You know the photo. Your dog is doing the single most adorable thing he has ever done in his life. You reach for your phone. By the time the camera opens, he has moved, the lighting is bad, one ear is out of frame, and somehow he now appears to have four eyes and no face.
You take eleven more. They’re all worse.
Good pet photos can feel like luck. They’re not; they’re a handful of small habits & tricks that photographers use every single day. So we asked one.
Meet Lisa
Lisa is a volunteer here at the NHSPCA and a professional pet photographer, the person behind Odd Quad Photography. She also happens to be providing the grand prize for our 2027 Calendar Contest Fundraiser: a professional photoshoot with your pet!
She was kind enough to share her best tips for capturing great photos. No fancy gear required. Just your phone, your pet, and a little patience.
1. Chase the Light
The best lighting happens when your pet is facing toward the light: a window, an open door, the sun.
- Facing the light means fewer weird shadows falling across their face.
- It also gives you catchlights, those little sparks of light in their eyes that make a photo feel alive and pull you right in.
2. Change Your Point of View
- The look-down shot is a classic. It’s the angle you see your pet from a hundred times a day, and it feels instantly familiar.
- Then try the opposite. Get very low, down at their level, with them facing toward you. It’s a completely different photo of the same animal.
3. Master the Art of the Bribe
Cooperation is the hard part. Some pets get genuinely nervous about a strange glass eyeball pointed at them.
- Take your time. Let them get used to the camera before you start shooting.
- Use treats — hold the treat right up next to the lens so they’re looking where you want them to look.
- Make a strange noise. A squeak, a whistle, any ridiculous sound you can produce in your own home with the blinds closed. Both treats and noises are excellent attention-grabbers.
4. A Little Editing Goes a Long Way
You don’t need special software. Your phone can do all of this.
- Start with three settings: brightness, shadows, and warmth.
- Adjust those first, then poke around at the others and see what feels right to you. Editing is where a good photo starts to look like your photo.
5. Let Them Be Exactly Who They Are
This is the one that matters most. The goal isn’t necessarily the “perfect photo”; it’s a photo that shows them as them.
- If your pet would rather play than pose, get low and take a lot of shots. A great personality photo is in there somewhere.
- If they’d rather work, practice “stay” with lots of rewards. It turns into a game they enjoy, and then you can pose them anywhere.
- Most importantly: get out there and have fun. They don’t all need to be the perfect shot. The more you take, the better your odds of getting one you love.
Now Put It to Use!
Here’s the fun part: you now have somewhere to send that photo.
Entering the NHSPCA’s 2027 Calendar Contest Fundraiser is free. Snap your pet, pick their category, and enter. From there, friends and family vote for your pet — and every vote directly supports the animals in our care. The pets with the most votes win prizes and a spot in the printed 2027 calendar. The overall top vote-getter is crowned The Seacoast’s Favorite Animal and wins that professional photoshoot with Lisa herself.
And one thing worth saying out loud: this contest is won on votes, not on megapixels. Plenty of past winners entered a photo they took on their phone in their backyard. Enter the picture you love. Then rally your people.
