Posing
You cannot pose an animal; you can create conditions and be ready. Everything below is a setup rather than a pose.
In short: You cannot pose an animal; you can create conditions and be ready. Everything below is a setup rather than a pose.
Gets the eyes into camera. Someone else holds it.
The calm frame, usually available after exercise rather than before.
A whistle or a squeak off to one side gives a profile with alert ears.
Photographer low, continuous focus, burst mode.
Solves stillness completely and adds a second subject.
Any unfamiliar sound produces it. Works once or twice per session, then they stop caring.
Start with sit, with a treat held above the lens — the first two minutes are warm-up and the first pose should be the one that asks least of anyone. Move to lying down, chin on paws and looking away at a sound once the shoulders have dropped, and keep head tilt for the end, when self-consciousness has gone. Shoot each one in bursts through the movement rather than holding it: the usable frames sit between the instructions, not on them.
Two metres back with the lens zoomed rather than close and wide — distance is what keeps facial proportions natural. Camera at or slightly above eye level for portraits, at chest height for full length. Below eye level enlarges whatever is nearest the lens, which is rarely what you want in frame.
Wrestling an animal into position, which produces visible stress in the eyes and ears. And using flash near a nervous animal — reflected eyeshine and a frightened pet are both unusable outcomes.
Shooting from standing height. Using too slow a shutter. Trying to photograph before exercise, when the animal cannot settle. And working alone — a second person for treats and noises doubles the usable frames.