Ahh, the ever elusive dog selfie.We love our fur babies and we love looking at photos of other people’s fur babies. Clearly, the internet needs more cute photos of dogs. But if you’ve ever tried snapping a cute selfie with a dog, you’ve probably realized it’s not easy to get a good shot.
Unfortunately, your beloved Fido has no idea what his crazy human is trying to do, so dog selfies can be a challenge. But don’t worry; we’re here to help. Use these tips to learn how to take a good selfie with your dog.
10 Tips on how to take that perfect selfie with your dog:
1 - Tire your pooch out
Your dog loves you so much and is so excited to take a photo that they’ll probably ruin the selfie. It happens.
Tone them down by wearing them out before you start a selfie sesh. A tired dog is a happy dog. … And a well-behaved dog, at that. Go for a run or do a rousing game of fetch before your selfie.
Your dog is more likely to sit still and be less distracted, and they (hopefully) won’t get overcome with an urge to do the zoomies right before you snap your photo. Bonus: if your dog is panting after a good run, they look like they’re smiling!
2 - Get your dog used to the camera
If you suddenly hold up your camera in front of your dog for the first time ever, guess what? She’s going to want to investigate.
If you want to regularly take selfies with your dog, let her do a thorough investigation first so she’s used to the camera. Otherwise, we guarantee you’ll take some adorable but unusable photos of your dog’s nose.
3 - Bribery
Toys and treats go a long way here, fam. It’s inevitable that your dog is going to get sick of you posing with him or having him wear a funny hat. How can you maintain your dog’s interest while you try to snap the perfect, adorable selfie?
We fully support bribing your dog with toys and treats to keep them interested. If you want to be really extra, Amazon actually has selfie tools for pets that hold a treat above your phone.
4 - Phone a friend
But hey, not every dog out there is as easily fooled by the treats. Sometimes sitting still is just not in the cards (again, #relatable).
If your dog more so seems to be struggling with looking at the camera, because, well a dog doesn’t actually understand looking at our phones, get a friend to help you.
With your friend in front of you and your dog’s attention on your friend, you’ll hopefully be able to snap the shot when he is looking in the right direction.
5 - Use burst mode
Use burst mode on your smartphone to take a bunch of pictures at once, rapid-fire style. This is great if your pooch isn’t super-patient and wants to get back to her game of fetch. Choose the perfect (or the funniest) selfie with your dog from the bunch before posting.
If you don’t have burst mode on your phone, you can take a video instead. From there, choose a single frame in the video and use it as a photo. Easy!
6 - Sleep mode
When all else fails, why not take your pupfie (pup +selfie) while your dog is sleeping?
Sure, this might mean the eyes are closed, but come on, who doesn’t love a sleeping dog? Honestly, a sleeping dog might be even cuter than an awake one.
Just be sure to tip-toe over to your dog. Dogs are incredibly sensitive to sound and movement, so if you wake the beast, well, there’s a good chance you’ll be waiting until the next nap time to get your selfie.
7 - Bring out the selfie stick
Unless you’ve got some seriously long Spiderman arms, chances are, getting your dog into your selfie without him wanting to lick your phone might prove to be a struggle.
Say hello to the selfie stick.
While you might think the selfie stick is reserved only for those tourists posing in front of the Eiffel Tower, when it comes to taking a selfie with a dog, the selfie stick is pure gold.
It lets you interact with your dog while keeping the camera at a distance, and honestly, your dog probably won’t even know what’s going on, giving you the opportunity to get some amazing candid shots. Yup, the dog selfie at its best.
8 - The backdrop option
If the selfie stick is out of the question but you also can’t seem to get your dog to leave your phone alone, stick him in the background and let your smile do the talking.
This way, you get the selfie you want, but Mr. Annoying isn’t ruining all your shots.
9 - Retouch as needed
So, you’ve persuaded your dog to sit still in an adorable position and you successfully snapped a selfie. Success!
… But what if your photo still isn’t as cute as you thought it would be? Maybe the lighting is crappy or your dog smeared your makeup. When less-than-awesome things happen to your selfies, there’s an app for that.
For example, if your dog has a darker coat, sometimes smartphones won’t pick up on the contrast. Use Facetune to lighten your image so you can actually see your dog’s face:
- Open Facetune and go to Edit.
- Choose from the set of tools here to brighten your image, like Brightness, Contrast, or Highlight.
And that’s it! Download your pic and upload it for the world to enjoy your absolutely precious fur baby.[caption id="attachment_1069" align="aligncenter" width="550"]
10 - Embrace the imperfections
Speaking of ruining shots… On occasion, sometimes those “ruined” shots end up making for the best photos.
Because, seriously, anyone who has ever had a dog knows, getting them to pose is always a task and a half. If you simply embrace the wildness of trying to take a selfie with your dog, there’s a good chance, with some constant snapping, you’ll end up capturing a truly genuine moment of love.
They don’t call ‘em man’s/woman’s best friend for nothin’, that’s for sure.
The bottom line on how to take a selfie with your dog:
Go ahead and up the cuteness factor in your photos. If you want to selfie with your dog, we say go for it! The world needs to see how presh the two of you are.
If you’re having a hard time getting a good pic with your dog, follow these tips to perfect your puppy selfie in no time.