Dana's Solution:

1. Walk your dog! Because natural lighting is some of the best lighting for photography of a (potentially) fast moving target like your dog, pooch, or puppy. Take him out, and while you are walking, take some photos. Even the most mundane of shots can prove to be artistic.

2.Get onto the floor! You’re taller than your dog! So change it up a bit. Take a picture from under, over, next to, or on top of your dog. Catch an interesting angle that shows some of his or her best features.

3.Shoot your dog! And I don’t mean put him to sleep. Some times in Photography, Quantity will get you Quality. You can get that perfect shot, but it is going to take a hundred poor shots to find that diamond in the rough.

4.Crop, trim, zoom in, correct color, etc. Do not forget to edit your photos if you are serious about them! Because most people are shooting digitally, this is easy (and free) with software like Gimp. But if you ever want to get serious about your pet photography, this is a necessary step. It isn’t cheating, I promise. Just don’t give your dog three heads and Paris Hilton’s face.

5.Submit your photos! The Writer’s Digest guys come out with this great book called the Photographer’s Market Guide. Do a web search for it, and if you ever want to go into photography, this is the first thing you should read. Also find some dog and pet lovers magazines, write for their photographer’s guidelines, and maybe you could sell some of your photography as a professional!