John’s top 10 tips for cracking canine captures

Find out how to capture paw-some (we’ll stop with the puns now) shots of energetic animals with your camera and body language

1 “Some pets can be nervous of a camera shutter and a big lens. Gain the animal’s trust by starting with a smaller lens first, and fire test shots as you provide treats to get them used to the noise.” 2 “A 70-200mm lens is great for close-up portraits without having to get close to the dog. When the animal is comfortable, though, try a wide-angle such as a 16-35mm to provide visual immediacy.” 3 “Always make sure your focus point is over the dog’s eyes. You can check where the focus point is when shooting in Live View or with the viewfinder, as well as when you review images on the screen.” 4 “Don’t start shooting as soon as you arrive at your location. In my workshops and tuition, I always encourage people to walk around for the best light. Take a shot, then tweak your and your subject’s position in relation to the sun.” 5 “If you want a portrait where the animal really looks alive and full of energy, you want a catchlight in their eye. For this to appear, you’ll need a bright light source – in this case natural light – to reflect in the dog’s eyes. Again, try moving around until that spark appears.” 6 “Watch out for what your background is doing, especially if there are any busy or distracting elements. I use a long lens and a wide aperture like f/2.8 to throw the area behind Bally out of focus.” 7 “With every shot you take, review it, and consider incremental ways to improve it – whether that’s by changing your angle, adjusting the lens, taking the ISO up a notch…” 8 “It’s important to understand and then anticipate behaviour when you’re working with any animals. I know my own dogs well, so this makes it easier for me to concentrate on taking the best shots.” 9 “The first thing I do when teaching is get shooters off the Auto exposure mode. Aperture Priority works well for pets: you can control the background and settings, but still adapt to the light if it’s rapidly changing.” 10 “Have fun, play around, and reward the animals. Dogs know if you’re nervous, and perhaps won’t be as willing to pose! Consider how your body language comes across to them.”