It's magical! If you can somehow manage to get a dog or cat or any animal to tilt their head in an inquisitive fashion and you manage to get a photo of it; it's truly magical. There's something about a head tilt that makes the viewer just melt and go "awwww...."

The head tilt is a photo to aspire to in any photo session. In most cases the head tilt comes when a dog hears a new or strange sound. I carry around a necklace with several noise makers, some of which can elicit a head tilt. The noise makers are either whistles or squeakers or kazoos. As a photographer, it's important to be ready to shoot as soon as those sounds happen, otherwise you are likely to miss it!  And if you miss it, many times the same sounds will be ignored since they are no longer interesting. It's important to have several different sounds available in your arsenal. There are also several noise making phone apps that make animal sounds. The challenge as a photographer with no assistant will be in using the noise makers and taking photos at the same time, but give it a try!

To see other pet photographers showing off their head tilts, head on over to see Jessika Wasik of Bark & Gold Photography, celebrating the joy and love between Pittsburgh pets and their people. 

Come find me on Instagram to get your fix of puppies!