|
One of the fastest growing types of request PaintYourLife receives is for portraits of pets, especially dog paintings. More and more of our returning customers who loved the portraits of their children or wedding are coming back to us requesting dog portraits of their beloved pets.
Dog portraits make wonderful gifts for any dog owner. A watercolour, oil painting, pastel or acrylic painting of your family dog is a great decoration for a child’s room and will be a lasting reminder of a childhood companion. Many dog paintings will become family heirlooms in the years to come.
PaintYourLife will work with you to optimize the photograph you send them of your dog, and we can even work with older print photos if you require a dog painting as a memorial of a pet that passed away long ago. Digital cameras and Internet technology now make it easy for you to take quality photographs of your pet if you take a little time to familiarize yourself with the special techniques for photographing a dog.
A mixture of luck and planning
Dogs are wonderful subjects to photograph, and actually rank just after children for being the most popular photo subjects for amateur photographers. Taking a good dog photograph to send to PaintYourLife for use in creating a genuine oil painting or watercolour can be even trickier than getting a good shot of your toddler, but following a few simple guidelines before you photograph your dog will help capture your dog’s personality.
A few tips to prepare for a photo session with your dog:
- Plan the general composition - formal, candid, action, at rest, show pose
- Choose an uncomplicated background with minimal distractions
- Decide on lighting - available light, flash, natural or artificial light, full sunlight
- Have props, such as toys and treats, ready at hand.
- Review your camera’s settings - portrait, action (sport), multiple/bracketed shots
Some simple guidelines
Pay attention to your dog’s coat color and texture in planning your shot. If your dog has a black or dark coat taking photographs in direct sunlight may result in glare or a washed out fur color. Take the photographs outside in the early part of the morning or late afternoon when the light falls at an angle which will result in a more natural depiction of your pet’s coat and eye coloring. Alternatively, use available light indoors and fill in with flash.
You want your dog painting to accurately portray your dog’s individual expression so your photograph should clearly show its eyes, ears, and body shape. And don’t forget a wet nose and well groomed coat are important also.
For an effective dog portrait, photograph your dog in 2/3 or profile to avoid red eye or frozen expression, especially if you use a flash. Some dogs may react to a flash with fear or aggression. If your dog is not accustomed to being photographed you should take a few minutes to allow the animal to examine your camera and get used to you holding and pointing it.
If your dog decides your camera is a toy he’s supposed to take away from you and he lunges for it every time you aim it in his direction, then use a treat or a toy as a distraction until he becomes used to you holding the camera.
Side lighting from a 90 degree angle can highlight fur texture and whiskers. If you are posing your dog indoors you can use a desk lamp or flashlight for this purpose.
As in photographing small children, it is important to stay calm yourself and plan a generous amount of time for your photo session. The more comfortable your dog feels the more it will display those individual expressions and manners you want to capture for all time in a PaintYourLife dog portrait.
|
