How to Photograph Your Dog

In these day's of digital photography it's easier than ever to catch a good shot of your pooch. There's no longer any need to worry about wasting film and expensive processing, as you can snap away to your heart's delight without much cost. The key is to take as many shots as you can at the highest resolution you can. This way you'll have a whole stack of pics to choose from and be able to zoom in and cut away the parts of the photo you don't need.

Pretty much any digital camera is good these days; even phone cameras give high resolution and are great for creating images for uploading to social networking sites or blogs. If you want to take action shots then you'll need something that you can set to a quick shutter speed (a sports setting) so that you don't end up with just a blur! Zoom lenses also help to hone in on your subject, but try and avoid the digital zoom, if at all possible, as this will reduce the resolution and give you a fuzzy image.

Getting your dog to sit still while pointing a camera at them is often a difficult task, but if you catch them unawares and maybe relaxing in a shady part of the park or garden you might be lucky. An alternative is to have your camera on a sports setting and call their name- they usually look at you and hesitate for a moment before they're off doing something else.

Photos that really capture the essence of doggyness are those taken outside while they're letting off some steam and playing with their pals. These pets really know how to let go and have a good time!

Hit the sports setting and snap away. If you have a continuous shooting option this is even better as there are more chances to snag a classic.

Most of your framing can be easily done after the fact using simple editing software that is supplied with your camera or computer. Just crop and zoom. This is not something you need to worry about too much when taking the original photo. One tip for action shots though is to follow the movement of the action with your camera as you click; this way the stars of the show are less likely to run out of the shot before you snap.

Software programs like photoshop can be used to make your pictures a little more interesting. There are other free options like Gimp that can also be used with just as good results. You can find many tutorials online that will help you master the basics and more intricate projects.

Most of all, have fun with it and enjoy yourself :-)

Please pass along any of your own tips and tricks that others might find useful....