Do you only manage to capture hazy blobs of your pet’s face in the corner of portraits you attempt to take? Was your cat or dog even looking at the camera? They appeared to be alert and content. Before your last photo shoot ended, did your cat check to make sure everyone was bleeding?

It can occasionally be difficult to paint realistic pet portraits. But if you adhere to these three easy steps, you can paint a decent pet portrait of Fido or Felix, too. In fact, it’s quite simple.

Turning to the background first, let’s move on.

You must first scan the background whether you are shooting inside or outside. Is there a street back there where vehicles pass quickly? What might draw the dog’s attention away? Ducks can be seen walking around. In a nearby park, are there any children playing? Are there any chasing-able balls flying around? What about objects that can stick out from the dog’s head, like poles, trees, or fences? The chances of getting a good pet portrait significantly increase if you spend just a few minutes looking at the background.

Who else can assist you, second?

It can be very difficult to attempt a pet portrait on your own. It becomes much simpler if you have someone assist you and serve as your assistant. You’ll understand what I mean once you’ve successfully posed Fido a few times, only to back up to take the photo, only to have Fido follow you. They’re just trying to be friendly, so don’t get upset; they have no idea what you want. Cats are a different matter; they won’t try to be amiable and follow you; instead, they’ll simply take off, and you might never see them again.

If you have someone to help you, they can control the dog or cat, leaving you to focus only on the actual photo. Once you are ready, all you need to do is wait for them to move back or slightly lean back and then shoot. With your assistant there to help you catch the animal, they will be posed and prepared for the next shot before you know it. Sometimes you have to be pretty quick on the trigger to catch the animal before they run.

Third, make sure that your pet is looking attentively into the camera.

You can do that fairly easily. A squeaker is ideal for shooting dogs. Get yourself a flat one, hide it from the dog, and softly squeak it. By doing it that way, the dog won’t understand where the sound is coming from and will pay close attention to you to determine where the squeak is coming from. Once the dog realizes where the sound is coming from, you can squeak it louder and wave it around to get their attention. This technique will work for several shots. Flick it upwards when squeaking no longer gets their attention.(That is why you want one that is flat so it won’t roll away.) Tossing the squeaker in the air also has the added bonus of getting them to pull their tongues into there mouths

Shots with the tongue inside and outside are appealing. You should purchase several of each. Tongue in is a more conventional appearance, while tongue out conveys happiness.

Squeakers don’t last very long when used with cats. They don’t seem to pay as much attention to sounds as dogs do. One or two times the squeaker might work, but for the most part you’ll need visual aids. Feathers from an ostrich are effective.

I know these are ostensibly easy steps, but if you just give them a shot, the outcomes will astound you.

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