Photographing puppies and kittens

This page covers photographing a puppy or a kitten for a portrait: how young animals change in their first months, why the flash stays off, how to plan short sessions around sleep, how to keep a small animal safe at your eye level, and when to take a second photo later. Young animals change fast, so a portrait from this age records one stage of their life. The main pet photo guide covers the camera side for pets of every age.

How fast young animals change

A portrait records the animal as it looks in the photo. With a puppy or a kitten, that look changes from week to week, so it helps to know what is still changing.

Puppies

The American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes a timeline of puppy growth. It says that for the first three weeks or so a puppy's senses have not started working: it does not see, hear or smell yet and spends most of its time asleep. Between two and four weeks, the eyes open and the puppy can see. By four weeks a puppy can walk, and its sharp puppy teeth come in.

The AKC says the eight-week mark is often when a puppy goes to its permanent home. Starting at 12 weeks, the AKC says, the puppy becomes more curious and independent, and its permanent teeth start to come in. The AKC says most dogs reach their emotional maturity between 12 and 18 months, and that smaller breeds mature sooner while larger breeds can take longer.

Kittens

Alley Cat Allies, an American cat charity, publishes a week-by-week guide with photos of one litter. It says kittens are born with their eyes closed and their ears folded. By the end of the first week the eyes are almost open, though their eyesight is still unfocused, and the ears unfold at seven days old.

Alley Cat Allies says a kitten's eyes are all blue at first and stay that way for the first couple of weeks, and that the true eye colour may not become completely apparent until the kitten is two months old. In its guide, the kitten photographed at nine weeks has eyes that have gone from blue to yellow. It also says that at four weeks the fur starts to fill out, and you may be able to tell whether a kitten will have short, medium or long fur.

What this means for a portrait

If you want a portrait of the young animal, photograph it now: the blue eyes, the large paws and the soft fur are part of that stage. If you want a portrait of the adult pet, with its final eye colour and coat, wait, or take a second photo later. A photo from the first weeks at home and a photo a year later can both become portraits.

Light: soft, and never the flash

An AKC article on dog photos quotes a breeder and photographer who says to use soft lighting for puppies, nothing harsh, and never to use a flash with them, because their eyes are brand new. She uses constant light only. In her own whelping room, she tilts the blinds up to bounce the morning sun off the ceiling, and she says you can also aim a floor lamp or flood light at the ceiling for indirect light.

Kittens need the same care. Cats Protection, the UK cat charity, advises turning the flash off because it could startle a cat, and suggests natural light outdoors or in a well-lit room.

The flash also changes the eyes in the photo. The American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) says the reflective layer at the back of a dog's or cat's eye, the tapetum, can reflect green, blue, orange or yellow, and that this colour often changes over the first 3 months of life. With the flash off, the photo shows the real eye colour. The page on lighting a pet photo explains where to place a young pet near a window.

Plan around sleep

The AKC says puppies usually sleep 18 to 20 hours a day. A puppy may nap every hour or so, sleeping from 30 minutes to two hours, and the AKC advises leaving a puppy alone while it sleeps. Alley Cat Allies says newborn kittens spend 90 percent of their time sleeping, and that even at three weeks kittens still spend much of their day asleep.

So the awake time for photos is short. Plan the session for the moments just after a nap, when the young animal is alert, and stop when it starts to tire. The AKC warns that too much stimulation and exhaustion can lead to unwanted behaviour in a puppy, and suggests guiding a tired puppy to its sleeping place.

International Cat Care says the same about kittens: play may last only a few minutes, because kittens can become bored and tire easily. It suggests ending a game gradually and moving the kitten's attention to something else, such as food, so it does not get frustrated.

Make the session a good experience

The first months are also when young animals learn what to expect from people. The AKC says a puppy brought home at eight weeks is at its most impressionable, and that this is the time to expose it to new people, animals and situations, as many as it can handle. It also says to avoid frightening or painful experiences as much as possible, and when one happens, to stay cheerful, praise the puppy and respond in a positive way to calm its fears.

A photo session fits into that. Keep it calm and short, reward the puppy with a treat or a game, and stop before it becomes scared or overtired. That way the phone becomes one more good experience in the puppy's first weeks at home.

Alley Cat Allies describes the same period for kittens. It says kittens handled by people early and often connect positive experiences with people, which helps when they go to new homes. It also says that by five weeks, with their sight fully developed, kittens play hard and run around until they fall asleep where they are. A portrait needs open eyes, so let a sleeping kitten wake up before you try again.

Keeping a small animal safe at eye level

Eye level for a puppy or a kitten is close to the floor. The page on camera height and angle explains why eye level matters. There are two ways to get there.

Lie on the floor. This is the safest option, because the animal stays on the ground.

Raise the animal. AKC breeders describe putting puppies on a table or platform so the photographer can be at eye level without lying on the ground. They add an important safety warning: with a platform you need an assistant who is quick and nimble enough to stop a puppy from falling. The breeders say assistants make photographing all dogs and puppies much easier.

A low, wide surface, such as a sturdy footstool with a blanket on it, keeps the drop small. Never leave the animal on it alone, even for a second.

Getting attention

Food works well with puppies. The same AKC article describes a breeder who uses goat milk or peanut butter on a spatula to attract young puppies for photos. A helper can hold the spatula just above your phone, so the puppy's eyes point at the lens.

For kittens, International Cat Care suggests wand toys, a rod with a string and a small toy at the end, because they keep some distance between you and the kitten and help prevent accidental scratches or bites. It says never to use your hands or feet to play with a kitten, because the kitten may learn to link fingers and toes with play. It also says kittens under three months old do not respond to catnip, so save catnip toys for older kittens.

Take many photos and choose one

A young animal rarely holds still. The AKC article quotes a breeder who tries to get the same front-facing angle for each puppy in a litter, even if it takes 100 shots. The Cats Protection article suggests burst mode, which takes several shots one after another. The page on sharp pet photos explains how to use it and how to check the eyes afterwards.

When you choose, look for open eyes, a face turned toward you, and fur that is dry and clean. The portrait studio takes one image file of up to 5 MB, and the pages on photographing dogs and photographing cats cover calm handling for older pets.