How to Take Pet Photos

Recently, I was very fortunate enough to do a short photo shoot at Hurley Park with Samantha and her little dog Lulu. I asked Samantha if she would be willing to do a shoot with her dog specifically for my blog, and she gladly accepted.

Because of the Fall weather, Samantha took complete advantage of that by pairing her pink sweater to Lulu's pink sweater and pink toenails.

Here are a few tips to remember when incorporating pets into portraits:

1. Be aware of your animal's temperament. That means have a leash to restrain hyper or aggressive dogs because depending on your venue, you may come across other animals. This goes for crate carrier for your cat too.

During this photo, Lulu barked ferociously at dog that was being walked on the road behind me.

2. If taking photos in a public place, please bring some sort of bathroom cleanup kit for your pet. There's no reason to leave behind unexpected gifts for others to find.

3. Action shots are great of animals; but for portraits, you almost always have to have the animal restrained somehow. I suggest having the pet owner be in most of the shots. This way you get an awesome shot of the owner with the pet instead of a shot of the pet with random hands or a leash restraining it.

4. Be wary of home comfortable an animal is with being held, lifted, etc. when looking for those unique poses. Lucky for us, Lulu was okay with being lifted in this next shot.

5. As a photographer, you need to take the time to get to know the animal beforehand. I have know Lulu since Samantha first got her, but it has been years since I have seen her. So, I took the time to regain her trust by letting her sniff me and eventually being able to pet her. If the animal does not trust you, you will not be able to pose the animal how you want without upsetting or getting yourself bitten.

6. The final and probably the most important step is that the owner needs to bring some sort of treat to give the pet. It's classic behavior modification, but on a smaller more immediate scale. If the pet remains still for a series of shoots, feel free to praise the pet and have the owner give him or her a treat. Some continued reinforcement of the right behavior for the photography shoot with treats tells the pet that he or she is doing something right. You can usually get your best results this way.

Taking photos of pets requires a lot of patience and flexibility. You need to be able to shoot at the right time to get the shot. Sometimes you may find yourself needing to shoot at a higher shutter speed to capture the pet in motion. This was not the case for me seeing as Lulu was an absolute angel for the entire shoot. Just have your finger on the shooting trigger at all times and be ready to snap that golden shot.

R.I.P. Lulu

Sadly, a week or so after the photo shoot Lulu passed away from health complications. I was extremely happy that Samantha allowed me to shoot these photos for her to remember her sweet dog by.

If you are a pet lover, I suggest that you get some portraits shots of you and your pet because you never know when their time with you will be up. It's a great way to spend an hour or so at the park with your pet and to enjoy the time spent together taking photos.

NC Zoo - Asheboro, NC

Everyone should visit a zoo at least once in their lifetime. If you're in NC or visiting, you should consider visiting the NC Zoo in Asheboro. The NC Zoo offers a wide range of photography opportunities that obviously include wonderful photographs of exotic animals. My fiancé was lucky enough to win four free tickets to the NC Zoo, so most of the family took a day trip to the zoo.

When, we first got there I was extremely excited to see my two favorite animals, the zebra and giraffe. This was the perfect opportunity to snap some "in the wild" photos.

Of course, the zebra's weren't as cooperative, so I won't post a photograph of a zebra bent down eating or a photo from behind.

On a brighter note, the elephants were out and ready for some photographs. Here I took advantage of incorporating the animals with a family portraits.

Brothers Shane and Josh

Keep in mind that this photo worked perfectly because the boys were in the foreground while the elephants were really far away in the background. To get a great shot of only the elephants you would need to use a zoom. For the photo below, I used a 70-300mm telephoto lens; from the viewing deck, I had to zoom to 210mm to get this shot:

Luckily for the kids, we were stumbled across a helicopter display and education area further down the path. Most zoos have some educational booths and displays that are perfect photo opts.

Gabbi and Sierra riding in the helicopter

Not too far from this exhibit Gabbi wanted her picture taken at the Swamp Ghosts display.

Gabbi loves being the center of attention

Swamp Ghost White Alligator

The gorilla exhibit is the most interactive photography opportunity in the park, in my opinion. Most of the time, the gorillas love to approach and taunt the audience that is gathered against the glass. You are able to grab some great still frames of these animals with ease.

Baboons are equally as interactive, if you catch them at the right time. Sometimes you can even catch some great photos that are rare and wonderful surprises to see.

While you're walking between exhibits or taking a break from the heat, be sure to keep your eye out for special moments you can capture to add to your memories of the day. You never know what you're going to catch.

Gabbi cooling off

Finally, there is no way I could end my overview of the photography opportunities at the zoo without including a photograph of a polar bear and a comical snapshot I was able to capture while standing in the crowd at the polar bear exhibit.

Polar Bear

What a wonderful coincidence

The NC Zoo is a wonderful place to visit and take photos, so before you decide to make the trip be sure to check out their website for all that the zoo has to offer. I loved this time spent with family and all of the photos that I was able to capture to share with everyone.

Ticket Prices: Adult, $12; Senior (62+), $10; Child (2-12), $8; and Child (under 2), FREE.

Hours of Operation:
April - October 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
November - March 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The Zoo is open year round except for Christmas Day

Be sure to check out this venue:

4401 Zoo Parkway,
Asheboro, NC 27205
1.800.488.0444