Join in National Dog Photography Day 26th July and win a professional graphite portrait of your dog worth £160

In celebration of National Dog Photography Day, Trophy Pet Foods is holding a one-day only competition – one day, one photo, one dog! We’ll be accepting your contributions on 26^th July only so don’t miss out! The winner of the best photo – subject, composition, lighting, and all things that tick the photography box will win a professional graphite portrait of your dog worth £160 from Portraits in Pencil by Bobby. Time to get snapping! Send your entries in to Trophy’s Facebook page – on 26^th July.

Now in its 5^th year July 26^th is National Dog Photography Day. It was set up for fun - to promote positivity and show the wonderful bond we have with our dogs. Most of us love to take snaps of our dogs all day, every day so we thought we’d investigate the most effective ways to capture the best image of your canine friend.

Using whatever you have – a phone camera or traditional camera – you are more likely to get a great photo of your dog if you keep a few handy pointers in mind. The beauty of the digital era is that we are free to play with all kinds of effects, shortlisting our favourites and discarding the rest.

Expertphotography.com encourage you to focus on the eyes. Wait until your dog is relaxed and still and get yourself at eye level (you might need to lie on the floor!). You’ll need decent light for this, especially if you have a dark coloured dog with dark eyes. Look for a pose that has light reflections in the eye area which will bring your photo to life and give your picture depth. Expertphotography also states that a wide-angle lens (apparently f/2.8 or lower, if you understand the lingo) gives good results.

The outdoors provides a beautiful, natural backdrop and lighting. However beware of casting your own shadow and ruining your shot! Many a great photo has been rejected because of an intruding human shadow getting in the way. Using natural light is a joy as you can take the same photo in all lights and weathers with wildly varied results.

You can create a bold and dramatic backdrop by simply using a painted wall, painted card or a swathe of material. Black works incredibly well, even with dark fur, as it provides an instant atmosphere and dramatic 3D effect. You can try a range of colours behind your dog to see what works best. Also try different ways of lighting your dog against the block colour.

Try out the clever modes on your camera settings (these are options available on decent phone cameras too). Sports (or burst) mode means you can take a series of photos in quick succession. This is ideal if you are trying to capture an energetic moment! Portrait mode is effective for slightly blurring out the background and bringing the subject (your dog) sharply into focus and the most arresting part of the picture.

Get yourself into the position needed for an interesting or unusual composition. Crouch down at eye level for a direct gaze, lie on the floor and let your dog stand over you for an odd angle, or stand on a chair or ladder to look down – experiment with shots taken from different levels and see what happens!

Try and take a photo that shows your dog’s character. You might be lucky or skilled enough to do this without any props but if not, why not include his favourite toy, ball or person in with the photo. If he likes a treat (and not many don’t!), use these to get him to look where you want him to.

Enjoy taking photos of your dog and using National Dog Photography Day is a genuinely good excuse to post your favourites online or share with friends and family. Ultimately a good photo is usually just one special moment where everything comes together, by virtue of a happy accident or well-planned design, that gives us a photo we are proud of. And remember, the best time to practice is when your dog is sleeping after a busy day!

References

expertphotography.com/dog-photography-tips/

Author: Sandra Herbert