Tips for shooting animals (pets)

Hmmmm. Critters.

I think of animals as people. I certainly don't think they're human people, but they're not plant people either.

You have an obligation to make the animal look as beautiful as any other model. Well, maybe you don't. I believe I do. Unless we're going for the mangy look in particular.

Oh, yeah. Tips.

1. If the animal is working with a person, you need to ensure the comfort level of both. Allergies to dogs are bad things for human models to have if there's a dog in the shot. An aversion to males is a bad thing for a dog to have if s/he's posing with a male human (don't laugh - one of our beagles, growing up, had a fierce hate-on for men).
2. Know how long the animal can sit still. It's one thing to shoot a cat in a ray of sunlight taking a nap. It's another entirely to ask a cat to pose whilst tangled up in yarn. Most cats I've met will pose for the camera, but on their own terms. You're on the animal's time table. Most humans I've met have held poses for family portraits for upwards of twenty minutes. Most critters have a max pose time of one minute. Less if they're being held.
3. Flash. Animals are prone to greeneye. Rather than strobing in their face, try it without a flash. Some animals can't abide flash anyway. Set up a bunch of lights around where you are posing the critter for good exposure.
4. And while you're at it, don't add things to the set once the animal's in place. Not only does it cut into the pose time, batting things off tables is Big Kitty Fun. Er, what I mean to say is that animals are easily distracted. . .
5. Wildlife photography is something else again. We'll cover that another day. I'm still miffed about the stiff, tingly fingers resulting from waiting on a crow's leisure today on campus.
6. Overshoot. So maybe you don't mind if it's for your Dogbook. On average and as a general rule, I love 25% of the pictures I take. On average, I love 5% of the pictures I take of animals. So to get two pictures of a human or a tree, I take eight or so. To get two pictures of your puppy, I'd take forty. Dogs especially like to move their heads at the last minute.
7. Study the behaviour of animals. See how they move, see how they respond to your movement. If you can get a feel for their patterns, you will be able to anticipate the next picture. You'll know when they're about to do something not-photogenic.
8. Snakes which constrict, will. Cats with claws will use them (sometimes even through their Soft Paws). Dogs will bark. Mice will do . . . mousey things. I've actually never taken a picture of a mouse. The rats I've taken pictures of were held and held still for less than a minute in the confines of a hand. Expect it, and deal with it as it comes up.
9. Have the owner/human companion and assorted Favourite Things on hand. Making an animal feel comfortable is important for the look of the picture. If the human friend can wave their dog's Favourite Chew Toy up in the air behind the photographer, you might get a shot of a dog begging, standing on his hind legs, or doing some other such wonderful thing. Sometimes 'owners' even teach their pets fancy tricks. Use that.