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Do you have any tips for taking photos of dogs who move a lot? Also, is there a way to get videos I take of a dog uploaded to my past stays gallery?

So, I regularly sit (3 hours/night - 2-3x/week) a 4-month old puppy who, as you'd expect, is extremely playful and doesn't stay still until he's sleeping after tuckering himself out. My clients work nights and don't mind if I don't send a picture every single stay since they're usually too busy to be checking their phone very often. However, I would like to be able to send pictures more often since my rate of clients who've received photos has gone down as of a result of this.

The problem is two-fold: it's extremely difficult to get a non-blurry photo of this puppy (if you look at my profile, he's the black and white furball - I'm not really happy with any of them except the one that was lucky and still has pretty bad lighting), and while I can send videos that are much easier to capture that a dog's having fun with me, they don't show up on my profile, nor do they seem to count toward having sent a photo during the stay and affect the aforementioned percentage. (Could be wrong about the latter but that's what it looks like to me.)

The fact that the videos don't show up on my profile is very annoying, because I have sat a few rescue dogs that are generally a bit anxious/depressed but they always warm up to me. But, if I stand very still trying to take their pictures and am looking at the screen instead of them, their guard seems to go up and I get a picture of them looking unsure or walking away. My most difficult and anxious dog was a stray taken in to his foster home 3 days after he was brought into the shelter and mostly just sat on the couch looking depressed. Eventually I got some slightly happy-looking pictures of him but I also have a few really adorable videos of him coming out of his shell with me and I'm kinda bummed that they don't show up on my profile because he was so happy and playful and none of that really shines through in the pictures on my profile. I'm happy that the foster mom knows he had fun with me, but if the dogs look at best kind of bored in the pictures, it doesn't present a great impression of me to potential clients looking at my profile.

So, my questions: 1) Do you have any tips/tricks for getting a very excitable dog to stay still long enough that a good photo can be taken? 2) Is there a way to get videos on my profile? If not, would Rover allow me linking to say, an online folder like Google Drive or an instagram account or would that send up red flags? 3) Anyone know if there's something in the works to get the videos sent through Rover... (more)

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I've had a lot of clients impressed that I was able to get a good, non-blurry shot of their dog. There are a few things I can recommend that don't include fancy new equipment.

  1. Motivation: Treats or a squeaky ball can do wonders, and you can use any known cues (stay, wait, etc) to your advantage. Try to have the camera ready to go before getting the dog where you want them, then use your bribery to hold the dog's eyes where you want their attention focused. You may only have half a second of stillness, and over time these can lose their value, so be quick! Having a second person to help work the lure while you work the camera (or vice versa) also helps a ton. If you're doing it by yourself, your camera hand will get really good at knowing where to aim without you looking.

  2. Lighting. You want a good light source behind you (or behind the dog for fancy silhouetted shots). Sunlight can be fine (especially for dark colored dogs), but a bright overcast day (or full shade on a sunny day) usually yields the best quality pictures. The brighter the surroundings, the faster your shutter speed, leading to less blur. Indoor pictures tend to be harder to pull off than outdoor shots.

  3. Action shots: for a dog who loves to move, trying to capture action shots may be your best bet. For best results, follow the motion of the dog as you take your pictures. This will keep the dog in focus and blur the background.

  4. Burst mode!! Most cameras, even cell phone cameras, have a burst mode, which takes a bunch of pictures all right in a row. The shutter speed is usually significantly faster than for normal shots, making for clearer (though darker) pictures, and you get many opportunities to get a good shot from one attempt. Even for someone who is skilled at dog photography, you end up taking a ridiculous number of shots and only getting a handful of decent ones, and maybe only one or two (if any) really good ones.

