How to Take Better Pet Portraits in Studio: 5 Tips with Adam Goldberg

Wherever I put the lights, I'm getting that demon-possessed dog effect (two beams of light coming from his eyes). What can I do?

I agree with EVERYTHING you mentioned.
The little plastic squeekie is absolutely great - however, a great way to use it is to hold it between your teeth. By squeezing it with your teeth the sound seems to be coming directly from the camera. I buy the squeekies in packages of 25 from craft stores or eBay.
I use various Godox strobes and will trigger them using the smallest Godox hotshoe flash modified with Joe demb flash diffuser Pro because it adds those great catch lights in the pet's eyes. I like shooting with flashes that have a fast recycle time.
Generally, for most dogs, I prefer focal lengths on the longer side, since I don't like the exagerated longer noses prevalent when using a wider lens.
Finally, although I have photographed literally thousands of dogs with Canon DSLR gear, I now prefer Sony mirrorless cameras because of the excellent animal eye auto focus.

Hi! I love your photos! could you please recommend lens and lighting equipment por dog photography studio? I currently use Canon R6 and 50mm F1.8 lens. Thank you sooo much!

Thank you Adam and B&H

Great pics !!!

Thank you so much for these videos. I know nothing about photography, but believe its a form of art and I love art! I have a question. I am going to be taking pictures of puppies and kittens ages 0 - 12 weeks. I bought my first camera which is a Canon Rebel T100 (crop sensor) photos will be mostly indoors, the lens it came with sucks and I want to buy a lens that I will love. Please tell me which one to get, I will not getting paid for my photos, but want the best quality an amateur can get. Thanks

-Lisa

Shooting lower: making anything bigger than life! 🖤📸 Great tips!

Tip #7 ... tire them out some before the shoot with play or exercise, not too much, but some.

Great advice from a Pet Photographer who has experienced situations for which you will encounter yourself. Thanks for sharing!🐶🐕🐕‍🦺

Flash speed sync, can anyone refer me to a detailed video on this ? Thanks

Thanks for sharing you precious tips

Thanks for the info

Great tips 👍 But what about character lighting?

Thanks - these are very helpful tips. I agree that photographing a dog at eye level is good. I have been using what is known as a "beauty dish" because it is a smaller size and I can physically get it closer to the floor. I also have a dome but because of its size, I can't get it close enough to the floor so I have to get the dogs up off the ground, usually on a couch. I only photography my own dogs and rescue dogs that my wife and I have fostered.

i bought my first canon camera from a pet photographer..

Adam is the best! Always learn something from him.

I think a BETTER way of taking pet portraits is....to go to your studio! LOL!

I am so excited to to share my knowledge with you all!

Glad you included more love for the Doxies :-)

I seldom, if ever, use less than f8 for portraits even of people. Some times outside I'll drop to 5.5 or 5, but not often. Having eyes in focus and the nose and ears out of focus is nonsense.

Appreciate the tips. Bonus... CH-CH-CHEWY spot in the vid. Excellent!

I’d be interested to see the studio setup.

When taking pictures of long snooted pups like a Dachshund make sure to use a wide angle lens and shoot at minimum focal distance. Sunglasses and party hats add something special and should be considered for yourself and the subject.