# How to photograph your dog (and get one worth framing) > Practical dog photography tips — get down low, use the right light, freeze movement, keep their attention, and how to tell if a phone photo will print well. - Canonical page: https://hollzphotography.com/blog/how-to-photograph-your-dog - Business: Hollzphotography — signed animal and Irish landscape photography prints - Photographer: Amy Byrne, Ireland - Contact: info@hollzphotography.com · 083 881 3982 - Published: 2026-08-19 - Reading time: 6 minutes - Topics: dog portrait photography, pet photography ireland, dog wall art, animal wall art Every good dog photograph I have taken came out of a couple of hundred bad ones. That is the whole method. But four things raise your hit rate enormously, and none of them need a better camera. ## 1. Get down to their eye level This is the single biggest difference between a snap and a portrait. Photographed from standing height, a dog looks small and slightly apologetic. Photographed from their eye level, you get the animal instead of the pet. Lie down. Get your elbows in the wet grass. It is worth it. ## 2. Outdoors, in the right light Indoor light is too dim for a moving animal — you will get blur and noise. Outside: - **Overcast** is genuinely the easiest light for dark dogs. No blown highlights, no squinting. - **Golden hour** — the last hour before sunset — gives you warm rim light on a coat, which is what makes fur look like fur. - **Avoid harsh midday sun**, which blocks up a black coat and blows out a white one. Move into open shade. Black dogs need you to overexpose slightly (+0.7 EV) or the camera will render them as a dark shape. White and cream dogs need the opposite. ## 3. Freeze the movement For a dog running: **1/1000 second or faster**, continuous autofocus, burst mode. On a phone, that means bright light and burst — hold the shutter, take thirty, keep one. For a resting portrait, 1/250 is plenty and you can drop the ISO to keep it clean. ## 4. Get their attention, then wait Squeaky toy, a whistle, or their name once. You get about two seconds of ears-forward attention per trick, and then the trick is spent. Treats work for a sit, not for a portrait — a dog focused on food looks like a dog focused on food. The best expressions come after the excitement, when they have stopped performing and are just looking at you. ## Will a phone photo print? Usually yes, with caveats. A modern phone photo taken in daylight will print well up to **12×16″**. What kills a print is not resolution but the things that show up when you enlarge: - Digital zoom — crop in editing instead, never zoom on the phone - Low light noise in a dark coat - Focus on the nose rather than the eyes If the eyes are sharp, it will probably print. Send it through the [contact page](/contact) and I will tell you honestly what size it will hold at. ## If you would rather not The dogs in the [dog wall art collection](/prints/dog-wall-art) were photographed this way, over years, in wet fields. Prints start at €10 unframed, +€15 framed in oak, excluding postage, and half of every order goes to [Forever Home Sanctuary](https://foreverhomesanctuary.charity). See also the [gifts guide for dog and horse lovers](/blog/gifts-for-dog-and-horse-lovers) and the [full shop](/shop). ## FAQ ### How do you take a good photo of your dog? Get down to their eye level, shoot outdoors in overcast light or the hour before sunset, use a fast shutter speed for movement, and take far more frames than you think you need. ### What shutter speed do you need for a running dog? 1/1000 second or faster, with continuous autofocus and burst mode. For a still portrait, 1/250 is enough and lets you use a lower ISO. ### How do you photograph a black dog? Shoot in overcast light or open shade and overexpose slightly, around +0.7 EV. Harsh midday sun blocks a black coat into a shape with no detail. ### Can a phone photo of my dog be printed? A daylight phone photo usually prints well up to 12×16″. Avoid digital zoom, make sure the eyes are sharp, and send the file through the contact page for a size check. ## Pages - [Print shop](https://hollzphotography.com/shop) - [Gallery](https://hollzphotography.com/gallery) - [Print guide](https://hollzphotography.com/prints) - [Wall art in real rooms](https://hollzphotography.com/wall-art) - [Print sizes guide](https://hollzphotography.com/print-sizes) - [Gallery wall guide](https://hollzphotography.com/gallery-wall) - [Gift guide](https://hollzphotography.com/gift-guide) - [Journal](https://hollzphotography.com/blog) - [About Amy](https://hollzphotography.com/about) - [FAQ](https://hollzphotography.com/faq) - [Pet portraits & commissions](https://hollzphotography.com/commissions) - [Events](https://hollzphotography.com/events) - [Contact](https://hollzphotography.com/contact)