How to take a selfie with your dog

By Hannah Aldridge, Posted in Blog, Care & Advice

Written by Anna Erlerova, Junior Marketing Executive

Anna and Hugo Selfie
HERE ARE A FEW TIPS FROM OUR SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

We all know social media is full of perfect pictures but trying to capture the perfect selfie can be challenging. In principle, the concept sounds fairly easy, but if you have one impatient nugget of a dog – uhm yeah, not so much.

We have a few tips that might help in trying to snap a nice shot of you and your pooch!

1 – EXERCISE BEFORE     

All your efforts will be in vain if you try to take a picture of an energised and vigorously excited dog. Pictures could be blurry or out of focus as an unsettled dog might struggle to stay still for a few seconds.

Go for a walk, play with your dog at home or let them sniff out treats in their stimulation mat. Anything that will help them to release any pent-up energy!

2 – MAKE PHOTOSHOOT A HAPPY TIME 

Your job will be much easier if your dog associates your camera with treats, toys and being told they’re a good boy/girl. Make sure you are gentle and happy as your dog will bounce off your energy.

Surround yourself with your dog’s favourite toys and get some Naturediet treats to help you. Our Feel Good Chicken with Parsley Treats are soft-baked, therefore are very easy to break into many little pieces.

3 – BE PATIENT

In case it is not quite going how you imagined – take a break! You can try again later. If you prolong this negative situation, it will not do any good for you or your dog.

4 – LIGHTING & BACKGROUND

Both good lighting and background are particularly important factors for a good picture.

Ultimately, natural lighting outside on a beautiful day is your best friend; but we all know what the British weather can be like!

If your setup is indoors, try staying close to a window or positioning a lamp nearby.

Your background is just as crucial as lighting when it comes to taking a good doggie selfie. Think twice whether you want a clean and crisp white background or whether you want to set the tone with some arrangements behind you.

5 – CAMERA IN LIVE MODE

Setting your smartphone to capture a Live Photo is a great hack as that way, you will capture what happens just before and after you take your photo. It is incredibly helpful when taking pictures of our little canine friends as you can go back and select the perfect moment from 2-second “video”.

If your camera does not have this feature, just set it to take three or more pictures at a time. It will work just as a live photo.

6 – FOCUS

For the best result, set your camera to autofocus. Also try to have your face as far from the camera as your dog’s face to ensure that one of you is not out of focus.

If you have a little pooch, who is happy to be held, lift them up on your arms. If you have a Golden Retriever, that might not be the best route to take; just crouch down to their level instead.

7 – DO NOT HESITATE & SNAP!

As soon as your dog is in your desired position, snap that shot! Even when you think you may have the best picture in the first 5 minutes, always take more!

You can always delete the ones you will not be using, but there is nothing worse than having to set them up again and re-do a photo-shoot. Believe me! I’ve been there and it’s not fun.

We hope you will find our tips at least a little helpful and we look forward to seeing your selfies! Please tag us on social media and use our hashtag #naturedietpets! The best shots will feature on our stories.