Cross Breeds - How do I take good "dog" pictures?

How do I take good "dog" pictures?

O.K. if you don't know what dog pictures are they are like pictures of people except of dogs in different poses and stuff with different backrounds. Alright I'm 13 so I have no money, 2 adorable rat terriers and a camera, i've taken a few pictures, of them, they're ok but how do i take better pictures all i have are sheets blankets and a bunch of toys.

Public Comments

kick in balls?
go outside maybe, green grass or snow, and putting hats and cloths on them is fun sometimes.
Get down on there level about 3feet away and take your time. It might take 20 min to get a good picture.
sit them in a plain room so no distractions have a treat in hand tell dog to sit and hold treat high in air call the dogs name and wave the treat around so that he is intrested and then stop so he is looking at it riase hand high or low wut ever floats your boat im 15 and i awsome at animal pics lol
The only way to get truly GOOD photos is to have a GOOD camera. I am talking cannon SLR, not some $20 digital from wal-mart. Outside at midday in natural light works the best, and try to use the sport or action setting on your camera. Get down on your belly so you can be at a dog eye view.
Center the dog in the photo. Try and get close ups of their cute expressions. You can try some poses but generally random shots are more fun and interesting. Make sure that you have good lighting. Try and take some action shots. Those take practice and good timing. Of course practice will make for good photos. Plus having a good camera will help too. Good luck and have fun.
hold up a toy by the lense of your camera, and theyll look at it just tell them to stay hold up the camera in one hand and the toy in the other.
I posted on my blog recently about what I have learned over the last number of years about good pet photography. You're welcome to read it if you like. http://adayinthelifeofamutt.blogspot.com/2009/09/pet-photography.html I find that just having a camera available all the time is really one of the biggest keys. Trying to pose a dog for a picture is very rarely successful. Catching them in the process of life is what makes the pictures great.
make the dog have a treat and make sure he is tired and go outside and take a pic click
Good choice - Rat Terrier. Sweet, smart and adorable. I've had two. The best pictures I've gotten are candid, not staged, and from the side with him not looking at me and the flash of the camera. Like sitting on a rug in front of the fireplace. Or perched in his favorite place on the couch just waiting for the UPS truck, He's like, "They've come to kill us all." Then he darts out the doggie door and chases UPS - up and down the fence barking. I LUV my dogs. Carole
Carole deserves "Best Answer" cause she beat me to it! Candid & playing - never staged. Have fun & put some up here for us to see!
I used to have rat terriers and loved taking pictures of them! I'm on rat-terrier.com a lot and a lot of rat terrier lovers are on there as well and many of them great pet photographers. Just work with what you have. You don't have to have fancy equipment. If I wanted to have backdrops(backgrounds)for photos I made them out of fabric or just used natural scenes like dog parks, fields,etc. When I done photos inside, I sometimes used the stairs, having them up at the top either sitting or laying. I had chairs with sheets or other sort of fabric covering the chairs for a 'backdrop' just make sure that it isn't lumpy or any of the chair showing. Don't do a lot of the same photo angles, meaning don't do a lot of close ups and far aways. Also add personality of the dogs into the pictures. While my dogs were trained, they rather run then sit. I've pictures of them playing, laying around,etc. One of them, as a puppy, would also crawl in the dog bed filled with dog toys. So of course I snapped pictures of it. If you have a chair you can use that as well. You can drape a fabric like a sheet,etc and cover it and have the dog sit on it/lay on it if possible. I also went to dog parks and used the backyard to take pictures. I've got them sitting by the pond, and swimming in it. I snapped pictures of them playing with each other or chasing birds. I also took pictures with them. While out at the river, I had them sit by large boulders usually the stones were covered in ivy(not poison ivy ones) and that made a great photo. The natural ones are the best in my opinion. I've gotten some good ones of them just being themselves, no telling them to sit/lay,etc. If anything, you can browse pictures online of rat terriers and other breeds and get ideas on how to take pictures of your dogs. I believe there are websites like Kodak and other Camera brands that offer photo tips. http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=38/13915/39/317&pq-locale=en_US That's the Kodak link. And you can always look around on Rat-terrier.com and see what photo ideas you can get from there. Also they have great advice for rat terrier owners. http://www.rat-terrier.com/
Make them sit. Get a squeaky toy and your camera. Get ready to take the pic and squeak the toy to get there attention and snap the pic. Do with what you have with the best of your abilities! Good luck!
HLrmw, I like the personality of a rat terrier. They are so sweet.