pose on the little chair. They were sitting together nicely straight away and didn't wander off!
2. Make funny noises
You can easily attract their attention with funny noises! Use your voice, as high-pitched sounds generally work well. If you don't fancy making funny noises yourself, use a squeaky toy or find some animal sounds on your phone to play. Tilted heads guaranteed!
Kittens don't always respond to sound. For them, you can use a teaser wand to get their gaze in the right direction. Short, quick movements give the best results!
Oscar the German Shepherd immediately tilted his head when he heard that funny sound!
Making a high-pitched sound immediately got this lovely trio of cobberdogs looking in the same direction.
3. Let them play!
It's very important that puppies and kittens feel comfortable during the shoot. So don't force anything and let them play. Use their favourite cuddly toy or a fun new toy, and you'll get the most original photos!
Urbain the Weimaraner even has a toy with his name on it, which he is only too happy to pose with!
Lumi the Egyptian Mau is ready to attack!
4. What a treat
A true model likes to be rewarded with a tasty treat for all that hard work! When the puppy starts to get tired, produce a tasty lollipop! Spread something tasty such as peanut butter or KONG filling behind the lollipop, and your model will instantly be enthusiastic about joining in again!
If the puppy is a real food lover, they will sometimes lick so enthusiastically that you can place a paw on the lollipop without them noticing.
With a bit of Photoshop magic, you can remove the owner's hand and make it look as if the dog is holding the lollipop itself!
5. Other housemates
Is there already another dog or cat in the house? Let them pose together! Make sure they have first got used to each other sufficiently and are comfortable in each other's presence.
Plan this towards the end of the session, when the puppy or kitten is starting to get a little tired. It will be much easier than at the beginning! This is harder to achieve with cats, but with dogs it is certainly possible!
6. Reflections
Puppies and kittens are still small, so it's very easy to take reflective photos of them. With a 1 by 1-metre sheet of plexiglass, you can easily capture their full reflection. This always creates a special effect!
Here too, the advice is to do this towards the end of the session, when the puppy is already a little tired. This isn't necessary with kittens. As soon as you get them into play mode, they automatically crouch lower to catch their 'prey'!
7. Suitable props
Use some fun props to add variety to your shoot! A jam jar, an armchair, a hammock, a stool, shoes, a basket, a simple cardboard box, a flowerpot, and so on.
These simple things immediately add some variety to your shoot!
8. Peekaboo!
If you have a real model at home, try taking a 'peekaboo' photo! The easiest way is to make a hole in a cardboard box. Use a treat to lure a puppy through it, or a toy for a kitten.
Make sure the cardboard doesn't move too much, to avoid frightening them. Once they realise that it's quite comfortable in there, you can take the loveliest photos!
You can also try this with your studio backdrop paper.
9. The whole family
Do you have the chance to capture the whole family? Even better! The more, the merrier! If all the puppies or kittens look alike, first make an A4 sheet with the name of each puppy or kitten. Photograph each sheet and then the puppy, so you know who was who afterwards!
You don't need to summon all your patience and wait until the whole group wants to pose together. Use a fixed focal length lens, stay at the same distance and height, and photograph each puppy or kitten separately.
You can combine everything in Photoshop afterwards and you'll have the perfect group photo!
10. Worn out
Work as efficiently as possible with puppies and kittens. They are still young, so they get tired quickly. Respect it when tiredness sets in and let them rest. Even then, you can still take some cute sleeping photos!
This is also the perfect moment to photograph several puppies at once without having to bring out your advanced Photoshop skills!
Hopefully you're now fully motivated and inspired to get started with your new housemate!
On my website hondermooi.be, you can find some more fun behind-the-scenes videos of puppy and kitten shoots!
About the author
An Smedts is hondenfotografe en gespecialiseerd in het fotograferen van huisdieren in de studio. Kleurrijke portretten met een speelse touch zijn haar handelsmerk. Elke maand maakt ze voor WOEF magazine een kleurrijke cover en ook voor workshops studiofotografie kun je in haar studio in Pellenberg (België) bij haar terecht.
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8 comments
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Cees wrote on Tuesday 1 February 2022 at 12:52 | replyGreat series. Not only beautiful to look at but also educational and versatile. You (I) don't expect that you can take such a variety of photos with puppies, but feeling and love for animals are, in my opinion, a must in this. Thanks.
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Peter van Dinther wrote on Tuesday 1 February 2022 at 13:33 | replyBeautiful photos. I’ll try it with our dog. It’s going to take a lot of patience, I’m afraid…
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mannau wrote on Tuesday 1 February 2022 at 21:27 | replyheartwarming pictures - I'll try it with our kitty kids !
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Andrea wrote on Wednesday 2 February 2022 at 09:01 | replyBeautiful quality. These belong in a gallery.
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guest wrote on Wednesday 2 February 2022 at 13:41 | reply
Thank you for your responses! You certainly need patience and a love of animals, but there will be irresistibly sweet little faces as the end result!
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Cécile den Ouden wrote on Wednesday 2 February 2022 at 13:58 | replyBeautiful, one of those plexiglass panels! But how do you keep it free of scratches?
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guest wrote on Thursday 3 February 2022 at 07:46 | reply
A plexiglass sheet is difficult to keep free of scratches Cécile den Ouden, a bit of Photoshop work afterwards is always necessary when you work with this.
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