4 Tips For A Perfect Holiday Pet Portrait

Taking a good portrait isn’t really that difficult.

It's helpful to keep these 4 tips in mind.

1. Plan ahead.

If you want to take a picture of your pet in a hat or costume, you need to give her time to get used to wearing it. Otherwise, you will spend all your time putting the outfit back on, rather than snapping pictures.
Start about 1-2 weeks prior to portrait day. Each day, put the costume or hat on your pet and keep replacing it each time she gets it off. Do this only for about an hour each day. Every day, she will become more accustomed to wearing it, will stop trying to take it off, and eventually forget she has it on. At this point she is ready for you to get a cute picture.

2. Be patient.

Give yourself plenty of time. You can’t expect your pet to just snap a pose exactly when you want him to. Put the costume on your pet, get out your camera, and just start taking pictures. The more pictures you take, the more likely you are to get a good one.

3. Use holiday toys.

Have some new toys on hand for her to occupy herself. Little Christmas tree squeak toys, candy cane raw hides, or fuzzy stuffed snowmen are perfect for holiday pictures. Catching her playing with one of these themed toys will add to the spirit of a cute costumed pet portrait.

4. Be sneaky.

Wait until your pet is occupied with his new toys. Get down on his level. Take a few pictures from all different positions. Get him used to you being there clicking away on your camera. You will get a more candid photo if you are at eye level. After you’ve been there a while, have another person make a noise from another room. This will cause your pet to pause, cock his head, and look in that direction. You will then have a few moments to click a very cute inquisitive pose.

Smile, Dog Loves You!!

For a slightly more technical aproach to pet photography,

Check out 9 Pet Photography Tips.