Before we get started: This blog isn’t a how-to. Just some silly little ideas about what might help you get some cute pictures so your dog’s Meemaw and Peepaw can carry them in their wallets. Some of the cues discussed are not appropriate for dogs with joint issues or resource guarding tendencies. Safety first! Additionally, I am making the following assumptions: your dog is used to training with treats, they can follow a food lure, and can take food on cue.
Remember when Pee-wee Herman, in drag and riding along with a fugitive who had picked him up hitchhiking, said “why don’t you take a picture…it’ll last longer”?
Okay, maybe you’re younger and/or cooler than me and don’t have any Pee-wee quotes bouncing around in your brain. But seriously, as someone who struggles to exist in the present moment, I often find myself flipping through the pictures that I have taken throughout the day to help me savor the moments I captured. Meanwhile, my intrepid bestie, the one and only Petey the Wondermutt, suffers the embarrassment of being attached to this particular human and their picture snapping proclivities.
So what have I done to make my photoshoots more bearable for him and more adorable for me? A few trained behaviors here, some experimental lighting there, some seasonal adventures for flora and foliage, a rudimentary understanding of framing, and a steady supply of cheese (actual, literal cheese, because Pete loves it).
Cues and Snacks: Say Cheese!
I guess now is a great time to admit that I don’t know much about photography outside of what I learned in Visual Communication Technology classes in grad school…twenty years ago. Did I mention that you, dear reader, are probably younger and cooler than me?
But I do know there are a couple of cues I’ve taught Petey that increase our probability of getting a few cute photos during our impromptu photo shoots in a cemetery, nature preserve, Sniffspot, or whatever quiet spot we’ve decided to stroll through.
First, he knows that when I get my phone out and point it at him, he’s going to get food. And that’s honestly a great place to start.
Phone (or camera, I don’t know your life) = good things.
Wait with Duration
What I mean by “wait” is a behavior where the dog is still for some amount of time. Maybe there is a release word involved…or not.
Down with duration or down-wait/down-stay is not only a good way to have your dog hold still, but it’s also a chance to get a lower shot, which is nice when there’s something cool in the background, or on the ground itself.
We’ve generalized wait to happen in any position. Since I take a lot of photos while we’re out on walks, I’m often just asking him to pause for a moment. In fact, some of my favorite Petey pictures are just him out in front of me on the leash.
A few details of these pictures left to right: 1. I wanted to see he cute spring beauties and the blue sky, so I asked Petey for a down with duration and then got on the ground in the cemetery like a totally normal person. 2. For a mossy boy with dirty paws, I asked for an up up. 3. To capture the Midwest sky just before sunset, I asked Petey to wait and snapped a quick pic.
Up up
Another way to change the angle is to teach a cue to jump up on things. Ours is “up up.” If your dog’s joints are good for jumping or climbing up on things, you can get some pretty fun shots. Safety first, of course! Petey has perched on rocks, logs, bales of straw, picnic tables, flat headstones, and downed trees. Always looking like a perfect scruffy gargoyle.
Two Paws Up
Did you know when you decide on a verbal cue for a behavior it can be as unhinged as your heart desires? Our cue for Petey putting his front feet up on something is…”put feets.” Thank you. I’ve used many of the same types of items listed in the last section for this cue.
Catch
One of my favorite types of dog photos is when a particularly floppy breed is captured running and their face skin has shifted in a way that their eyeballs and eyelids are suddenly misaligned. This is the chaotic vibe of a quality mid treat catch photo. Or sometimes I’ll get a backlit piece of bacon mid air, shining like the smallest stained glass window, heading toward Petey’s eager face.
Catch is also handy for giving a treat when you’re not standing right next to your dog, which you often are not when you’re taking their picture. Even with practice, not all dogs are good at catch, but sometimes that makes for a good funny photo too. If your dog struggles with resource guarding, this may not be a good option for them, since the food sometimes ends up on the ground.
A few details of these pictures left to right: 1. He may be backlit, but “put feets” on a log + catch captured his bacon reward like a beautiful piece of stained glass. 2. I don’t think I asked for anything here, just captured Petey staring down a squirrel while we enjoyed a foggy stroll in the cemetery. The sun behind the fog captured an eerie green light near the graves to the left. 3. A good old food lure got this cute picture of Petey through a hollow log.
Follow the Bouncing Treat
Following food is useful for many reasons, and getting cute pictures is one of them. Not a cue, per se, but a skill that can be worked into cued behaviors. For example, when I want Petey to look somewhere, I’ll often either hold up a treat, or give him a count of three, then toss it. I raise the treat on the count, and lower it between the counts. On three, I let it go toward him. I’ve also used a food lure to get Petey to look through hollow objects, like a log.
