Instagram is a favorite social channel for storytellers. Why? Many people are more visually inclined and prefer to tell their story through pictures. Happiness, architecture, and travels are what lead John and his Boston Terrier dog Tosca to share their stories on Instagram. John takes great Instagram photos using his phone.

This is a sponsored post by Bayer Animal Health US and sharing our first Pet Influencer trip. Golden Woofs only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.

I’m honored to be a Bayer Pet Influencer. Last week, I traveled to Jacksonville, Florida. To kick off our visit, Bayer invited John Drum from Travels with Tosca to share some tips on taking great Instagram photos using a phone camera.

Nowadays, my iPhone is usually the camera I have on hand. With the smartphone camera technology, it’s becoming known that many are moving into an era where a DSLR camera is no longer necessary. John utilizes only Instagram filters to capture a ‘particular mood’ of his subject which is mostly Tosca. Here are some photos of Tosca.

Tosca is a rescue pup. Tosca’s name comes from a Vienna Austria musical group from the mid 90’s called Tosca – makes quirky warm jazzy and relaxing modern lounge music ad. The “Travel with Tosca” is a nod to John Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charlie” novel of his adventures across America in a van with his dog.

Tosca has been a savior-dog and helped John tremendously with his renewed life from South Carolina to Jacksonville, FL

John shared some insights on how the process of shooting photos of his travels and life with Tosca using his phone camera.

7 Tips: Take Great Instagram Photos with Your Phone

1. Creativity
John enjoys getting into the flow of creativity like going for a bike ride, long walk or just sitting in a meditative/contemplative state. It helps him settle into a comfortable energy; which Tosca reads well as his sidekick.

2. Treats!
Definitely, must have TREAT! During photo sessions, big meals and small tidbits of treats keep Tosca attention focused on John leads and direction.

TREAT! Tosca and Lil KB

3. Multiple Exposures
John takes a minimum of four photos for each physical setting, focusing different areas of a foreground, middle ground, and background – which affects the amount of light, focus, and shadow.

4. Photo Quality
A Great Tip from John “find a balance between positioning yourself with the camera and your subject at the “right” distance for quality image resolution.” To balance the photo, John avoids using trim and zoom He uses the “tilt-shift” editing feature on Instagram to blur out most backgrounds and “sharpen” to tighten up the image if it gets too grainy.

5. Composition
It takes work but over time becomes natural when staging the frame and position of the subject. Balance, horizon line, triangular, near vs far vs background…all take time to see what works best.

6. Lighting
John loves the outdoors and is very lucky that the sun is behind him 80% of the time. Exposure can be adjusted on screen with the touch of the camera screen on iPhones and adjusting the little sun vertically to dim or amplify lighting while taking pictures. John tends to keep Tosca a shade darker in the photo and edit the brilliance, shadows, and contrast later.

7. Don’t Force What Doesn’t Work
You, the environment, the weather, neighbors traffic, squirrels or other dogs can make a mess of your intentions. Don’t sweat the small stuff, there are other locations and days to try again. Some days it is not in the cards to take good photos, so cut loose and have fun!

Hope John and Tosca inspired you that you can definitely use your phone camera  for great Instagram photos. Connect with John and Tosca on Instagram @travelswithtosca.

The best camera is the one that’s with you …

The change of season is a great time to explore the outdoors. The Fall colors provide some excellent photo opportunities. It’s our favorite time of the year, and we miss the Midwest Fall. Here in SoCal, known for its climate and weather, we have to search for Fall colors. We ventured a new park that has many maple trees for a chance to have some fun Halloween photos.

Last year, I shared 6 Halloween Pet Photography Tips. This year, I reached out to one of our twitter pals, Jackie Kane. Jackie is a professional photographer that specializes in architectural, lifestyle and fine art photography. Since Jackie also offers photography classes., she shares some pet photography tips you can use in taking fun Halloween photos of your dog.

1o Tips for Taking Fun Halloween Photos of Your Dog

Photo-Prep
1. Safety First – During your photo session, be sure your dog can be contained in an area. Avoid being near busy streets, creeks, woods or anything potentially unsafe. If you are in an uncontained area, your dog must be on a leash.

2. Whether you’re taking Halloween Pet Photos with a smartphone or D-SLR, be sure not to overwhelm your dog.

3. Take some time to gain your dog’s confidence like tossing a toy, or giving a treat.

4. Make sure your dog is comfortable.
* For some dogs, Halloween costumes can cause discomfort. A simple accessory like a fun Halloween collar or hat is sufficient for your photography.

Ready to Capture!
5. For best result and perspective, get down to your dog’s level.

6. Avoid mid-day light that creates harsh shadows. Natural light will yield better results than flash and keep your pet more at ease.

7. Shoot on wide aperture to soften (blur) background. Blurring will make the dog stand out more and disguise unsightly or distracting backgrounds.

* If you are using an iPhone or digital camera, take a horizontal photo and use a photo editing such as PicMonkey to blur the background.

8. Set your shutter speed to fast; it helps to freeze action.

9. Focusing can be tricky because some dogs don’t stay still. Single-shot is fine with dogs that hold a pose for a few seconds at a time. Set your camera to Continuous AF for dogs that move constantly – the camera will keep refocusing while the shutter button is half-pressed.

* For 8 & 9: On an iPhone, create burst photos by holding down the shutter bottom. In some digital cameras, use the sports mode.

10. Have FUN!

To create your own pet photography style, find some time to practice taking photos of your dog. You will come to learn what works for you and your dog and makes your heart sing.

What are your plans for taking some fun Halloween photos of your dog?