We all know that when taking photos of animals at the zoo or aquarium, signs nearby usually say not to use flash. Similarly, for your own beloved pets, it's best not to use flash when taking pictures. To capture your pets’ wonderful moments naturally and achieve good photographic effects, the following precautions are crucial for pet owners to remember.

Different pets require capturing their personalities to take beautiful photos

　　1. The key is to capture their personality
　　When you notice these adorable little animals doing something unusual or very interesting, you can take candid shots anytime. For example, the cute look of a kitten or puppy lazily napping on its favorite mat moves people more than posing them forcibly. When taking close-up photos, don’t forget to use a close-up lens because if your lens is too close to the pet, they certainly won’t pose like models or big stars waiting for you to take a photo.
　　2. Photographing pets with dark fur is more difficult
　　When photographing them, make sure the background is bright. Also, just like photographing other objects, pay attention to shadows and avoid red-eye when using flash. Shooting in well-lit areas can avoid flash usage; if flash is necessary, avoid having the pet’s eyes look straight into the lens to prevent red-eye.

Taking beautiful group photos of pets is quite challenging

　　3. How to take good group photos
　　When shooting a "group photo" of several puppies or kittens, it’s best to put them in a basket, letting them snuggle together. This makes it easier to adjust the shooting distance. If you want their eyes to look at the camera, gently call their names or use a noise-making toy to attract their gaze. To get ideal photos, you need to prepare plenty of film (or memory) and even more patience, because all professional animal photos you admire are shot after photographers spend lots of time and effort.
　　4. Big group photos of children and dogs
　　When photographing children playing with pets, ensure the people and animals are on the same level. If your pet is large, have it lie next to the child to get an ideal composition.

Running Corgi Dog

　　5. How to photograph running dogs
　　We often see impactful photos of dogs running with strong dynamics. So how do you take such photos? There are some tricks too. Dogs come in many breeds and sizes with different features. Generally, large dogs have a good running posture with limbs fully extended and graceful running poses. Photographing running dogs is much harder than still dogs due to the high speed, so the shutter speed needs to be higher, usually 1/500 second or faster, to capture clear images. At this point, set the camera to continuous focus mode and use burst shooting. Press the shutter as the dog starts running, shooting continuously. Usually, among the series of shots, one or two will have great action.
　　6. Don’t use flash when photographing puppies
　　Puppies’ eyes are not matured yet, and since their retinas are undeveloped, sudden strong light can change retinal nerve cells. Also, puppies’ tear glands are immature and lack basic protection against strong light, making direct electronic flash dangerous. Flash at close range can cause retinal and corneal burns and even blindness risk. Especially indoors with dim light, puppies’ pupils are dilated, and sudden bright flashes can damage the retina, sometimes causing lifelong issues.
　　To see more big, beautiful eyes of the little ones, it's better to turn off the flash and use natural light during the day. Besides, flash creates large unappealing shadows. On cloudy days or with poor lighting, increase ISO. Though this raises noise, it’s acceptable. If you have a DSLR, open the aperture large. Minimize artificial harm to your pets as much as possible.