The Gentle Art of Hearing No
If Petey isn’t into posing for a picture, I’m not going to force it. Especially when we’re out and about on a walk, which is not an everyday thing for him. Not only am I asking him to stop what he’s doing to stay still and disengage from the environment (which is what he’s there to explore), but it would make for a bad photo anyway. Petey’s most obvious signal that he’s not into my photoshoot is to physically turn his head away from the camera. Pinned ears, whale eye, closed tense mouth are other common body language signals that a dog is uncomfortable. If you know what you’re looking at, it doesn’t look like a fun photo. Loose, slightly open mouth, soft eyes, ears draped naturally…now that’s the shot I want!
My sensitive bestie has a hard time with eye contact, so I’ve never put work into getting him to make sustained eye contact with the camera lens. In fact, a lot of times I’m not even looking at my screen, but at Petey. If he can look in my direction, I have a good chance at snagging a decent picture. I also usually take multiple pictures.
A few details of these pictures left to right: 1. I asked Pete for a down and then made some crazy noises to get this cute head tilt. I used portrait mode to capture his extra scruffy face, which doesn’t grow as long any more. 2. Counting to three with a bouncing treat got Petey to look up at me so I could capture him in the trillium one fine spring day. 3. Kicking a back foot up on a person is a common resting position for Petey, so I have a lot of pictures of his cute tootsies and him looking comfy.
It’s Not Just the Dog, It’s the Setup
Sometimes the only setup you have to do is observe what’s happening in front of you. I have many treasured pictures of Petey looking into the distance, my boy under a beautiful sky, having a good sniff, looking up a tree at a squirrel, and generally engaging with his environment. Moments that are arguably more beautiful than anything you can pose.
When I am able to do a little setting up, I try to use some of the following tricks:
- Take multiples: If Petey is in motion, I usually tap the photo button multiple times, especially if I’m tossing a treat. I usually capture him orienting, looking toward the treat, and opening his mouth. One or more of them might be good. You can always delete later!
- Portrait mode for the win: When the lighting is good and he is looking particularly resplendent or comfy and is cool with the camera near his face, I’ll use that.
- Natural light is best: The pictures just come out better with lots of natural light coming from behind you and not from behind the subject. Especially if your dog has a darker coat or a dark spot around their eye. I do love to see Petey’s scruff glowing all back
- Different levels, different opportunities: You can capture different angles of your dog if you can move the camera and/or yourself around.
- Be a dork: Make sounds, animate the treats, and be weird. Notice what happens and use that to your advantage! I have some cute head tilt pictures because I make dumb sounds.
- Seize the moment: Capture what you want to remember. Is the light hitting your pooch just so? *snap* Do their little tootsies look so cute? *snap* Did they just wake up with bedhead? *snap*
- Pay up: They deserve a snack after working so hard being models, okay? Plus, having their treat on hand often loosens them up and makes them look at you for a much cuter picture.
A few details of these pictures left to right: 1. Tell me you’ve done mat training without telling me. Petey often parks himself on a mat if we’re eating because he knows we’ll toss him some. The lighting from the blinds looked cute so I got a picture in portrait mode. 2. I was holding something even higher value than food here–The Hose. Hence the bouncy ears. Look at younger Pete with his schoolboy haircut! 3. He does know other silly tricks, like “sit pretty.” Here I wanted to capture his scruff all backlit. Fun fact, when he learned sit pretty, Petey added the jazz hands all by himself.
Take a Picture, It’ll Last Longer
When I first started down the path toward a late in life ADHD diagnosis (hi, I was 43), I was listening to a podcast about hyperactive traits, and how that can apply just as much to thoughts as it can the physical body. I’ve always struggled with being present. The podcast hosts were discussing the grief they have around feeling like they’ve missed out on some really important moments because they were working on whatever was coming next in their brains
I broke down crying in the shower (whatever, I listen to podcasts in the shower). One host went on to say that he tries to pretend he’s got a spaceship that will store memories to replay after he’s died. This analogy really snapped something into place for me.
My Dad, who was probably a textbook ADHD little boy back in his day, followed us around with a camera from the time we were born until we left the house for college. I brought about a dozen carousels of slides back from my parents house this year so I can digitize some of these memories. This inclination to take a quick picture when something feels important, or interesting, or hilarious, or just right, I got it (plus ADHD probably, plus my chin) from him.
I was recently crunching along a gravel path in a cemetery in the middle of a cornfield, watching Petey’s ears bob along with his steps. I found myself thinking “you mean some day he’ll be gone and I just have to keep doing stuff?” I know my time with Petey will be short. I want to stuff my spaceship full of him–right next to seeing the waves crash at Nugget Point Lighthouse in New Zealand, holiday photoshoots with my brother in the house I grew up in, standing on my friends’ porch to sign a marriage license when Big Man and I got hitched for insurance during COVID lockdown, seeing Faith No More in Detroit, and meeting all of my Pet Harmony colleagues in person for the first time. I need the Petey part of my life to last longer.
Here’s to harmony,
Tiffany
Now What?
What are you and your dog(s) up to this week? When was the last time you got a picture of them in their favorite places? One of the biggest perks of becoming a dog trainer is that people show me pictures of their dogs all the time. Tag us in their back to school photos! @petharmonytraining on Instagram or Facebook.
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