Been shooting pets for brands and breeders and the difference between an amateur shot and one that stops the scroll almost never comes down to the camera. It's these three things:

1. Eye-level catchlight. Get a light source at the pet's eye level, even if it's just a window. Cameras without a visible catchlight in the eye read as flat and lifeless no matter how sharp the focus is.

2. Negative space for the caption. If a photo is going on a listing or an ad, leave 20-30% of clean background on one side. Creators skip this constantly and then have to crop out the personality-filled part of the shot to fit text.

3. Shoot at the pet's business hours, not yours. Cats are alert 30-60 min after waking. Dogs peak right after a walk, pre-nap. Match the shoot to when the animal is naturally 'on' and you cut editing time in half.

Started a studio around this (Furever Frames) specifically for breeders/influencers who need a steady pipeline of print-ready content — happy to answer questions if you're shooting your own pets for content.