Six Steps to Taking Great Pet Photos

Want to get some super pix of your pet but feel hesitant when you remember the last batch of disappointing photos you took? Relax! Photographing animals can seem challenging, especially when those animals are your pets, but a little practice using a few simple techniques can make it easy and fun for both you and your subjects.

• Zoom in
If your camera doesn't have a good zoom lens, get one. Most pets are quite a bit smaller than most photographers and can easily get "lost" in the background. The added benefit of a long focal length helps to make your pet stand out from the background and become the clear focal point of the photo.

• Get on their level
Take your pet photos at pet level whenever possible; otherwise, your photos end up with a distinctly human perspective that can diminish your pet's true personality. Getting down on your pets level allows you to take more intimate photos of your pet.

• Mix it up a bit
Like people, pets look different when photographed from different angles. Taking a mix of closely cropped facial or body shots, even just of eyes, whiskers or paws, can make for some delightful and interesting pictures.

• Keep lighting natural
Stick to natural light when photographing pets. Using a flash not only distracts them, it creates weird "red eye" effects that will need to be removed from the photo later. When photographing pets with very dark or black fur, try slightly overexposing your images to capture more detail. Slightly underexpose images of white pets and avoid photographing them in direct sunlight, which can blur them out altogether.

• Freeze the frame
Pets often present photographic moving targets, so when photographing them in motion use a fast shutter speed to freeze the frame. Most digital cameras allow you to adjust the shutter speed and aperture manually. Alternatively, you can set the shutter speed and let the camera select a good aperture to work with that speed. You can also choose 'sports' mode in which your camera selects the fastest shutter speed possible. Whichever shutter speed you use, consider taking a series of shots in continuous mode-you can get some wonderful photographs that way!

• Persevere
It's been well and truly said that amateur photographers take one photo and hope it will be great, while professional photographers shoot an entire roll and hope they get one good shot. The more often you click the shutter, the better your chances of getting a truly great pet photo become.

• Turn your pet photos into fine art
After you've become a pro at taking pictures of your pet, you'll probably find yourself wanting something a little more elegant than a photo. When this happens, remember that nothing will express the essence of your pet's personality and spirit as elegantly as a fine art portrait.Fine art portraits don't have to break your budget, either. A truly talented professional artist can create an affordable portrait of your pet working from photos, and work with you until you are 100% satisfied with the results. To learn how to get superb fine art portraits of your pets at a budget-conscious price, go to http://www.howtotalkwithanimals.com/portraits.html

Julie S. Crawshaw is a freelance writer, animal lover and the author of Talking With Animals, available at http://www.howtotalkwithanimals.com. Visit http://www.howtotalkwithanimals.com/books.html for more articles about interacting and communicating with animals.