Sadie found some wildflowers during a nice walk in the park. Am I a bad Mom for always laughing when I watch Sadie next to flowers? She tries to sniff them, but she can’t because most flowers are taller than her. The mushrooms were not actually there, just part of the digital effect. I don’t think I’d let her get that close to real mushrooms. They make me nervous since I can’t tell which ones are poisonous. But I liked the whimsical fairy meadow feel they brought to this picture.

This post is part of the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Athena Cat Goddess.

This is an example of a typical photo shoot at my house. When I think Sadie is looking particularly cute and run to get the camera, here’s what happens:

“Oh no, not the stupid camera again!”

“Maybe if I don’t look up she’ll go away.”

“Wait, I think there’s something on my nose.”

“Are we done yet?”

“Hey look, my squeaky ball!”

“Yoink! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!”

“Ok, now I’m happy. I’ll look at your silly camera.”

This post is part of Nola and Sugar‘s Black and White Sunday blog hop.

So I’ve tried all week to come up with some joyful photos of Sadie for this week’s 52 Snapshots of Life Challenge. She looked kinda happy when I gave her a treat. She looked more relieved than happy when I came home from the store. She looked temporarily happy when I gave her a new toy. But only one thing makes her face light up with pure joy – catching one of her little squeaky balls. Sorry if I sound like a broken record, always talking about her obsession with this toy, but I just want to give an honest idea of life here with Sadie. And in all honesty, playing catch and taking photos of Sadie everyday brings more joy to both our lives than anything else.

This post is part of The Lazy Pitbull’s #52Snapshots of Life Challenge.

Take your dog for a walk right before you take your photos.

A walk relaxes your dog and uses up his or her excess energy. If your dogs have too much pent-up energy, they will find it harder to follow your commands and stay still enough for good photos. My favorite time to take pictures of Sadie is right after a walk. She usually settles down on the couch to relax with a big grin on her face, happy from her recent walking adventure. It’s s great time to get some photos showing off those doggie grins.

Make sure your camera has plenty of memory.

The more photos you take, the better your chances at getting the perfect shot. On an average photo shoot I take around forty or fifty photos of Sadie, just to make sure I have some good shots. But the photo at the top of this post I go on the first shot, so you never know exactly how long it will take. Which brings me to my final point…

Be patient, because there will be trial and error involved.

If you start getting frustrated or annoyed at your pets, they will be less likely to cooperate. Just be patient and try other tactics to get the photo you want. When I want to take some pictures of Sadie, I’m never sure what kind of mood she will be in. Sometimes she’s perfectly happy to pose and smile for the camera. Sometimes she absolutely hates her outfit or the location and will not look at the camera until I change what’s bothering her. Some days she looks straight at the camera if I squeak her toy. Other days only holding a treat in my hand gets her attention. And sometimes she will look everywhere but the camera and only calling in an assistant to stand behind me gets her to look. So don’t be afraid to make silly noises or try anything else you can think of, because you never know what may turn out to be an amazing photo.

This post is part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.

  This post is also part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love Is Being Owned By a Husky and M.K. Clinton.