Will your pet smile for camera?

Advertiser Staff

Regardless of whether you're submitting an entry in the Hawaiian Humane Society's fund-raising 2002 Calendar Contest, here's a list of tips for getting a great pet photo.

• Use high-speed film, ASA 400 or 800 for greater depth of field; more of your picture will be in focus and a pet in action will be clearer.

• Get up close. A shot that looks good taken at 10 feet will look better at five feet.

• Use your flash even when taking pictures outdoors during the day.

• Get down to your pet's level, even if it means kneeling or lying down.

• When taking shots of dogs, get below their eye level and look up. Such shots give your dog a regal look.

• Try profile shots or shots taken at an angle for added interest.

• Keep the background, as plain as possible: a patch of grass, carpet with no furnishings.

• Shoot when your pet is being himself and in a good mood. This may require several sessions of playing with the camera until Popoki or Ilio are comfortable with the clicking shutter and flash, or the help of someone to play with the pet.

To enter the contest: Send horizontal color prints, 6 by 4 inches or smaller, with $15 for each photo entry, along with name, mailing address, home and work phone numbers, pet's name. If pictured pets were adopted from the Humane Society, include adoption date. Mail to: Hawaiian Humane Society, 2700 Wai'alae Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96826. Deadline: Wednesday. Information: 946-2187, ext. 225.