How to Photograph Your Dog in Motion

Action shots are a great way to capture the energy and playfulness of your dog.

However, learning how to photograph your dog in motion can take time and practice.

Don’t worry, though. While nothing can substitute practice to improve your skills, in this article, I’ll share all the best tips and techniques for you to learn faster and get better action shots each time.

Dogs in Motion: An Introduction Guide to Action Shots

Pet photography is a beautiful field that’s gaining popularity every day. Among the many creative ways to photograph your dog, action shots are one of the most fun but challenging.

Whether your dog is training for an agility contest, diving into the pool, or playing fetch in the park, these tips and techniques will teach you how to capture the perfect action shots of your dog in motion.

Gear

While you can take action shots of your dog with any camera – even a smartphone – it’s important to mention that specific cameras and lenses will perform better and give you better results.

Ideally, you’ll want to use a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a fast and accurate autofocus. You also need a fast lens to keep up with the camera body and make the most of this feature.

Regarding focal length, one of the most traditional lenses used by professional photographers is the 70-200mm zoom lens.

Another important feature to consider when choosing the camera is the burst rate and buffering capabilities. While you don’t want to ‘spray and pray,’ you still want to get five to seven shots at the right time. We’ll talk more about this further along.

Exposure Settings

Credit: C. Perret

You’ll want to set your camera to manual mode if you’re going to have enough control to capture the perfect action shot.

If you need to ease your way into it, start by using shutter speed priority mode. However, I advise you to push yourself to learn how to use the camera in manual mode.

In any case, you need to prioritize the shutter speed to freeze the dog’s movement. Aim for a minimum of 1/1250 to capture sharp, action-packed shots.

You’ll also want to blur the background to create separation. The exact aperture will depend on many factors, such as focal length and distance. However, a good starting point is f/2.8 because this will let in enough light to keep a fast shutter speed.

The ISO is the last setting you’ll need. You should keep it as low as possible without compromising the other factors.

(These three settings together are known as the exposure triangle. You can learn more about it here.)

Focus Settings

Credit: Caique The Creator

One of the most challenging parts of this type of photography is nailing the focus. Keeping your dog sharp while in motion requires practice and patience.

Of course, the gear you’re using can make your life easier if you know the correct settings for the best performance.

Most sports and fast-action photographers swear by the back button focus technique. This allows you to lock focus with a designated button on the back of the camera instead of the default half-pressed shutter button.

Unlike other settings, you’ll need some practice for this setting to improve your photos. So, you can practice with slow-moving subjects while you get comfortable.

Next, set the camera to continuous autofocus mode. This is called AF-C on Nikon and Sony or AI-Servo in Canon cameras.

You should also switch to a single focus point, which you’ll need to keep on the dog’s eyes. This is called Single Point on Nikon and Canon and Flexible Spot on Sony.

If you’re struggling to keep a single focal point in place, try using a larger focus area according to your desired composition.

Lastly, use the tracking feature if your camera has it. If you’re a Nikon user, choose Tracking with Lock On and adjust its settings to Erratic movement. Sony cameras have an Eye-track feature that’s highly useful for dog action shots.

Burst Mode

Credit: Wolfgang Hasselmann

Burst mode is a feature present in most cameras and even your smartphone. While using this mode, the camera will keep shooting for as long as you press the shutter button. This is mainly useful for action shots.

Not all cameras perform the same, though. Sports cameras will have a faster shooting rate and buffering time. This refers to how many photos it can take per second (FPS) and how fast it can process them. The latter is particularly important when shooting RAW files.

While you want to use this feature when photographing your dog in motion, you don’t want to ‘spray and pray.’ In other words – you don’t want to shoot hundreds of pictures randomly and hope one turns out to be good.

Instead, press the shutter at the right time and capture five to seven pictures. Instinctively knowing when to shoot is something that you’ll learn and improve as you practice.

Success Rate

Credit: Pixabay

It’s important to understand that getting a 100% success rate is almost impossible. Even professionals with the best gear won’t get every shot in focus and perfect.

So, you shouldn’t give up on photographing action shots of your dog just because many of them will come out wrong – especially at first.

Consider that the success rate depends on the equipment and settings you use and your experience and skills.

Sideways Action vs Front Action

Credit: Elina Volkova

There are mainly two angles in which you can capture action shots of your dog moving. Sideways action is when the dog moves from your left to right (or vice versa) on your frame.

This is slightly less challenging for your camera because the focal distance is more or less constant. This angle is useful when you’re just starting in action photography, your equipment isn’t particularly fast, or there isn’t enough light.

Frontal action shots are when the dog moves toward the camera. These are the most challenging shots, but they can be very powerful because the eyes of the dog make the picture more engaging.

Timing

Credit: Laula Co

Nailing the timing can be pretty challenging when taking action shots of your dog in motion. A good trick is to set up situations or use marking objects to help you understand when the action will happen.

Have you noticed that most photos of dogs running toward the camera capture them while jumping over a log? Well, that’s a way of knowing when and where the action will happen. This is also easy to do if you’re shooting agility competitions.

You can also use this technique by placing an object or identifying a tree where you want the dog to be when you take the picture. This approach helps with focus and composition, even if the dog is simply running in a straight line without any particular action occurring at that spot.

Want to learn more? Check out this post, in which a pro dog photographer shares her top 10 tips.