Get Dolled Up

The first step to any good selfie is looking your best. Make sure your hair and makeup are in order, but don’t forget to accessorize your pup if possible too. A cute and easy addition is a colorful bandanna around your dog’s neck.

Find Good Lighting

The secret behind a photo that really pops is good lighting. I prefer natural light, so I try to take photos outside or near a window. Play around with the lighting until you find something that works for you. This might mean moving around the house or shifting your position or the position of the camera multiple times. If you have a black dog like I do, you’ll want bright lighting or else it will be difficult to see your dog in the photo.

Identify a Backdrop

Be conscious of the background of your photo. This is where you can let your creativity shine through. Many of my photos are taken in the mountains, but I also love photos taken in my garden.

Tell Your Dog to Stay

Make sure your dog is facing toward the camera, and ask them to stay. One way that I make sure they are facing toward the camera is by using a command called “spin.” If they are crooked, I have them spin until they are in the position that I’d like and then ask them to stop and stay.

Get them To Look at the Camera

If you are taking a selfie, you’ll be holding the camera in front of you. Your dog might need some coaxing to look at it though. This can sometimes take a few minutes, but I can generally get them to look forward by tapping my camera with one of my fingers or making different noises that arouse their interest. Even better if you have someone else who can shoot the photo and make noises/squeak a toy, however!

Have Patience

You’ll probably end up with a lot of outtakes, and those are the funnest part! Just keep snapping and you’ll eventually get the perfect photo.

Brown dog sticking its tongue out

Smile!

Don’t forget to smile! Bonus if you can get Fido to smile too!