Post 55: "Non mi piace essere fotografato."

The Dog Who Doesn't Like Being Photographed

This past week I watched my friends' dog while she was down in the south of Italy for a wedding. What is particular about this lovable guy is that he doesn't like his picture taken and his ears go back whenever he sees a camera and he will try to lick you.

Why do some dogs fear/ avoid camera's?  The noises, the plastic, the size, you cover your face with it and the lens looks like one giant eyeball staring at you. The trick to photographing a dog who avoids the camera is patience, calmness and respect.
 

If the dog doesn't want to look at you just go with it. The last thing you want to do is yell at them; which will only reinforce their avoidance of the camera and leave you with a photograph of a scared looking dog.

Tips:

- Wait for them to relax, just keep your camera on hand and let them get used to it.
- Use a longer lens like a 50mm or 85mm this will allow you to get farther away and still get great portrait shots without scaring the dog.
- Have treats. Reward the dog whenever you take a photograph, he will soon learn that that click of the shutter means yummy treats are coming.
- Keep a toy on hand to distract him with.
- Have fun. Don't stress out if you aren't capturing what you had in mind, dogs will pick up on it.