How to Take Good Photos of Dogs

I recently got my first dog, a very energetic rescue pup named Mabel who just turned 1. Since she joined my family in August, I have taken approximately 1 million photos of her, and three of them are actually decent. So when I was invited to a dog photography workshop with Adobe and Theron Humphrey of This Wild Idea, I jumped at the chance to hone my skills. While I'm a fairly decent photographer when I use a camera, my iPhone photography skills needed some work.

Theron's dog Maddie stars in his Instagram feed as well as his latest book, Maddie Lounging on Things. The two of them shared their tips on building trust with your dog, composing photos, and capturing the perfect shot.

First and foremost, Theron says, don't expect magic to happen right away. "My relationship with Maddie is built on time," he says. "It's not like I just happened to adopt the perfect dog. It's been a lot of work over the years to build that trust. Part of the reason I'm able to get great photos of Maddie is because I've established a relationship with her that's within the parameters of the world she understands."

Read on for his tips and to see my skills in action.