So you have a new puppy and you want to take some great puppy pictures. You want to have some professional quality photographs so you can show off and look back on in six months when your baby weighs in at 60 pounds. Puppies grow at a very fast rate. If you hesitate you will regret not having a bunch of photos from when they first arrived through the first couple of months before they start growing into a dog. Shooting digital makes this very easy. You can shot hundreds of pictures of your puppy and it will not cost you anything more than what you paid for the camera.
It really does not matter what type of camera you have you can still take great photographs with any of them. If you do not have a camera, check out the auction sites. Here is a hint; photographers are addicted to camera gear like an alcoholic to drink. As soon as new models come out they start selling the old to take advantage of the latest and greatest. With such good buys you can normally get an older digital SLR camera that will give you much better creative control. The point and shoot digital cameras are very nice now as well and very reasonable.
OK so you have your camera and you are going to get your new puppy. Take the camera with you and start taking photos immediately. Be a tourist about it and document everything. So the first step is to take lots, and lots of photographs. A little know secret of the professionals is they always take lots of photographs but you only see their best. Digital film is inexpensive now. You can get tons of shots on a card that is a couple of gigabytes of memory.
When you get your new puppy home you will want to continue to take lots of shots. Hopefully you have a yard with a fence and can turn them loose. Once settled in and comfortable with their new surroundings they will run and run. Second step is to leave the camera inside and wear them down before you try to get any shots. They are fast as lightning at that age and have bursts of energy that hinges on nuclear. Get them tired and then taking photographs will be lots easier.
Next step to great puppy pictures is to get down to their level. Once you have them tired they will lay pretty still, for a while. Get down on the ground with them as they chew on sticks, toys, balls or whatever is handy. You will have to lie in the prone position on your belly. These shots look much better than taking photos looking down on your pup.
Fourth step to getting good photos of your new puppy is to get in close. Fill the frame with the little rascals face. Shoot shot after shot in order to capture some great expressions. Do not worry, some will be out of focus but shooting lots will guarantee that more will turn out well. Make sure their beautiful little face is the majority of the photo and not a lot of grass.
Finally focus on the eyes. Professional portrait photographers always focus on the eyes and I am betting your new puppy is every bit as beautiful as those models, if not more.
Have fun and take lots of great puppy pictures. They grow so very quickly and you want to have lots of memory of this part of their life.
