Helping with pet photography, as non-professionals, we may not clearly understand what composition is. Here, the editor will briefly introduce six composition tips to help you take stunning pet photos.
　　Tip 1: Make Good Use of the Golden Ratio (Rule of Thirds Composition)
　　The golden ratio actually means dividing the frame into nine grids, placing the subject at one of the four intersection points. This method appears more aesthetically pleasing and comfortable to look at compared to simply placing the subject in the center.

The frame is divided into nine grids, placing the subject on the intersection points.

　　Some friends might ask: "When I normally take photos, I don’t see a nine-grid reference. How can I make such a composition?" Actually, many modern DSLRs or compact digital cameras allow you to manually display the nine-grid to view inside the viewfinder. Different brands save this setting in different places, so you can look for it yourself or consult the manual.
　　Tip 2: Use Shallow Depth of Field
　　The "sharp front and blurry back" effect is something everyone has seen, and it effectively highlights your pet from the background. But how is this effect created? It is called "shallow depth of field," which depends on four elements. Today, we will cover three of them:
　　1. Large aperture
　　When adjusting your camera, you may have seen numbers like F2.8, F3, or F5. These numbers represent the aperture value. Remember two rules:
　　(1) The smaller the number, the larger the aperture;
　　(2) The larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field (meaning the background is blurrier).
　　2. Long focal length
　　Lenses often have numbers like 18-55mm or 35-80mm, which are the focal lengths. Another factor causing shallow depth of field is focal length, with two rules:
　　(1) The larger the number, the longer the focal length (also meaning stronger zoom);
　　(2) The longer the focal length, the shallower the depth of field.
　　3. Distance between lens, subject, and background
　　The distances among lens, subject, and background greatly affect depth of field. Generally, the larger the subject occupies in the frame (by moving lens closer or zooming in), the shallower the depth of field, and the farther the subject is from the background, the shallower the depth of field will be.
　　Tip 3: Use Color Contrast and Background
　　Composition techniques are diverse. Besides the above simple tips, we can also use the surrounding environment to make cats and dogs stand out more! Remember these tips:
　　1. Choose a clean and simple background;
　　2. Choose a background color that contrasts your pet’s color—for example, a black cat standing in front of a white background can highlight its shape very well.

The choice of background is also very important

　　Tip 4: Less Visible, More Prominent! Use Silhouette Effect
　　Sometimes when pets are shot against the light, they inevitably appear very dark. Instead of using flash to fill light, directly capturing the silhouette effect can better emphasize the pet’s outline and shape!
　　Tip 5: Shape Contrast Effect
　　Besides the color contrast in Tip 3, shapes and sizes can also make the subject stand out! Trying contrasts of big versus small, distant versus close, tall versus short, and so on, is also a great approach!
　　Tip 6: Highlight Features—Fill the Frame
　　Sometimes, as ads say “Less is more,” including fewer elements in a photo can better focus the viewer’s attention. One way to remove unnecessary elements is to fill the frame with the subject, which can highlight your pet’s unique features (such as green eyes, big noses, etc.)!
　　Summary
　　The editor briefly introduced several composition techniques used when photographing pets, hoping to make pet photography more interesting! Actually, “composition” plays a crucial and challenging role in the art of photography, as there are no absolute rules. The same technique may produce different effects on other photos. It is recommended that beginners understand the theory of composition, and practice more to integrate and apply it effectively!