Recently we were in an off-leash park photographing dogs competing in agility, when a gentleman came up and started chatting. He told us a story about how his dog did the funniest thing just before an agility competition. I asked him if he ever got a picture of that precious moment. He frowned and told us that he wasn’t a photographer and that his dog had since passed on.

We then asked him if he currently had a dog. He joyously said yes, so we told him, “Don’t make that mistake again.” At first he was shocked that we had said something so bold, but then he thought about it and smiled.

Time flies — especially the good moments in your life. We can’t believe that it has been almost a year since our dog, Jake, chose us. It feels like we just brought him home and at the same time, like he has been with us forever. We can’t imagine life without him. We put a lot of effort into thoroughly enjoying our time with him because we know that it will be much shorter than we would like to admit.

We tell all our clients and friends to take lots of pictures and capture lots of video of your best friends, all the time, during all stages of their lives. You will never regret the images you take, but you will regret the ones you don’t.
So how do you take great pictures of your pets? Here are some quick and easy tips to help.

• Evaluate. Each and every time you take a photograph ask yourself what worked and what didn’t work? What do you like about the picture? What would you do differently the next time?

• Program. Select “program mode” on most models of today’s digital SLR cameras. This allows you to shift settings such as the shutter speed or aperture when needed.

• Camera. Know your camera. Read the manual and learn what your camera can and can’t do.  When you are no longer surprised by your camera you are on your way to getting better results from it.

• Time. What time of day are your pets at their best to capture play or rest?

• Imagine. Imagine the kind of picture you want to capture of your pet. Then imagine what steps you need to take to capture that moment.

• Practice. Practice. Practice. Then practice some more.

• Make it fun. If you are happy it is likely your pet is happy and it will show in your pictures.

• Angle. Get down to your pet’s eye level.

• Where. Photograph your pet where they feel most comfortable. They will thank you for it.

• Focus. Make sure your pet’s eyes are in focus. Eyes are the heart of every photograph.

Remember, a truly powerful image will stay with you for the rest of your life.