Tips For Taking Great Pet Photos

I've posted this before, many months ago, but I think it bears repeating. Whenever someone is interested in having a portrait of his or her pet painted, I am often asked what photos I need to work from. To help you take better photos of your pets, whether you wish to have a portrait painted based on a photo or you just want a nice photo of your pet for your own use, I've created the "Top Ten Tips for Taking Great Pet Photos".

1) Have a friend or family member, someone that your pet is comfortable with, help you take the photo. It may help to have someone hold your pet in place or to hold a treat or favorite toy over your head while you take the photo.
2) Get as close as possible to your pet. The more detail you capture the better your picture will be.
3) Make sure that your camera is on the highest quality setting.
4) Only use the flash if absolutely necessary. Just like some people have "red eye" in photos, some pets' eyes will "glow".
5) Pay attention to the lighting around your pet. Avoid taking photos in low light so that you don't have to use the flash.
6) Use a favorite toy, treat, or friend to help your pet look in the direction you want.
7) Take photos from many different angles. Sometimes extreme angles can create more interesting photos. Try shooting from above, below, and all sides of your pet.
8) If your pet is a dog, take him or her out for some exercise before taking the photo. This could get rid of extra energy making him or her more likely to listen to you. Also, sometimes when a dog is panting the corners of his or her mouth turn up creating a "smile".
9) Be sure that your pet is in a comfortable environment. Your pet will be on edge and not show it's true personality if it is unhappy or unsure of its surroundings.
10) Finally, take lots and lots of photos! The more photos you have, the more you have to choose from, therefore allowing for the creation of a pet portrait that really captures the spark of your pet's personality.

Happy picture-taking!

Workshop Wednesday - Handmade Dog Collars With Gone Doggie

Today marks the second installment of a new weekly blog series titled Workshop Wednesday. Each Wednesday will feature either a tutorial by yours truly or another talented artist or artisan, or a snapshot of an artist's creative process. This week's Workshop Wednesday is brought to you by Kelly of Gone Doggie. She specializes in handmade items for the dog and dog-lover, and she has graciously shared her process of creating dog collars with us. Here's what she had to say:

First and foremost, I begin by washing all my fabrics. They are then dried and ironed.

I begin with cutting the fabric. I make four sizes; each size is cut into a strip. This strip is then ironed in half with right sides together.

I then sew the strip into a tube.

The heavy weight nylon webbing is now slid into the tube I just sewn.

*Many collars are made using polypropylene webbing which is not as strong as nylon webbing.

Once the webbing is inside, it is cut and the ends of the fabric are tucked inside the tube. I then use my industrial sewing machine to secure the fabric and webbing. This is where I use a heavy weight nylon thread. This type of thread is much heavier than the thread used in a home sewing machine. The webbing is sewn down each side of the collar.

Once the fabric and webbing is sewn I then add the hardware.

A basic collar uses three pieces of hardware. I use both plastic and metal hardware. All of my hardware is heavy weight plastic, welded metal and secure locking buckles.

Finally I attach all the hardware using my industrial sewing machine.

I then snip all threads and we have ourselves a beautiful, strong, durable, and fun dog collar.

***As always with any dog collar, please be sure that the collar fits properly. Be a responsible pet owner and be sure that your dog has an identification tag on his/her collar. Many pets are found wearing a collar but no ID, many of these dogs do not make it home to their owners.

Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your artistic process with us! To see more of Kelly's work, please be sure to visit her Etsy shop.