Professional Photographer and Artist Lara Blair showed us how, with a few tricks, you can take great photos of your family dog - just in time for your holiday greeting card!

1) Turn off that flash: Just like with people, flash is not flattering to animals. Head for a northern facing window or outside in open shade.
2) The treat  and dog toy game: have an “assistant” hold a treat over your head or near them when you snap the image. Squeaky toys sometimes get dogs to do that cute head tilt thing.
3) Action shots: Set your camera to “shutter speed priority” and turn it to 500 or higher to capture the action in focus. The camera will adjust the f-stop. Best to do this with one dog at a time. Throw a ball directly in front of you and snap the shutter while they run to retrieve it.
4) Location: It’s best to shoot outside in the early morning hours or an hour before sunset. Dogs in fields, under trees, on park benches, on the beach—all great locations for outside sessions.
5) Relationship shots: Hand off the camera and snuggle in with your pet on the grass. Some of the best memory-producing pictures are the ones depicting your love for your pet!