When you first begin photographing your pet, you want to follow these basic guidelines.
Natural Lighting
First, you want to take them outside to get the best natural lighting possible. Indoor pet shots can often be grainy and have a red-eye effect.
The best hours to photograph your pets are during the magical golden hours. These are known as the hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset. This is where you still get the benefit of sunlight, but the sun is close to the horizon and giving off a beautiful glow. It is not as harsh as sunlight at noon.
However, if noon is the only available time you have during your busy schedule, take your photographs, but check for areas of your picture that may appear all white. These are blown-out areas of your photograph. It may be necessary to place your pet in the shade and re-shoot if this happens.
Relationship
The second thing you want to consider is your relationship with you and your pet.
Be sure to wear casual clothing and get down to their eye level. Take the view of the pet and look at the world through their eyes. These photos will be far more engaging than you standing and shooting down at them. However, sometimes, it is too engaging for your pets. When you get on the ground, they may want to come sit on your lap or get in your face. Then they are, obviously, too close.
It may be necessary to place only the camera in a low position on something like a tabletop tripod. If you are able to remotely take a shot or set the timer, it may work to your advantage. Sometimes Leatherwood likes to set the time-lapse feature and play with my pet while the camera does all the work.
Have a Good Time
The whole point is to have a good time taking these images. Have fun with it and get creative with props, such as sunglasses or hats. Don’t forget to take close-ups and additional photos with your dogs playing with their favorite toys. In the end, you will have a great group of photos to turn into a photo collage and several more fit for framing.
Pen & Ink Magic 
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