Christmas is a magical time that’s meant to be spent with your family, eating lots of food, and taking fun photos. No matter who we are, a small part of us still yearns for that ‘perfect’ holiday photo with our loved ones and our pets. However, far from every pet is well-behaved for long. And some dogs seem like they’re on a mission to mess up their parents’ portraits and create photo fails in any and every way they can.
Bored Panda has sniffed out the best Xmas photos ‘ruined’ (some would say ‘enhanced’) by pooches on the internet, so get your Scooby Snacks ready and start scrolling! Remember to give your fave dogs a boop on their noses and an upvote under the photo. Do you have any stories or photos of your pets messing about during the holidays? Share them in the comment section.
Some photography basics never change, no matter your subject. In this case, if you’re going for the ‘perfect’ holiday pic, you want to play around with the lighting to see what looks best. As a rule of thumb, natural light tends to look better. What’s more, you can hardly expect to take the best possible shot on your first try. So don’t be scared to re-do your snaps if your dog decides to paw you in the face or flash a silly face. But that’s not all.
Toronto-based pet photographer Karen Weiler, the creator of Posh Pets Photography, told Bored Panda all about taking photos with dogs. She explained that if you want your dog to focus on the camera, you can hold treats or toys over the lens, say their favorite words (for example, “walkies”), or make sounds to grab their attention. “As a professional dog photographer, my secret weapon is that I can make the highest pitched sounds you can imagine—sounds that always elicit laughter from the humans and the crowd-pleasing favourite, the head-tilt, from the dog.” Read on for our full interview with Weiler about rewarding your dog for being well-mannered during photo shoots and what to avoid doing so you don’t scare your pup.
#1
“A family photo”
Image source: Ashleigh Macpherson
#2
“My Friends dog jumped into the shot”
Image source: Throat_Butter
#3
“Christmas emotions”
Image source: BrieCheese27
#4
“All is NOT calm”
Image source: hmmokaywhat
#5
“Family Christmas picture photobomb”
Image source: reddit.com
#6
“Our 2020 Christmas card”
Image source: Viv Barker
#7
#8
“Mom wanted a picture of the dog for our Christmas card. Nailed it?”
Image source: anthonygrimes
#9
“So, my dog met Santa Claus.”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#10
“We were taking our family Christmas photo, and let’s just say the dogs weren’t in a Holly Jolly mood. This photo was the worst of the batch, but now it’s a conversation starter. We keep it right by the entrance of our home here in St. Louis”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#11
#12
“New Years photobomb!”
Image source: surelyknott
#13
“I just wanted a nice family photo for Christmas. I don’t know what Donut wanted”
Image source: Courtney Thomsen
#14
“Our failed attempt at a Christmas card a few years ago lol Merry Christmas”
Image source: Brooke Summers Tigert
#15
“My dog tangled in Christmas lights, and breathing fire”
Image source: danielsnelen
#16
“Someone photobombed our Christmas photo.”
Image source: ThanksForTheF-Shack
#17
#18
“My friend’s dog’s reaction after finding out that his Christmas gift was a sweater”
Image source: TheBlasianSensation
#19
“Taught my dog to pose and now he is photobombing all my attempts to take a pic.”
Image source: vitotittotitto
#20
“How my dog opens her Christmas presents”
Image source: hittsprint
#21
“My husband and I wanted to take a Christmas family photo with our dog Rylee, but he kept wandering off. When we got home our photographer called us and said, ‘I found where Rylee was.”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#22
“I tried to take a cute christmas photo holding my dog…”
Image source: dangiee
#23
“Our dog photobombed the annual christmas pictures”
Image source: Lepuzki
#24
“In case you were wondering, this is what happens when you try to take a Christmas card picture, but your dog firmly believes she’s the star of every show…”
Image source: Deanna Greenstein
#25
“Benny disapproves of family photos…”
Image source: Matthew William
#26
#27
“Sully disapproved taking a family photo while matching outfits”
Image source: Christian Andrade Tahassoni
#28
“My supervisors daughter got a new dog. This is the Christmas card she just got”
Image source: Sniglet5000
#29
“Just wanted to take a nice Christmas photo with my dog…”
Image source: MacaroniBrownies
#30
“This photo not only captures a quote from my favourite Christmas movie but also how I dealt with 2020… this is fine. *no dogs were harmed in the making of this picture.”
Image source: kaylajae1
#31
“This is our 2006 Christmas Card photo with our 6-year-old English Bulldog, Joan”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#32
“My dog wouldn’t sit still for Christmas photos so I just went with it”
Image source: susiealvarado0
#33
“Resentment at it’s finest…not sure if it’s from the elf costume or for us bringing home this baby!”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#34
“Trying to take a nice family photo”
Image source: Max Stern
#35
“The Crappiest Christmas Ever”
Image source: reddit
#36
“This is my cat (Gus) and dog (Honey Pie). Honey wouldn’t sit down next to me so I thought it would be a good idea to hold her and Gus. While my sister was getting ready to take the photo they both started fighting. This photo is the end result. That is the look of true fear on my face of being mauled by my cat!”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#37
#38
“It is a rare occasion when we can gather all grown children, significant others, grandkids AND dogs for a family picture. We did it! Sort of.”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#39
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