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Hannah Stonehouse Hudson
Down Low
Draw in the viewer with an unusual angle. Lie on the ground for an intimate, straight-on view.
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Hannah Stonehouse Hudson
Action Shots
Most animals won't sit still for long, so use a fast shutter speed and let them be themselves.
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Hannah Stonehouse Hudson
Toys
Dogs love to play. Toys can bring out the best in your pet for a portrait.
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Hannah Stonehouse Hudson
New Perspectives
Get up close with a wide-angle lens for fabulous snout shots.
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Hannah Stonehouse Hudson
Overexposure
Photographing dark-coated animals – especially in the bright midday sun – can often result in overexposed images. Use your camera's exposure compensation to get the shot.
Pinto Bean showed me how great pictures can make the difference between a homeless dog or an adored pet. I met the fleabitten, scrawny mongrel mix at the Helping Hands shelter in Washburn, Wisconsin, when I volunteered my skills to photograph the adoptable pets.
Pinto Bean had health issues that made him hard to place, but the little fellow had the best spirit – sweet, cuddly and absolutely pathetic. If I could catch all of that, I believed he could find a forever home. Problem was, the little black-and-white dog was terrified of the camera and looked very unhealthy in photos.
The solution: Window light, and a bit of food to entice him to do some cock-head begging.
My ruse worked. A friend fell in love with him after seeing the photo. Pinto Bean had a new home, and I had a new mission – using my skills as a photographer to help homeless animals.
As a visual storyteller who specializes in animals, I’ve spent a large portion of my photography career making images of cats and dogs for humane associations and shelters. There’s definite proof that better photos of these animals equal more adoptions – the power of the picture.
Doing this type of portrait work has given me insights for tips on how you can take the best shots of your own pets. My hope is that you might consider volunteering, too, as a photographer for your local shelter.
My first advice is the most basic: Know your camera, switch off the “auto” and try different settings. The simple truth is that practice really does make perfect.
My personal preference is “aperture priority.” The aperture, or “f-stop,” controls the size of the opening into the lens, determining how much light enters the camera. I find this setting gives me the best options when compensating for different coat colors on animals.
Knowing how to use your gear is essential when shooting potentially difficult subjects – dogs, cats (and many children). I highly recommend The Complete Guide to Digital Photography by Michael Freeman when you’re first getting started.
Once you’ve got the basics, you can focus on three areas to power-up portraits of your furry friends.
Lighting conditions
Window light is a key to beautiful, well-exposed images inside. Use it when you have animals who are afraid of flash or when weather conditions prevent shooting outside. Position your subject facing the window, position yourself next to the window facing the subject, then adjust the subject or yourself to where the light is best. The farther the subject is from the light source, the softer the light. Play around and see what happens.
If you can go outside, avoid shooting midday in bright overhead light. It creates too much contrast, especially hard with some animal features, or gives you washed-out images, such as the image with two running dogs in the slideshow above.
Creative techniques
A few creative techniques will help your photos stand out.
I find you get the most joyous looks on a dog when it’s running, so have fun by panning as it runs.
Focus on your subject as it move towards you, moving the camera with it. Continue taking photos – try continuous shooting or burst modes – as the dog goes past you. Don’t stop taking pictures until your body has turned as far as it can. One great thing about this technique is that the subject will be in focus and the background blurred by movement. Try using a slower shutter speed on this type of shot. The results can be fascinating.
Another technique is to use new perspectives to draw in your viewer (like the straight-on view of this husky). Lie on the ground and take photos from below the dog or cat. Use a superwide-angle lens – while the dog is sniffing your lens you get fabulous snout shots.
Any unusual angle will draw interest and attention. This is especially important if you’re trying to capture photos of adoptable animals. It helps to tell a story to attract potential adopters.
Special animal issues
When photographing dogs or cats, two issues are the hardest for photographers: Dark-coated animals or fearful animals.
Taking well-exposed images of dark-coated animals can be a challenge. When you take photos of them, you may notice that the photo is either overexposed, blurry from an automatic slow shutter speed or a combination of both.
One of the best ways I’ve found to make your camera see the detail you see is by using “exposure compensation.”
When photographing a dark-coated animal, your camera thinks it sees less light than is actually there. This causes the camera to overexpose the image. Force it to underexpose by using a setting 1/3 or 2/3 below the automatic reading to keep the details and get a better exposure. To find the exposure compensation, look for a +/- sign on the camera’s LED screen when you turn on “display.” If changing this causes blur from a slower shutter speed, boost your ISO. Feel free to go as high as 1600 ISO, something that would have caused a grainy effect on film, but holds up in digital. (Some SLRs go up to 25,000 ISO – crazy!)
Another challenge for an animal photographer is a fearful dog or cat – something more likely to come up at the shelters than when photographing your own pet.
Fearful animals don’t look good in photos, which can hurt their chances of being found for adoption.
When working with a nervous animal, take a few moments just to sit with them and to make them feel comfortable around you and your camera.
Don’t start by pointing the camera at them. Click a few shots by your side to see how they react, then move it up to your eye. The first few shots may make them skittish, but they’ll probably soon work up the courage to see what you’re doing and will move closer. Those can mean great shots of a curious dog or cat (see the lens-licking pup photo).
Most importantly, don’t use a flash with fearful animals. Flash can frighten them to the point where you’ll get zero good photos. Up your ISO to get the correct exposure without needing the flash.
Another good option – fearful animal or not – is to bring out the toys. Dogs especially love to play and toys can make cats curious and engaged – all good when trying to bring out the best for a portrait. You can manipulate a toy with one hand and use the camera (and the auto-focus) in the other.
Finally, most animals won’t sit still; any attempt to make them do that just flusters you and creates poor images. Let animals be themselves and adapt to what works for them, trying these few techniques.
The keys to great animal photography are knowing your camera, being confident in difficult lighting conditions and, above all, bringing lots of patience. Using these techniques, you’ll create memorable images of your “furry children” or may help to find a shelter-rescued animal its forever home.
A photographer, writer and adventurer, Hannah Stonehouse Hudson calls Bayfield, Wisconsin, home, but became known worldwide for her photo of old Schoep resting against his owner in Lake Superior. Her focus runs from snow plows and factories to canine companions. Hannah donates her time, talents (and large social media following) to helping animal shelters worldwide to place more pets.