GREENSBORO, N.C. — It’s that time of year. You’re going to take pictures and you will want them to be good enough to use as a canvas on the wall or use for your holiday card or post on social media.
If you have kids or pets, you know taking a good picture is a Christmas miracle. I tried it myself with my pandemic puppy, Kona. She squirmed a lot, we laughed a lot but it didn't quite get what we were after.
2 Wants To Know figured a few tricks from the pros wouldn’t hurt any of us!
TRICK #1 NO FLASH
“I think we try to find the perfect setting, firelight room, candlelight or by the tree and we try to use our flash and the flash will intimidate the animal and get it nervous and you won’t be able to continue the session,” said Rusty Jackson, a dog trainer at Camp Bow Wow in Greensboro.
Not using the flash also means you won’t get that weird red-eye, zombie look from the animal. Lighten up the picture on your phone afterward.
TRICK #2 TAKE A VIDEO
Take video versus a picture if you have a really active animal. When you take a video, you don't miss anything and you can then still a picture from the video.
TRICK #3 USE A TREAT
“The best way is treats. We bring the animals in and set them down and then we get their attention with the treat. Hold it above your head and make their eyes follow it to change them to whatever direction you want and snap a couple of pics that way,” said Jackson.