How to Do a Pet Photoshoot

We love pets! There’s something so incredibly heart-warming about spending time with them, whether it’s a canine companion or a friendly feline. Even sharing pictures of your fluffy friend is a delight – but did you know that looking at pictures of cute pets can actually help improve wellbeing? It’s true! So, next time you spend hours scrolling through cute pet pictures on Instagram, you don’t need to feel guilty as you can consider it important self-care! Why not give it a go and do a pet photoshoot of your own? Here are our tips to help you host the perfect pet photoshoot.

Step 1: Preparing for the Photoshoot

How to Make Your Pet Look Great on Camera

You want your pet to look their best for their big photoshoot. So, when it comes to putting their best paw forward, there’s two things to consider; getting your pet ready, and learning how to use your camera to get the best shot.

Unless you’ve got lots of expensive camera equipment lying around, you’re probably best off using your smartphone camera. If your pet has dark hair, make sure you photograph them in a well-lit environment, and adjust the exposure if possible to make sure the dark colours are not getting washed out as the camera tries to figure out where to focus. Pets also aren’t great at sitting still, so set your camera to take photos as quickly as possible to prevent them from becoming blurry if your pet moves, ruining an otherwise great photo.

It’s a good idea to take some time before you start thinking about photos to give your pet some pampering to help them look first-class. A good brush and cleaning them up is a fantastic way to get them looking neat (and they’ll probably love the attention too!).

Use a Location That Captures Your Pet’s Personality

The next step is to think about where you want to do your photoshoot. It might be easy to just take the camera to wherever the pet is, but the secret to a brilliant pet pic is to capture their personality and this means finding a location that represents them. If your dog or cat is lazy, get a picture of them relaxing or having a snooze on their bed or in their favourite spot on the sofa. Likewise, if they’re super energetic, try and get a picture of them out on a walk or playing with their favourite toy. If your pet has somewhere that would be recognisable as their favourite place, try and get some photos there. This could be a local park, a digging spot in the garden, or simply lying in the living room surrounded by their favourite toys.

Step 2: Time to Shoot

Get Creative to Capture Their Attention

Speaking of their favourite toys, a squeaky toy can work wonders for getting your pets to stay focused and look at the camera. If you’ve tried taking photos of your pets before, you know how painful it can be to get them to cooperate coopawerate. Try holding their favourite toy just above the camera to get them to look the right way. Or, if you’re really dedicated, you can buy gadgets that hold a small ball or squeaky toy above your phone camera to save hassle.

If they’re too energetic and you can’t get them to sit still, taking them for a walk or playing with them first can be a great way to get rid of some of the excess energy for an easier photoshoot! Reward them with treats for sitting still or posing and slowly they’ll learn to associate the behaviour with treats – they’ll be stars in no time! Patience is key. The most important thing is to have fun. Spending time with your pet is exciting, and doing a photoshoot together is a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Paw-sitively Perfect Framing

Don’t worry, you don’t need a detailed breakdown of everything in frame before you start taking photos, but it is a good idea to look at what is visible in the background and around your pet when taking photos. Make sure you frame it so you can’t see any toys or treats you’re using to get the dogs attention and clean up any mess that you don’t want in the final photo. After all, you want the focus to be on your beautiful fluffy friend, not the leftover takeaway food in the background!

Try getting down to your pets’ level as well, don’t be afraid of sitting or lying down to capture what the world is like from your pet’s perspective. A good rule of thumb is to keep the camera at the height of your pets’ eye-level.

Step 3: After the Shoot

Showing off Your Pet Photos

When it comes time to upload your pictures, try and capture that fun energy by including some funny outtakes of your dog or cat messing around and not cooperating, or imagine what the dog or cat might be saying and give it a fun caption. Try playing around with popular filters or trends to see if you can attract any digital pup-arazzi who might like your photos.

While you’re at it, why not share your pics with friends and family? If anyone you know has a birthday or special event coming up, you can even use the photos to create some unique personalised gifts for pet lovers. You can create a personalised photo block with a gorgeous photo of their cat, or a bespoke dog phone case to name just a couple. Check out a range of our other gift ideas for pet lovers below to get the inspiration flowing!