My top tips for getting better photos of black dogs (from a professional dog photographer)
Taking amazing, instagram worthy photos of black dogs has been the bane of pet parents lives since the internet began…
In this blog, I wanted to give you my top tips on how to photograph black dogs. Across all the breeds, dogs with black coats are notoriously difficult to photograph. It can be hard to capture beautiful photos that show off their personalities and gorgeous spirit - so, let me help you with that!
Why photographing Black Dogs Is Difficult
Black dog photography can be challenging due to how the light bounces off the dogs coat and into the camera lens. It is important to be mindful of the environment in which you take your photos of your dog.
Bright, harsh sunlight is the worst type of shooting environment. The very bright light will create a high contrast between the black in the dogs fur coat, and the bright white sunlight. This will cause your dog to show up on the image as a black blog with very little detail in their face.
Top Tip Number 1: Lighting
Paying close attention to how light affects the quality of your pet photos will empower you to use the light available to you in the best way possible for those insta worthy pics of your best fur friend!
Avoid harsh lighting conditions! Take your dog to an evenly shaded area to reduce the contrast between the black fur coat and the white direct sunlight. If you do find yourself with the sun directly overhead, bring your dog to a shaded area and take the photo there. For example, we shot the beautiful Bryt in a woodland with lots of tree cover to break up the light and make it fall more evenly over her.
Golden Hour is the best time for light! This is typically one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.
*the important part of showing off the details of a black pet is getting a balance between shadows (the darker parts) and highlights (the lighter parts), and making sure your dog is not too dark in the photo
Top Tip Number 2: Pay Attention to The Background
The right background colour is especially important when you’re taking a photo of a dog with black fur. You want a good contrast of colours that compliment the black. If what is behind them is also dark, you won’t be able to see the dog very well. If it’s too bright, your camera will likely struggle with the contrast and the dog will look too dark.
Go for complimentary colours! Nice background colours that work well with black coated dogs are “middle spectrum colours” such as red, yellow, purple, blue…
* For example, oranges and yellows of leaves in Autumn would contrast nicely with the dogs black fur and would make the subject “pop”
* Blues also contrast nicely with black fur
Top Tip Number 3: EYES
The eyes are the window to the soul. One of my top tips in general for dog photography is to get the eyes in focus. If you have a dog with a black fur coat AND lots of fur that covers their eyes, this can make things difficult.
Taking the photo from above and having the dog look directly up at your can often make it easier to see the dogs eyes.
Top Tip Number 4: Flash
Obviously, this one is a bit harder to do without the proper equipment (enter Kristina, the professional pet photographer!), but, if it is just too dark to bring out the dogs features, supplementing the available light with flash is a great option if you know how to do it effectively.
This is where my portable studio comes in handy…as you will see from the pictures below, the flash will lighten the dark areas and show off the beautiful features of you black dog.
Hopefully this blog has given you some ideas on how to take those insta worthy pics of your black dogs!
If you would like to email me to chat about the privilege of being selected to be your pet photographer, or have any questions for me, I would love to hear from you! You can click the button below to contact me directly, or click here to view my portfolio!
Be sure to check back next week for more tips, behind the scenes magic and all things pet photography!
Chat soon!
