HOW TO GET YOUR DOG TO LOOK AT YOU FOR PHOTOS
5 tips for getting your dog to look at you for photos
But my dog won't look at the camera. Something I hear often from clients is that their dog won't look at the camera. There can be a few reasons for this, but regardless of the cause, I'm confident your dog can learn to happily look towards the camera by following my 5 tips for getting your dog to look at the camera.
1. Offered focus
What's your dog's favorite reward? Treats? Tennis ball? Squeaky toy? Whatever that is grab it and let's get started! If your dog loves treats, I recommend starting with treats because you'll be able to reward your dog more frequently in a shorter period than with a toy.
Grab a handful of treats and find a comfy spot in your house. A spot without distractions (no other dogs, people, toys, etc.), and of course don't forget your dog. If this is something that's new to your dog, you can give him or her treats, or toss a treat and give a treat for returning to you. This will help your dog understand there's something happening and it seems fun. Once your dog starts to look at you waiting for the next treat, you're ready get started. Now, every time your dog looks at you, not your treats, your face, you can either give a treat or toss one a foot or two away, then when he or she finishes the treat and looks at you again, dispense another treat.
That's it. Super easy right? The trick is to let your dog figure out to look at you, but at the same time, you want it to be as easy as possible for him or her to figure that out. So, boring environment, get your dog's attention by tossing a treat, then let your dog look at you.
Part 2 of this is adding the camera.
As much as we love taking photos of our dogs, they don't really understand what the heck we are doing. It can look weird to have something covering your face while asking for a stay in a strange spot or an environment with fun and chaos going on. So let's just start easy.
Assuming your dog doesn't completely hate the camera or phone, have it sitting next to you and do the above offered focus exercise. If your dog is focused on you, then try lifting your phone a little bit and continue rewarding when your dog looks at you. Eventually, you'll be able to hold the phone in front of your face and reward lots and lots when your dog looks at your face (even though the camera is in front of it, and your dog will learn that photos lead to treats. If your dog likes toys, finish off each little session by giving him or her a toy.
Here's a video of me working with my 14-year-old foster girl, Fiona, to get her to look up at me. She's 14, so this might look a little different with your dog. Ignore my naughty little Flea squeaking in the background.
2. Does your dog know what sit, down, or stay means?
If your dog has a solid sit-stay or a down-stay and understands not to move until hearing the release word, he or she is going to look at you waiting for that release word.
If not, capture your dog in the position he or she is in. This might sound obvious, but if your dog doesn't understand what sit means at home, he or she definitely won't know what it means at the park. It's totally fine if your dog doesn't have these skills, just don't ask for a behavior. Instead, let your dog just stand or do whatever he or she is already doing, take your photo, reward your dog and be happy.
3. Benches, boulders, and other objects
Find a rock or any other cool object in the environment. A nifty little trick for getting a dog to stay in place when there are distractions or the dog doesn't have a stay, is to have the dog jump up on a rock, bench, or some other object. If your dog isn't comfortable jumping onto something don't push it, this will make the photo experience stressful and unpleasant, which is opposite what we want to do. I recommend teaching to jump up at home starting with something low, like an aerobic step thing (that 80's thing), then gradually getting to bigger objects. (to see my blog post on this topic, click here).
Why am I talking about staying on an object when the topic is looking at the camera? The object just makes it a little easier for the dog to understand what he or she is supposed to do. The less the dog has to think about, the easier it will be to look at you.
Bonus tip: If your dog catches treats, tossing treats will allow you to back up a little while still rewarding your dog.
Remember, the goal is to make sure your dog is happy, take your photo, then have a giant reward party with your dog. Your dog will love photo time!
Now that you have a happy and alert model who has practiced modeling and loves it, you can back up a few feet and work on getting those adorable expressions with the next two tips.
4. Visual stimulation
Time to hold that favorite toy right next to your camera and if your dog can handle it slooooowly. If your dog has a solid stay at this point, you can add a random short quick movement here and there. This will get you giant eyes and keep things interesting for your supermodel. Don't forget, be super quick, so you can reward your dog before your dog losses interest or gets stressed.
5. Sounds
For the adorable head tilts, I like to use various sounds from duck callers, to myself meowing, to phone apps. Whatever works. Sometimes a simple squeaky toy will work just fine, other dogs need something way more novel than that. If your dog is working on stay and just about to break, you'll want to barely use the sound, so it's so quiet they have to listen. If your dog is a bit distracted by a bunch of geese or something equally interesting, you might want to go for a short loud sound and be ready to click. For a shy dog, be careful, the sound might totally freak him or her out. start pretty quietly and adjust from there.
Just remember, the sound usually needs to be new to get the head tilt, so don't overuse it and make sure you are ready to snap that photo for the first use of each sound. Sometimes each sound is good for one use, then on to the next one. So don't waste it!
All the tips above are to help you take photos of your dog, but they also transfer pretty easily to having someone else photograph your dog. If your dog has learned to focus on you, just move yourself behind the photographer. If that's not a possibility, that's where tips 4 and 5 come in.
Hope these tips help!
This post is part of a blog circle, to learn more about getting your dog to look at the camera continue on to Kylee of Kylee Doyle Photography sharing secrets on how to get your dog's attention during pet photo sessions in the greater Sacramento area.
12 Comments
Aug 12, 2021, 7:11:36 PM
Nicole Hrustyk - haha
Aug 8, 2021, 2:53:55 PM
Tracy Allard - Stunning images Nicole but I'm partial to the ground hog, I mean Border Collie, in the first image LOL - love the field of flowers.
Jul 4, 2021, 7:15:42 PM
Nicole Hrustyk - Thank you Darlene!
Jul 4, 2021, 2:31:59 PM
Darlene - Love your video working with Fiona :) Great tips, Nicole! The image of the Rottie is absolutely stunning!
Jul 2, 2021, 8:36:43 PM
Nicole Hrustyk - Thanks!
Jul 2, 2021, 6:29:49 PM
Marika Moffitt - This is great, Nicole! I love seeing you work with Fiona!
Jul 2, 2021, 2:49:14 PM
Linda Perdue - Great tips - I like the toy idea, need to try that. My dogs don't have a solid stay....and one has a solid stay (so it seems) at my feet! Thanks for sharing!
Jul 2, 2021, 2:15:10 PM
Terri Jankelow - Great tips for getting attention on the camera
Jul 2, 2021, 11:05:55 AM
Nicole Hrustyk - Thank you, Nancy! She is a gorgeous girl.
Jul 2, 2021, 11:05:21 AM
Nicole Hrustyk - Right? Hard not to smile, looking at that sweet face!
Jul 2, 2021, 10:06:47 AM
Nancy - I love that Rottie image
Jul 2, 2021, 9:07:04 AM
Angela Schneider - #dogsonrocks is one of my all-time favorites! But man, that image made me smile. That needs to be a 40x30 in a pet parent's home.