Framing Cats & Dogs - Posed shots

If you have endless patience you might want to try getting some posed shots of your pet. This involves placing them in a pre-arranged setting and usually having them look into the camera, preferably with a cute expression. Easier said than done!

Choose a spot with a non-distracting background. If you're really ambitious you can set up a white background for a studio-style picture, though these types of portrait can seem sterile without any natural surroundings to give some context. A plain patch of grass outside is perfect. Indoors you can shoot on the bed or sofa, or the lounge floor - just be sure to look around for distracting elements in the background and either remove them or compose to exclude them.

Make sure there is good light on your subject. Placing them near a window or doorway, if indoors, is better than using flash. Outdoors, diffused shade will eliminate distracting shadows and keep the contrast down, making your exposure easier. Dappled sunlight can look good but take care with your metering.

The next step is getting your subject's attention. Making silly noises, or waving a toy or brightly coloured object, are the obvious tried and trusted methods, and for this it's much easier if you employ an assistant to stand directly behind the camera. If the subject isn't your own pet this should ideally be the animal's owner. Getting your subject to stay put and look at you rather than wandering over to investigate the distraction can be tricky, but patience should pay off eventually.

The thing to remember with posed pictures is to keep the session brief. Animals will get bored, and if you haven't got a good shot in the first few minutes of shooting, the chances of getting one after that are not great. Best to take a break and have another go later.

For the best perspective get down to your subject's eye level, as I did for this shot of my neighbour's puppy