Top Tips from The PhoDOGrapher

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Bend your knees. Take portraits at the eye level of the animal, as you would a portrait of a person.

Fill the frame. Get the garden hose, ugly fence, power pole, washing line, etc out of your picture by getting closer to your subject

Turn that flash off! For natural-looking pictures, use the natural light outside, or through a window. Early morning and late afternoon light are particularly good because they are softer than bright sunlight

Use your camera's "focus lock". Autofocus pocket cameras focus on whatever is in the centre of the viewfinder. But with many cameras, you can half-depress the shutter button to hold the point of focus while you quickly reframe. Your pet doesn't have to be in the centre of the picture any more, and the creative options are much more interesting.

Choose your film processor carefully. You do generally get what you pay for, and I have seen some very poor cheap printing. It is quite difficult to run a good, consistent minilab, so when you find one, stick with it..

The best moments happen by chance. Keep your eyes open and your camera handy.