Taking photos of a little puppy is about as good as it gets. As far as I’m concerned, all dogs are a perfect little bundle of happiness — always exploring, always playful, occasionally a pain in the ass. Which can also make taking pictures of them quite difficult while they fidget and play and do everything but sit still. After a few frustrating minutes of practically begging for their cooperation, you’ll quickly learn that food is the real secret behind those perfect puppy photos.
Puppy Photo Hack: Treats = Cooperation.
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n my experience, puppy photos are some of the most fun and frustrating experiences, but they also produce some of the most unbelievably cute images. Don’t be discouraged if your little guy or girl doesn’t cooperate right off the bat. Patience is a virtue… and for good reason.
One reliable trick I’ve learned is to get our little furry friends to associate my camera with food. Once they’ve figured out if they look at my camera they get a little treat, they’ll be much more eager to put on a show. So, get your subject to sit still and position yourself for the picture. I usually click or snap or whistle to their their attention, take a burst of photos and if you’re lucky enough for them to sit still through this, then finally reward them with a treat once you’ve taken a few. If they start to fidget around before you’re able to fire off a burst, get them to sit and try again. This might take some time and practice, but you can do it! You should also be sure to have your shutter speed fairly high to make sure your’e capturing their every movement.
And one last note: When I’m schedule to take some puppy photos, I usually recommend that the owner take our little dude/dudette on a long walk before our appointment, somewhere in the range of 30-45 minutes. Tire your guys out! This little bit of exercise can really help eliminate some of the fidgeting and moving around that happens when you’re taking puppy photos.
So without further adieu, please enjoy some of the pictures from my latest session with Precious, an 8-week old baby pitbull, and Caesar, a three-year old Rottweiler/Boxer mix.
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