Other than baby photos, pictures of pets are among the most popular in any household. Unfortunately, they also tend to suffer the most from poor quality or, as we term it in the trade, snapshot-itis. You may have this problem if friends start walking away fast when you mention the latest photos of your cat or if your dog’s loving brown eyes end up glowing green like some malevolent demon in every shot you take.

Well, here are 5 surefire tips to help avoid snapshot-itis

1) Change angles

Most pet photos are taken from the perspective of a human being looking down while the pet looks up. Bor-rinnnnnng! Try something different and get down at their level or, if they’re moving, pan with them as you take the shot.

2) Stick with natural light. Turn off or cover the on-camera flash

On-camera flashes are evil. They flatten everything out, cast harsh shadows and are the source of the infamous glowing green pet eyes. If you have to use a flash go with an off-camera one and bounce the light off a ceiling or wall.

3) Stay out of direct sun and shoot in the morning or late afternoon

Contrary to popular belief, bright sunlight is not a photographers friend. It wreaks havoc with your exposure and you typically end up with lots of nasty shadows in places you don’t want them.  I avoid photographing subjects outside in direct light except first thing in the morning or in the late afternoon before sunset when the light is angled low.

4) Don’t wait for the perfect moment and don’t be afraid to take lots of shots but…

Most of us are shooting digital these days so you can essentially take as many pictures as you want. With pets, unpredictability is the rule of law. You never know how a shoot is going to go. All you can do is be there and hope you catch the moment. This requires taking a lot of shots in quick sequence and culling through them later for the best one.

5) …make sure you edit yourself

Some of the most important work happens after you shoot. It sounds cliche but less is more. It’s easy to become enamored of the 100 pictures you took of Spot playing with his new ball but chances are your friends won’t feel the same way. Limit what you show people to only the very best.

Mark Rogers is a San Francisco-based professional pet photographer. His most recent work can be seen on his Smile Like a Dog blog and you can also follow him on twitter.

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This week’s winner borrowed from a famous ad campaign but that’s just fine. The sentiment and the humor both work perfectly fine with this image. So, without further ado, the 25 zealies go to Karen this week. Well, done. Next contest comes your way tomorrow.

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Wow, another tough choice for me this week. The baying Basset inspired quite a few award-worthy quotes but, in the end, Jamee Fry came through in the clutch and walked away with the Zealies. You can all look forward to another challenging entry tomorrow.

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With some dog breeds it’s almost impossible to take a shot that’s not funny — Basset Hounds being a distinctive case in point. I look forward to a multitude of humorous suggestions this week.

Give me your input for what that pup’s thinking by commenting below and I’ll announce the winning quote next Monday, October 27th. Winner gets 25 Zealies

Have at it, Dogsters!

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Happy Columbus Day, everyone. Today’s winning quote has absolutely nothing to do with the famous explorer unless he had a thing for good dog jokes.

So, without further ado I’d like to announce that Layla wins the 25 Zealies with her suggestion below. Nice work, Layla.

We’ll have another fun one for you tomorrow. In the meantime, be sure to stop by the 4th Annual World’s Coolest Dog & Cat Show photo contest and enter or vote.

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The victory this week goes to Dogster member Buddy for an entry that really made us laugh here at photo contest HQ. Your victory nets you 50 Zealies and and a vigorous ear scratch. All you other aspiring captionists get ready for the next contest appearing on a Dog Blog near you sometime tomorrow.

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From the title of this post you probably think I’ve reverted back to potty humor again. In actuality it’s a pretty literal interpretation of the picture for this week’s contest–a yellow lab with a special talent. Have at it, Dogsters. You have until Monday, September 8 to come up with the winning caption.

To compete in the contest make a comment on this post and replace “What was I thinking?” with your own suggestion. The winner gets 25 Zealie.

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Happy Labor Day, everyone. Well, the running Pug seems to have inspired a lot of creativity over the past week but in the end Shelby reigned supreme and scored the Zealies with her witty offering below. Congrats, Shelby!

Be ready for the next contest appearing tomorrow.

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In the last few months I’ve had a bunch of pug clients, including the little cutie named Mummers starring in this week’s contest. Pugs never fail to amuse when they’re in front of the camera and Mummers was no exception with his classic entry.

To compete in the contest make a comment on this post and replace “What was I thinking?” with your own suggestion. The winner scores 25 Zealies and will be announced next Monday, September 1st.

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Sometimes a good dose of potty humor is just what the doctor ordered and this week a contestant named Roman came up with the prescription for victory. After reviewing the entries with Bizzy himself there was no question that Roman gets the Zealies. Congrats, Roman. Everyone else, be ready for the next contest starting tomorrow.

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