Good light -- that's the place to start! The best light is almost always natural light, where a flash is not needed. Almost as perfect is the light indoors, near a large window, especially late in the day when sunlight casts a warm glow. Often, cats and dogs bask in an indoor rectangle of sunshine -- this is a perfect moment to snap a shot.

Fill the frame with you pet's image. This is easier with the crop feature for digital photos, but close-ups are very doable with a print camera. Allow at least an hour and mentally pencil it in as "fun" time for you and your pet. This will give you the luxury of patience when your pooch licks the camera lens or your cat bats at the wrist strap!

Plan to take a lot of pictures. Our experience at the Shelter is that for every good shot, there are 12 to 20 that are just awful! Keep trying.

Keep your camera at the animal's eye level. Get down on your hands and knees and look at the world from you pet's perspective. Be artistic! Play with your zoom feature -- this blurs the background and sharpens the image of your pet.

Compose your photos to focus on your pet's eyes. It is where people will look first when they admire your work...and your pet!

Work with your pets. Have your camera ready for the moment. Sleeping pets are pretty easy so start there.

The next level is a bit of a distance shot, perhaps of your dog frolicking in the grass -- remember to fill the frame with your pet, not the background. Sometimes it is helpful to have an assistant -- that's the person waving your cat's favorite feather over your head as you steady the camera, or the pal who gets your dog's frisbee out of the tree.

The most difficult photos, especially with dogs, is the closeup. Dogs, and cats to some extent, don't like cameras. This shouldn't be a surprise...dogs don't like sunglasses either; they like to see our eyes. So, try a digital video and then pull out still shots; instead of holding a camera near your face, hold it at your pet's level, at your side or on the floor. A webcam can work well, too. Just turn that computer around -- away from yourself and toward your pet.

Pets who are solid black are tough to photograph because their beautiful coats absorb light. Get the most detail in your photos of your pet by getting the best light available, and, if you have a setting on your camera, slightly over-expose your photos.

All of this photo-taking is because we LOVE our pets! If it isn't fun for them, take a break.

Remember to take photos of your pets with you and the people your pets love. Great memories, great keepsakes, great pets!