Animal portraits can be as interesting as that of humans. As with human portraits, there are a few guidelines that when followed typically lead to a nice image. Study this image for a while and ask yourself what makes this image pleasing to look at.

1. The eyes or an eye needs to be sharp. Animals may have much longer faces than humans. To get the whole face sharply in focus wait a bit for a side profile. See point number 5. Sometimes our depth of field is shallow. A shallower depth of field requires a side profile to get everything sharp.

2. The face needs to be fairly large in the frame. The face is the image in portraiture, therefore show the face large.

3. There needs to be space for the animal to look into. In other words, there must be more space in front of the face than behind the head.

4. Wait for the right moment, the right expression, the right look.

5. Blur the background to prevent distractions. You do this by using a large aperture (a smaller number is a bigger aperture).

6. Overcast light is a very good light for portraits. This light is soft and often flattering.

Follow these guidelines to improve your portraitures.