Many of us have cats, dogs, rabbits – even hamsters, guinea pigs and perhaps ponies (!) that we think could be star pets, but getting the right photographs is essential.

Here are our top tips to ensure that the images you send us are the ones that are likely to help bring in the work for your pet model.

1 Wait for your pet to be in a good mood before conducting the shoot. Make sure he or she is well rested, well fed and ready to have some fun. If your pet is tired, hungry and grumpy, then the star pet qualities might not shine through!

2 Check your pet is looking his or her best. If they have fur, given them a good brush to remove any loose hair and tidy them up a bit. Clean their eyes, check their paws, claws or feet and make sure their teeth are looking good if they are likely to show.

3 Find a nice, quiet place to conduct your shoot in. Your pet may well be agitated if there are too many people around or if there is too much noise. You want them to be calm, well behaved and ready to respond in the way you need them to for your shoot.

4 Keep backgrounds uncluttered so we can clearly see your pet within the setting. Studio-style shots against a plan background are always great, but we would also like to see your beautiful bunny on leafy green grass and your pup playing happily in the woods, for example.

5 Let’s have some nice still model poses and some action shots as well! We’d love to see your cute kitten chasing a piece of wool or your puppy playing with a ball. Again, just make sure we can see his or her face clearly.

6 You can take your pictures on your phone but make sure they are high resolution and that you do not compress them or make them smaller when you save, upload or send them. If you do, they could end up blurred or pixelated. We need your pet pictures to be sharp and clear.

7 Please send us colour photographs but please don’t put them through any filters or edit them in any way. We need to see you star pet as he or she really looks.

8 Finally, have fun with your photo shoot. Putting your pet forward for modelling needs to be fun for both you and your lovely bundle of fur. While we need you to ensure your photographs show all the creature features we need to see, we also want you and your perfect pup or cute kitten to have a good time.

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We’re talking about pet modelling, lovingly referred to by Models Direct as “Starpets”.

It’s no secret that the great British public are huge animal lovers. Pet ownership per capita is amongst the highest in the world, and the (then seemingly endless) lockdowns have only heightened our desire to share happy memories with cuddly four-legged chums, feathered friends and scaly companions. Pets are a wonderful addition to any household, because animals can bring happiness, companionship and responsibility (the latter particularly applies to youngsters).

So, with the number of pets in the UK at an all-time high, this year is the perfect time to ponder if your pampered pooch or other loyal pet could help our clients with their modelling requirements.

Many brands have suffered recently due to the pandemic, so the run-up before Spring could be a bumper time for companies to restore some customer attention in the form of effective advertising campaigns. Many of our high profile clients come to us looking for the ideal dog, cat or rabbit, and we’re more than happy to put forward a shortlist of pets on our books which we think will generate interest from their campaigns. We don’t discriminate either! Though canines and felines are more popular in front of cameras, we like to hear from people who own horses, birds and reptiles, as they can all contribute to eye-catching marketing campaigns.

One of our rabbits, Elliott, recently “hopped to it” in a wonderful assignment for Coco & Eve, a beauty product company loved by fashion editors all around the world. They needed an adorable bunny to be photographed for their website to help get across a cruelty-free & vegan message to their customers. With distinctive fur and being the epitome of health, Elliott couldn’t have been better placed, and Coco & Eve were delighted with the results.

We’ve been asked many times by renowned clients for the very best in animal models. One of our favourites was for luxury fashion brand  Mulberry, who have used French Bulldogs and Miniature Schnauzers clad in stylish knitwear to dazzling effect. Where else would clients go for their search for top quality animal models? We’ve been the first port-of-call for a string of companies for decades…it’s what we do!

Another success animal shoot was for Pet Lab, who specialise in supplements to keep dogs at the peak of their health. They supply such products as chews for supple joints and shiny coats, as well as dental treats and probiotic goodies. We put forward Dudley – a delightful French Bulldog – and they were so taken with his charms that they couldn’t refuse Dudley’s services!

With the worst of the pandemic behind us (fingers and paws crossed), 2022 could be the year that sees your talented pet gain fame as one of our Starpets.

Fill out a simple application, and our lovely booking team will take it from there!

Photographers know what they’re looking for when it comes to producing a winning image for all types of work, from commercial to digital. If they’ve got a furry companion or scaly creature in front of their lens, or any type of animal for that matter, they’ll know just about everything there is to capture a timeless moment that exudes a message and a deeper meaning. It’s a pretty incredible skill to have as a photographer because let’s face it – animals can be cheeky, playful characters with a mind of their own. They’ll enjoy getting up to cute mischief and there may very well be plenty of blunders along the way.

Photographers have come across plenty of pet owners that have high expectations and rocketing stress levels. We know it’s not meant to be intentional because the pressure can be sizzling hot (a bit like the weather we’ve seen lately) but we know that they want their pet to perform perfectly for the camera. Is this always possible? Probably not – and this is where some top tips, straight from the eyes of a photographer, can leverage the modelling experience for pets and their owners. Let’s check them out here:

Be patient
Yes, that good old phrase you might have thought we wouldn’t mention but here it is! Your animal may need time to adjust to its surroundings, particularly when they’ve been booked and have been called out somewhere further afield. New places, new people, and a good few cameras pointing at them may throw them off guard, and that’s understandable. It can be a daunting experience for animals and humans alike. This may happen so the key ingredient is to be prepared – hiccups will ensue and that’s okay. What can you do? Expose them to different environments to help ease them into unknown territories. Check in on how you’re feeling too – do you get anxious when they feel uncomfortable? Animals are incredibly smart, instinctive creatures so they’ll pick up and feed on how you’re feeling too. Try and relax – if it gets too much, take a break and restart the process when you’re both ready.

Get to their level
Great advice we’ve had from our photographers’ perspective is to get down to your subject’s eye level. Meet your pet at their level, communicate with them and whip out that smartphone to take snaps. Selfies too, so they can see you both on your screen. This’ll expose them to a modelling experience and get them accustomed to an unfamiliar face doing the same. Photographers reposition their camera plenty of times and from different viewpoints and angles, so replicate the same with your fluffy bestie for practice.

Reward them
Your pet’s hard work should never go unnoticed – whether it’s positive words or rewarding them with healthy snacks and toys (or all three!) – and you’ll know that incentives work! Your companion needs to know you’re happy with them, especially if they’ve stepped out of their comfort zone and had tons of images taken. We love our treats as do our animal counterparts so remember to pack snacks, their favourite comforter and some extra playthings to generate an enriching experience whilst you’re out and about taking their photos.

We hope that these tips are helpful when snapping your hero pet! Whether they’ve been called in for commercial modelling, catalogue modelling, digital modelling or even promotional modelling, these tips will help! Let our team know how you get on, we’d love to hear from you all!