It's pet week here at the Storque! Keep tabs on the Etsy Pets featured column for all the cute pet stuff you can handle. Sellers, here are some expert tips for pooch and other pet modeling...

With pet fashion and creature comforts more popular than ever, many of us are using our own furry friends to model and showcase our pet goods. Here on Etsy, stellar product photography and presentation are essential to creating interest and making sales, and our pet model shots should be no exception.

Here are some tips to help you get the most of your pet’s time in front of the lens.

Treats are vital! We all know the benefit of food motivation, and our pets are no exception. Good eats are a major key to getting, and holding, their attention. “Offer lots of praise and tasty snacks,” says anniessweatshop of working with their wiener dogs, Porter and Stout. “My pups get Cheerios for every ‘money shot.’ Eventually your pet will associate photo shoots with snack time and they’ll eagerly pose.”

No flash, please. Paparazzi shots sell tabloids, but not the latest in Purr Purr toys or Poochie Ponchos. RedBerryCrochet shared that when photographing her cat, B.C., “Flash photos are too harsh and I don’t like the reflections in the eyes.” Natural lighting is the best choice as it allows you to photograph the true color of your pet and product. Plus, you avoid the dreaded red eye syndrome. And as anniessweatshop says, “Evil eyes aren’t cute.”

Don’t stress, go with the flow. If you’ve got a RuPaws or Kitty Krawford to work with, you know how stressful their diva ways can be, but there’s no reason for you to have a meltdown. “You have to be really patient when you are trying to capture your pet in a photograph, especially when you are an amateur photographer. I will snap a ton of pictures in one bed or crate cover session and I’m bound to get a couple good shots from that moment,” remarks BowWowBeds on shooting her Great Dane, Darth Vader. For those who are trying to get shots of their feline models, RedBerryCrochet offers this advice: “For indoor shots, I also use a tripod and a camera timer. Using the timer gives me a few seconds to attract their attention by snapping my fingers or waving a toy above the camera.”

Don’t fear editing tools. We all know magazine models are airbrushed to perfection, and there’s no reason why your photos can’t be just as "clean." Without altering the appearance of your product, you can create a stand out image by whiting out the background or cloning out that unsightly eye booger. Dogties uses natural settings, solid color carpet or a white poster board as backgrounds when taking photos of Casey, Otis and Lilly. “They photoshop really well,” she says. If you’re not a photo-editing aficionado, don’t freak. You can find tons of info on the net and in books for beginners as well as those into more advanced techniques.

If you enjoy yourself, your pet will, too. It’s a fact that our pets pick up on our moods and can even manifest our anxieties, so if you’re pulling your hair out and grinding your teeth, don’t expect Rover to cooperate. A relaxed and calm atmosphere will go a long way in getting you the best photos and teaching Miss Meow that the camera is a good thing. designsbyone suggested that we “try to work with things that motivate our pets: a favorite toy, food, verbal praise, anything that will make it fun for them as well.” Cheese and fashion are great motivators for their supermodel, Velma Kelly, a rescued Chihuahua Dachshund mix.

Now that you’re armed with some great advice grab your camera, a product, a pet, and work it like Tyra!



Further Resources
The following links will help you to learn even more about great pet and product photography. Also, check out the Storque's photo tips!

Digital-photography-school.com
Photographing Pets for Dummies
Picnik.com
Airbrush Away Photo Mistakes with cnet
Digital Photo Basics with cnet
Lighting Tips with cnet

cbarjcrafts is a self-taught artist of sorts who enjoys playing in clay and creating animal figurines. She lives in the lovely state of North Carolina with her flock of chickens and ducks, three dogs and a ferret. When she's not creating inventory for her shop, working on her blog (christys-critters.blogspot.com), or working on all the other stuff that goes along with running a business, you’ll probably find her out hiking around with the camera or kung fu fighting with her rooster, who fancies himself the next Chuck Norris.

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