This is my friends' dog, Sancho. He was super excited about jumping up on the fir cone, but equally excited about jumping right back off. I managed to get a good shot out of it after seeing his pattern a few times, using his wait command to my advantage, and having the camera out and ready to shoot before asking him to jump up. He stayed in that position for a fraction of a second, but the planning paid off. image description

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Thanks so much for the tips! The dogs I walk don't have access to dog parks so when we're outside I've kind of got my hands full, unfortunately. My phone's burst mode isn't great; I thought my phone camera didn't have an action mode but it turns out it's under "sports" so I'll try that out! :)

Oh, forgot to say that that is such a great picture! :)

Oh I almost never do dog parks. My own dogs don't really enjoy them and the ones closest to me are unfenced, so i wouldn't risk taking a Rover dog. As you can see in this pic, Sancho is still on leash, and I've got the other end of it in my camera hand. It takes a lot of practice and still you'll end up with tons of bad shots for every good one, but you do improve with time, even when you're juggling three leashes, the camera, and trying to keep them focused on you. You can also use natural distractions. Sancho is actually looking at a kid on a skateboard (both things he's not a huge fan of) across the park. He got distracted long enough to hold still for the picture. If there's something the dog seems interested in, use... (more)

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My very best trick is to get a treat (whatever he likes), or even pretend you have a treat, get his attention focused on it, have your phone ready, and pull the treat to your temple and snap the photo. Often the attention with puppies will make them bouncy at first, but if he knows he gets treats when he "sits" he'll sit eventually. Good behavior gets rewards. -- Be sure to give him his treat afterwards though!

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Putting the treat towards your temple gives it the illusion the pup is giving the camera eye contact.

Oh, I love the temple idea! He's still in doggy kindergarten so he doesn't always sit but I'll try that out! Quick question - how do I pretend that I have a treat? Put my hand in the back and take it out with my hand closed?

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All dogs are different in how they respond so just try as many diferent things until you find what works for you then apply those techniques to get great pictures. I have a playful dog that mostly stays still when I'm holding a toy or I ask him to sit, and that's okay. Then I mostly take pictures of him running and playing.

Calling their names, talking very exited, whistling or just being sneeky when I see a great explession work great for me, but it might take many tries so dont get discouradged.

Sometimes the trick to a great picture to send to your client is on the shot itself more than the quality. These tips on how I send picture updates might help you so that if you cant get a perfect picture you can still send a great peace of mind to the dog owner.

I find that owners like to see their dogs smiling (tongue hanging/corners of mouth pointing up) and resting as well as having fun, because it shows that their pet is comfortable.

During stays in my home I like to send a few pictures on the first day about two hours after drop off to let them know they are settling in just fine, this can include a picture of them exploring the yard or eating/near their food dish as well as laying down. Then send another message before 6pm of them smiling or just a cute picture, like them near their bed or on the couch.

For long stays alternate between pictures of them in the home and pictures outside. Sometimes adding props like a dog toy to show that its play time or just to add color and make the picture look happy and your home seem fun. I bought bright colored dishes and towels to set them on at the dollar tree, among other things.

You can also take pictures of them at night - especially if its their first time they are staying with you, to send to them in the morning, preferably before noon. The quality on pictures at night wont be great but I found that they dont care about that, they mostly just like seeing that their pet feels at home.

Always let the owner know how the first night went: you can say something like "the first night went well" then follow with anything you would like.

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Thanks for the tips! I do tend to send some lower-quality pictures to clients sometimes if it shows them really happy, because that's the most important thing, and sometimes I just send a picture of them chilling because like you said, it's comforting for clients to know their pup is relaxed!

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Treats work great if the dog is food motivated. Puppies are bouncy and move fast so I have found that exercising such as walking, getting them playing and moving until the slow down and need a break and then get some pictures. But, be ready to take pictures at that time because they "re-charge" quickly. Some of the best pictures are of them tired and napping in the dog bed, couch, on a blanket, bed, etc. Also, if the puppy is playing with a toy I snap a Lot of pictures and end up with a couple good ones.

I pet sit a super sweet, 8 yr old chow that is camera shy. She absolutely hates the camera and knows when someone is going to take her picture with the cell phone. I get a Lot of "butt" shots. and blurs. For everyone good to great shot I have to delete 1 to 3 pictures on the camera. Taking pictures outside, I have found, provides the best light. But turning on overhead lights inside help. She is my biggest challenge so it takes a lot of creativity, especially since she isn't food motivated and very picky even with treats.