When it comes to making memories with our furry family members, photos are always a special reminder of the trips we share with them. Keep reading to find out all our best hints and tips to get the perfect holiday photo of your pet!

What You’ll Need

All you need is your pet, a camera or smartphone, and a lot of treats! If you are into your photography and have items such as a DSLR camera, a tripod, and lighting, then by all means utilise it to get professional-looking photos! But you don’t need an expensive kit to get great photos, you can still take great photos with a smartphone.

Our top tips for taking great holiday photos of your pet

Who doesn’t love a frozen treat in the summertime? A fun way to keep your dog busy, cool, and hydrated at the same time is to provide them with frozen treats. Ice cubes are a good place to start, but the trays also make a great mould to create a variety of doggy-flavoured ice blocks! Another trick is to put their favourite toy in the freezer or add ice cubes to their water bowl.

Background

Choosing the right background can make all the difference, as well as making memories in special places that you and your pet love.

Busy backgrounds should be avoided as your pet might get lost in the crowd. Try to centre your pet in the frame and focus on their eyes.

Lighting

Getting the lighting right can make all the difference to the quality of your photos and will also highlight your pet's natural beauty! The best time of day is early in the morning or early evening when the sun is just coming up or down, otherwise known in the trade as ‘golden hour’. Bright natural sunlight will give your photos a natural, bright and happy look.

Try to avoid facing the camera towards direct sunlight, as this will make your pet and anything else in the foreground darker (unless you are aiming for a shadow effect such as at sunlight). Bright indirect sunlight is best. You can use artificial lighting or the flash on your camera on hazy days or for evening shots to get a better-quality image. You can also use features on your smartphone such as portrait mode or filters to help you get the desired effect. If your tech skills are good, you can also adjust the image after you’ve taken it to improve the brightness and clarity.

Angle

It's best to get down on your pet’s level, this way the image will have a better quality than if you are looking down on your pet. Zooming in or out to capture the wider background or see more detail also helps. You can play around with taking the photo from different sides and angles to create more interest in your photos and capture different aspects of your pet.

Capturing Movement

You might want to take some artistic photos of your pet running in the garden, out in the woods, or even on a beautiful beach. If you have a camera that you can alter the settings on, we recommend sports mode or using a fast shutter speed. If you only have a smartphone, always have your camera ready to catch the action! You can capture more action shots by holding your finger down to take a ‘burst’ and get several shots in the space of seconds.

Capturing your pet’s personality

Capturing the essence of your pet’s personality will make your photos more fun, and more special. Try capturing them with their favourite toy, in their favourite resting position, or in their favourite place to create special memories.

Keeping your Pet Still

The biggest problem us pet parents face is keeping them still long enough! Dogs and cats love to move just as you’re about to take the photo, resulting in them not quite looking at the camera. The trick is to get everything set up first and position your pet last. That way they don’t need to stay still for too long. You should have plenty of treats and rewards available for them. To attract their attention towards the camera, call their name and get an assistant to hold a treat above or in front of them (but still out of shot) to get them looking at you. Speed is of the essence when it comes to catching the shot!

If your pet is fidgeting, getting bored, or seems unhappy, then give them a rest and a treat, and try again in a while. You should never force your pet to stay still longer than they want to, especially cats as they can be less patient than dogs!

How to Take the Best Selfie with your Pet

Taking great photos of our pets enjoying their holidays is a big part of taking them on adventures with us. But as pet parents, we also want to capture the special moments we share with them on our tips. Taking selfies with pets is always fun and games! So just how do you take the best selfie with your pet? We’ve got more tips for you to capture the best images with your best friend.

Treats and Toys

It can be hard to capture both you and your pet looking at the camera, so again you’ll need plenty of treats or toys, and it’s helpful to keep talking to your pet to hold their attention.

Focus

Speed is usually of the essence when it comes to taking the photo! It can help to set your phone or camera to autofocus, to ensure you get good quality images without wasting time. Sometimes smartphones don’t recognise your pet's face, so try keeping them in the same depth of field as yourself to get a clearer image. Getting down to your pet’s level or lifting them into your arms also helps get a good quality, focused image.

Capturing the moment

Speed is usually of the essence when it comes to taking the photo! Once you’ve got your pets attention with treats or a toy, snap the photos quickly! You can make use of burst on your smartphone to get several shots at the same time, ensuring you get a few to choose from.

Background and Lighting

As with taking any photos of your pet, you want to make sure you capture the image in bright natural light. It’s best to avoid direct sunlight as it creates shadows in the foreground. You can use flash or artificial lighting but be aware that this could spook your pet. It’s better to adjust the image afterwards using filters or editing software/apps.

Avoid busy backgrounds, it’s best to capture selfies with a plain background or one without too many other people or animals. A busy image will detract from you and your pet. Try to centralise yourselves in the image and get that beautiful landmark or landscape next to you or behind you. Make use of the zoom or change the depth of field to get even more of that background in with you.

Conclusion

Taking great holiday photos of your pet can be tricky, but it’s also great fun! With all these tips you are now ready to take amazing holiday photos of you and your pet, making special memories to last forever!