That's the love of my life "Jovi" in the picture linked to this blog.

I had just picked him up from the groomer and he was looking up at me with so much love,

I just had to try to capture it. It's one of my favorite pictures of him, and that's saying a lot lol.

Like most of you, I am not a professional and also like most of you, I take most of my pictures with my phone.

Here are a few tips which I use to help take great pics (aka "Fur-tographs") that you will absolutely love:

1) Keep on shooting! One of the best things about "Furtography" today is that we don't have waste money developing bad pictures. Technology enables you to take as many pictures as you want and seeing the results immediately. Try different angles too.

I love getting on the floor and being as "eye to eye" as possible. Use their name when you're trying to get their attention. Although if they're anything like my cats, that won't matter!

2) Make adjustments right away. Take a picture and review it immediately. If the light is behind your subject you may want to close the blinds or curtain. It's important to keep the light in front of your subjects (humans too). I also make sure my flash is off.

Animals will often have "red eye" triggered by a flash. If there's clutter in the background, you may want to get rid of that so it doesn't draw the eye away from your fur baby. Don't invest in 10 pictures and then review them only to find you have a pair of sneakers invading your otherwise awesome shots. Take one and adjust accordingly.

3) Get close! I love zooming in with the phone. This way, you're not getting too close which can cause your beloveds to tense up and sometimes turn away (especially if you have cats).

4) Use video too. You can easily convert any frame from a video by simply pausing it at the right moment and then utilizing the screenshot feature of your phone. We have scored many great shots this way and it's so easy...it almost feels like cheating.

5) Use the slo-mo option too. I cannot emphasize how much I love using this feature. The key is to only record for no more than 10 seconds and to aim for a burst of activity. Examples: If your dog is wet and about to vigorously shake the water off. If your cat is attempting to capture their favorite toy. Is someone feeling frisky and jumping around? Is your bunny a rapid chewer? SLO-MO it and then be ready to crack up when you replay it. No seriously, grab the popcorn.

6) Make it a habit. I take at least one picture or video of my pets every single day. As mentioned, there's no expense to it and it's just straight up fun!

7) Post production. This sounds so official (haha) but it's really simple. Select which pics you want to keep. You can play around with filters which is something I really don't do. I'm a purist when it comes to this stuff but what I will do is further zoom in if I feel I took a good shot. I mean let's face it, the closer you get to your fur babies, the cuter they are!

The pic I posted with his blog was originally further away and Jovi's adorable face was much smaller in the frame. I simply zoomed in and wallah! At the end of the day, just have fun with it.

I'm reminded of that old adage by Christopher Morley who said "Big shots are just little shots who kept shooting". Your "Pawfect" pics are just a few clicks away.

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Valerie Heffron

Host of Professionals & Animal Lovers Show