Photographing FriendshipCollar: Dark Coats and Fluffy Challenges
We know that dogs can be difficult to photograph for a number of reasons. It can be a challenge simply to get your pooch to sit still for you! Throw in some other challenges and it can become frustrating for you to snap the pawfect shot. This post is going to tackle two challenges: dark coats and fluffy hair.
We’ll give some tips on angles & background choice that will help with any color dog, too! You can also see a video demonstrating a few examples of using Instagram’s editor to make the most of your photos!
Black Dog Problems
There is no dog more difficult to photograph than a black dog! They tend to disappear into the shadows of many backgrounds, and their features often blend together into a black hole. To capture a beautiful photo of your darker colored dog, there are a couple of things you absolutely need to do before you take the pic! 📸
Most importantly, you will need to find a place with enough light and a bright background. The background needs to be light in color, so your pup doesn’t blend in! If you don’t have enough light to reflect off your pup’s face, their eyes and nose tend to blend right in to their lovely black fur.
Experiment with different angles to change the background completely, too! You can kneel down to get a lower perspective, or hold the camera high for the ground to be the background!
Lighting 💡
With a normal phone camera, you will want to make use of the light meter! If you have a DSLR camera, there are a couple extra things you can do. If your pup is good at sitting still, you can reduce the shutter speed to work with lower light situations – you can also increase your ISO! And be sure to have your aperture open as wide as possible, to make use of every bit of light if you are working within lower light.
🌤️ Backlighting can work to your advantage with any color dog, including your dark-coated bestie! You do have to be careful though, as too much will wash out your photo. Adjust your camera to achieve just the right amount, and you can have great highlights to frame your dog & help them stand out.
Editing Pics of the Black Dog
Good news! You can usually save a darker photo of your dog in post-editing. Instagram has great editing power, and usually a mixture of shadows, lux and brightness will bring out your best friend from the darkness. Here is a video showing a few examples of editing right on Instagram! ✨
Fluffy Dog Problems
If you have a long-haired pupper, and you’re trying to take photos that showcase your favorite FriendshipCollar, you have a different set of challenges! You will need to adjust that fluff frequently to make sure the collar shows. For photos, loosen your collar an extra hole & you will find it easier to make sure it stays visible. Tuck the fluff under the collar right before you snap the photo! With longer fur, posing your doggie to look up also makes a big difference.
So, for the fluffers in your life, loosen the collar and have them look up! 🌟
We hope that these tips help you with snapping your next favorite photo of your bestie! Do you have your own tips? Or more challenges you’d like to see addressed? Send us your feedback to hello@friendshipcollar.com with the subject line “Photo Tip Blog” and we’ll try our best to help you out in our next post!