I can almost guarantee that at least half of your camera roll on your phone is pictures of your dog! I'm guilty as well of course. It's easy and quick when you need to get that in the moment shot of your dog doing something hilarious or being extra cute. Or maybe your dog hit a milestone and you want a picture of them with cute props! Or...you're a real crazy dog lady like me and your dog has his own Instagram account. I'm always posting pictures of my three dogs on their account that I've taken with my phone. If I tried to run for my camera bag every time they did something amazing...I'd never have any content. So I figured I'd give you guys some ideas on creative ways to take pictures of your dogs at home with your phone!
Use Window Light
Getting your dog in front of a window during the day can make some pretty amazing pictures! Bonus points if the lights in the room are out like these pictures of Zoey and Reese! The glow of the window light adds a magical effect to a subject and it's little to no effort to create! Of course you can throw the image into an editing software like Lightroom Mobile and drop the exposure for an even more dramatic effect.
Buy A Ring Light
You can get a similar window light effect with a ring light anywhere in your house! Ring lights can be pretty pricey but I found one on Amazon that you just clip to your phone! Now for these image I didn't clip it to my phone, but I held the light up with one hand and my phone in front of it with the camera onto make the ring light obvious because I thought it looked kind of neat. It sort of looks like Zoey is filming a new makeup tutorial for Youtube! I did shut off the lights in the room and pulled the curtains to add a dramatic look. Big shock there.
Shoot Through Things
So for this one, I got really low to the ground. In fact, I was probably flat on my belly. I wanted to take the picture through the grass and dandelions to add depth to the image. Ideally, I would have taken this picture on more level ground but I think it still turned out really cute! Pro tip when photographing dogs: you want to be at eye level with your dog. So if you have a Corgi...you gotta get real low. However, you can always shoot lower like I did with Bella here to show off her "queen vibe".
Sun Flares
I don't know about you but I am obsessed with sun flares! This was shot in the morning but my favorite beams of sun come from sunsets. Either way, they add just a little bit of spice to your image! You can make the beams more obvious if you cut the sun off a little from the frame. So I could have just pointed the camera down a bit more and added more "flare". Reese looking like a total majestical creature was just a bonus for this one!
Belly Rubs
Last, but certainly not least...give your pup a belly rub and take a picture! I can almost guarantee whatever you get is going to be super cute! Keep in mind, your dog may wiggle around a lot. When I do these shots, I don't rub their belly over excitedly. Just calmly and slowly should do the trick to avoid motion blur and keep your pup on their back looking mega cute. I've never met a dog that didn't like a belly rub but there may be one or two out there that aren't into them so don't force it! A stressed out dog does not make for adorable pictures.
Hopefully these gave you some inspiration on new and unique pictures that you can take of your dog! All of these are super easy to do, so you don't have to worry about being a professional pet photographer to get them! Try things out and take a ton of pictures! Before you know it, you'll have a whole folder in your camera roll of brag worthy shots that will be sure to get a ton of likes on the Gram!
This post is a part of a photography blog circle featuring photographers specializing in a variety of niches. To see what the next photographer is sharing for our weekly theme, “Creative Ways To...,” check out Gretchen Ciccone with GCiccone Photography capturing special moments. Continue to click the link at the end of each post in the blog circle until you eventually find your way back here.
