Love pets? Love Photography? Well, it's a delightful combination, don't you think? But it can also be a challenging task and frustrating at best. Here are some tips to help you enjoy taking pictures of your adorable pets! 

1. Keep a camera ready at all times. A professional SLR will not do you any good if it is stored away in a closet. Even a cell phone camera can capture that special moment better than taking too long to get another camera and missing the moment.

2.  Set your camera for the highest quality and pixel size so that you can print or crop and get the best possible photo.

3.  Look at the shooting modes on your camera.  Choose pet or sports mode, or learn about the difference between aperture or shutter priority mode. Shutter (S) priority will allow you to choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the action when you are photographing your cat chasing a toy. Choose aperture priority (A) when you want to control depth of field. To blur a distracting background, set the camera for a wide aperture like f4. To get more sharpness, for example on a second pet in the background, set for a small aperture like f8 or f16, depending on what fstops are available on your camera.  

4. Shoot from eye level. Get low, lie on the floor or whatever it takes so that you can shoot them at or even below their eye level. Call their name or use toys from behind the camera to get their attention so that they look toward or into the camera lens.

5. Look at the improvement in drama from looking downward compared to shooting at eye level and much closer.
Get close. Try taking a photo of just their eyes, or a paw on a toy.

6. Add action to your photos. Taking great action photos of pets are fun but more difficult. Shooting just as your dog runs back with the ball or as your cat swats a swinging toy requires great timing. Set your camera for continuous auto focus. Raise the ISO to 200 or even 400 if your camera has excellent high ISO quality. This will help the camera choose a higher shutter speed or a smaller aperture for sharper photos. If you cannot change your ISO, the camera may be set for AUTO. Change your camera to Programme Mode. Programme Mode acts just like auto but allows you to change settings.
When using shutter priority mode, experiment - action shots don’t always have to be sharp. Blurred photos can accentuate the motion. Read your owner’s manual about tracking mode if you have it, as it can be a great tool when your pet is running or moving in a predictable direction.
If you can, pre-focus your camera on the spot where the action will occur. Do this by halfway depressing the shutter button. Once the camera is in focus, hold the button halfway to keep the focus ready. As soon as you see the action you want, press the button the rest of the way and the camera will take the photo immediately. (This is easier said than done, but worthwhile when it works!)

7. Use your zoom. It is easy to disrupt cute activities when you aim a camera in their face. Stay further away and zoom your lens to the telephoto setting. If you have an SLR investigate getting a long lens such as 70-200mm f/2.8. You should set your camera on the floor or a bean bag, or a tripod or monopod to help prevent blur from camera movement and shaking.

8.  Notice the light around your pet. You can take pictures in any kind of lighting - indoors or outdoors, rain or shine, sunrise or sunset, (the golden hour). During the golden hour, the sunlight is warmer or redder than at midday. A sunny day offers the best lighting outdoor photos while the cloudy days offer softer, more diffused lighting. Pets love to sit near windows where you can capture the sunlight falling on your pet’s face.
Indoors, you may need to use the flash, built in to your camera, but it will produce a flat light with few shadows or texture. Without the flash, your camera may choose a very long shutter speed and the image will be blurry. Compare photos taken with and without your strobe turned on, and choose the one you like.

9. Interaction with the family or other pets or props will produce the best stories. Wait until your child falls asleep with his arm around the dog’s chest or the cat is lying on your wife’s lap or across her neck. Include a long shot of the dog wagging his tail in anticipation of dad getting ready to throw the stick in a game of fetch. The story is important and will carry with it the most precious memories of all.

10.  Your final tip today is to practice a lot—any time you are near the pets, shoot, and shoot some more. Experiment with different settings that you have read about, or take a photography class at Cathy Church’s Photo Centre. It does not cost anything to shoot with digital—if it does not turn out, just delete and shoot again. WH

Visit Cathy Church's Photo Centre with your questions about photographing your pet.