Home & Lifestyle Spring 2019

Trying to photograph your pet? I t’s happened to all of us—we just can’t capture our dog’s full cuteness in a photo. Photographing dogs is challenging. They’re always curious about everything around them, and they are easily distracted. There are a few different ways to help you to take the perfect photo.

Get down at your dog’s level. Rather than forcing your dog to look up at the camera, put your camera at the same height as your dog’s face. This may mean getting down on your knees or lying on the floor, or persuading your dog to sit on a piece of furniture. When you are down at his level, your dog may want to investigate the camera;

Let your dog be himself. Rather than placing your dog in an uncomfortable stay and forcing him to look directly at the camera, photograph him doing what he naturally does. Photographing the things your dog does on a daily basis — chewing on a favourite toy, lounging on the sofa, looking out the window, can become an opportunity to capture his unique personality, just like you would do with any other member of the family. Getting a good picture of your dog can be even harder than getting a good shot of your toddler. Just as there are simple strategies you can use to photograph kids, there are some easy tricks of the trade that can help you get better photos of your dog.

enlist a helper to hold onto his leash if needed. Keep your dog in focus. For the best photos of your dog’s face, make his eyes the main focus. Dogs with flatter faces, like Pugs, are photographed best with the dog looking directly at the camera, while longer-snouted dogs photograph better from the side. If your dog has special features, like a curly tail or long ears, make them a focus of the photo. Find a ball or toy that your dog loves and hold the ball or toy next to your lens. Your

pets unpredictable nature makes the actual shooting rather difficult. Not only do you need to catch focus on their face, you also need to get them to stay as still as possible.

Alternatively, hold a treat up to your camera or phone - one thing for certain is that . . dogs love food. Whether it’s human food or doggy food, nothing gets their attention like a delicious treat and make sure you, let them smell it so they know what’s at stake. Now they’ll stare at you with intensity. Why is colour so important? Colour plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Spring is the perfect time to let some colour into your life... Colour has a profound influence on a space and the people in it. Use it to your advantage to create an inviting, productive space. Colour is sometimes divided into two categories: warm and cool tones. Warm tones, like red, orange and yellow can energize a space and its occupants. Warm colours often evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and energy. An environment can become under stimulated or overstimulated, depending on the colours used. Cool tones such as blue, green and purple generally create quiet, relaxing atmospheres. An under stimulated environment features weak intensities of colour and weak or monotonous colour contrasts, while an overstimulated setting features highly saturated colours, strong contrasts and/or too many complex visual patterns. Colour can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. Colour is extremely versatile in its uses. It can be used to make a statement, create an atmosphere, or call forth a response. Colour expresses outwards towards the world, but it also helps us to travel inwards towards spiritual states, towards our true self. Light colours are airy and, as a general rule, they make rooms feel larger and brighter. Dark colours are sophisticated and warm and they make rooms feel intimate. Colours basically behave in three ways. They can be active, passive or neutral. Neutrals include black, grey, white and brown and these colours are often used to establish balance in a décor that includes both active and passive shades. The colours you use in your interior design and décor have an impact on the atmosphere you create and you need to correctly assess what this ambiance should be before you choose the colours that would best fit your lifestyle.