1. I'll give you my best tip first. Photograph your pet in great light. In the case of animals, that's almost always natural light, which is to say, turn off your flash and go outside. The light next to a large window or open door or late day sunlight makes all animals (and people) look great. It's all about the light. I repeat. This is my best tip.



2. Get close to your pet whether it's a horse or a goldfish. Fill the frame with the animal you love and leave out all of that distracting other stuff like lawn furniture and telephones.



3. Push the button a lot. Increase your luck factor. All of the great photographers shoot lots of picture to get one great one. The digital camera is a gift from the photography gods. There are no film costs. Thank them by taking lots of pictures.



4. Look for backgrounds that will contrast against your pet. In other words, if you have a black dog look for a light colored background. If you have a white cat look for a dark background. It's not unreasonable to spend half of your photographing minutes (hours?) considering what the background will be. This is really important.



5. Err on the side of over-exposure. Fur absorbs light, which makes things darker. You want detail. If you make everything a little brighter by over-exposing you will simply see more and with furry creatures that's almost always a good thing.



6. Keep your camera at the animal's eye level. You want to avoid having all of your pet pictures taken from a human eye's view, which is to say, looking down. Get down on your hands and knees if you have to.



7. Turn your ASA up to the max. It will make your life much simpler. So what if you get some grain or digital noise. You're trying to capture a moment. Don't worry about some minor technical deficiencies.



8. If you really want to take some great pets pictures, plan a photo session (one hour is not unreasonable) and pretend you're an artist. Play with your camera. Fun is a big part of taking pictures. You can't do that if you don't know how to use your camera. The instruction manual is your friend. Read it again.



9. Give yourself a break. Photographing animals is much more difficult then people because they usually don't reflect as much light as humans. Solid black or solid white animals are really tough. Despite the fact that your pet is gorgeous in real life, he or she may photograph as a blob. Even the pros have problems. Be patient. Slow down. Keep shooting.



10. Use a long lens. Zoom in. That will throw through the background out of focus, which is another way to give contrast between the background and your pet.
    
    
11. Animals are naturally uncooperative so it's up to you to anticipate the best moments to shoot pictures. Maybe it's a cat napping in a windowsill. Perhaps your dog likes to rest his head in your lap. Work with your pets. You really don't have much choice.



12. Digital cameras mean no film costs, so experiment. You can take wonderful pictures without looking through the camera. (Those of us in the business call this a "Hail, Mary" and for good reason.) Pre-focus your camera at 12 inches (see your instruction manual) and then hold the camera 12 inches from your pets face without using the viewfinder. Of course, luck is required, but you will be surprised how often this works.



13. When photographing a living creature, it's almost always best to focus on the eyes. Make the eyes sharp. It's where people look first.



14. And don't forget to photograph your pets with the people they care about most. After all, that's what it's all about. Love and relationships.

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